Stream it on Spotify (or preferred music service), and watch the video below.
If you’re curious, read below for some context behind the track.
some context behind the track
In 2018, we were on tour in Germany. On Monday, August 27th, we played at a small cafe in Chemnitz. It wasn’t a good night to be in Chemnitz - there was a big anti-immigration protest outside, and it wasn’t safe to be out the street. The promoter made sure the show was a safe place for folks to be amidst all of that. You can read more about that night at The Guardian - but this screenshot of the article is really the core nugget. A few days later, we were interviewed on the radio in Berlin - the conversation touched on anti-immigration movements in both of our countries and what we do to combat it. It was an odd moment where I was asked to explain myself as a resident of the Midwest under Trump to a nationwide German audience. You’re welcome to listen to that interview on the blog.
Many of our conversations on tour were about guns, Trump, and racism - mostly because that’s what the word “Ohio” meant to most people we met. But I also talked about much of the good that I see in my home state and many unseen small acts of kindness. And I don’t think that remotely saves the state or absolves it of its sins - but what else can we do but try earnestly to make something a bit better.
This song struggles to hold all of those feelings together at the same time, kind of like I do.
lyrics
Am I the Midwest
The one we read about
The one they send the reporters
To cross the state borders
Just to figure the people out
Am I the Midwest
The one we sing about
All pockmarked with dairy queens
State football dreams and universities towns
Am I the Midwest
The one we blame
The one we castigate
The one we shame
The one that shows up
On time at eight
The one we love
The one we hate
Am I the Midwest
The one they photograph
After Delphi leaves and the workers grieving
Become another think piece
Am I the Midwest
The one they interview
On the radio stations
In the European nations
Where Americana still feels new
Am I the Midwest
The one that blames
The one that speaks up
Two years too late
The one that shows up
On election day
The one that votes
The one that hates
Am I the Midwest
The plain-spoken grout between the coasts
Am I the Midwest
Home of miniature golf and self-conscious boasts
Am I the Midwest
Home of jersey cows in stallion shoes
Am I the Midwest
The one in the news
credits
Sam Bodary: acoustic guitar and vocals
Daniel Seibert: percussion and string arrangement
Jack Doran: piano
Eli Chambers: bass
Leah Anderson: violin
Devin Copfer: violin
Rachael Keplin: viola
Stephen Forster: cello
Caleb Miller: organ
Jake Lowe: banjo
Corbin Pratt: pedal steel
Tony Rice: engineering and production
Emily Schmidt: engineering
Glenn Davis: mixing
Mike Cervantes (The Foxboro): mastering
Recorded at Oranjudio in Columbus, Ohio
post script
Small things do help. Our last record release show was a benefit for Community Refugee and Immigration Services - our next one will be too. But you can always donate anytime. I’m also a big fan of libraries - many have read-aloud or homework help programs - Columbus Metro Libraries needs volunteers for both.