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This is the first “newer” tune I wrote for this project that put into words and music this long stewing anger boiling in me. I had this melody buzzing around in my head and it didn’t sound like the kind of melody I was used to writing. It had a traditional feel to it, which I sometimes fight to change for the sake of trying to construct something off kilter. Yet it sounded ‘American’ to me—if that makes sense—built around a gospel structure and a vocal style I know I didn’t possess. The words came easy, which is odd for me. The line, ‘Where did my country go?’ seemed to echo in every like-minded person I knew who had lost faith in America and its barren leadership. The entire lyric said exactly what I wanted to say, with a plainness that made me suspect that I hadn’t really written the song at all. It just came to me. Only a songwriter would understand that, I guess.

The recording is another matter, though. I was getting over the flu and my voice was hoarse and ragged when I debuted this song for some friends. Singing it felt right, though, and its simplicity was something my friends urged me to keep intact. In the studio it began simple enough, but my voice was not cutting it. I either had to contract the flu to get that ‘suffering’ effect, or get someone else to sing it. I decided to build the song, using church organs and military percussion. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. It has an impact, but sounds contrived for the most part. But it still says what I want to say. I’m hoping the song itself rises above the recording.

lyrics

To America

It was yesterday when my father,
“Son,” he told me, “You could grow up
To be the president if you worked hard,
If you stayed true, if you believed.”

It was yesterday when my mother,

“Son,” she told me, “You could become
Anything you want to be if you stood straight
If you stayed proud, if you believed.”

Well I’m on my way to America,

I’m looking for hope,
I want to go home
To plant these dreams, reap what I sow,
Yet it’s hard to know—

Where did my country go?

It was yesterday, the blood of our fathers
Washed away sin, anointed our souls

This children’s sacrifice that all mothers grieve,
Can faith be deceived by what we believe?

Give us your tired, give us your poor,

Give us the wretched that teem at the shore
We’ll take them in, our justice is blind

In time they’ll find something to believe.

Well I’m on my way to America,

I’m looking for hope,
I want to go home
To plant these dreams, reap what I sow,
Yet it’s hard to know—

Where did my country go?

I’m not a rich man, I’m not a poor man

I’m not a hero, I’m not a fool

Something’s been broken here, something’s been lost
What does it cost when everything’s sold?

Well I’m on my way to America,

I’m looking for hope,
I want to go home
To plant these dreams, reap what I sow,
Yet it’s hard to know—

Where did my country go?

credits

from Trepanning, track released January 1, 2008

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Edward Morneau Salem, Massachusetts

Edward Morneau has been a musician and songwriter most of his life. His focus on multiple genres and interest on sound collage experimentation makes his music hard to classify. His muses range from Beatles, Brian Wilson, Randy Newman, XTC, Kinks, Iris DeMent to Mahler, Shostakovich, Penderecki & Zappa. His background as an English & Film teacher gives humor and striking imagery to his songs. ... more

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