Music is in the air

Thought for the day

First came Joan Baez and ousted/reinstated Tennessee lawmaker Justin Jones singing "We Shall Overcome" during their chance meeting at the Nashville airport.  Next, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin and country music star Brad Paisley were videotaped singing West Virginia’s state song “Country Roads” in Ukraine.

Manchin said the song is “loved all over the world” and celebrated that he and Paisley, who is an ambassador for Ukraine’s United24 fundraising campaign, could sing “this timeless tune on the streets of Kyiv.” 

Imagine if all four of them had sung "Ukraine Shall Overcome" (my rewrite last year of Louise Shropshire’s classic anthem). The late, great Aretha Franklin was right when she said, “Music does a lot of things for a lot of people.  It’s uplifting, it’s encouraging, it’s strengthening.” 

So here's to the people of Tennessee and Ukraine.  Your battles are shared by millions of people around the globe.  I am confident eventually you will overcome!

-DF