The album kicks off with “Will
I Go To Hell,” one of the tracks featuring J.D. Wilkes on harmonica. And his
harmonica is so expressive, such a great presence. This song is working so well
for me, a perfect song for these strange days of strife and division. “I hear you, politician/You yourself did stray/Will
I go to hell/If I don’t vote your way.” And check out these lines: “Sometimes I want to live, sometimes I want to
die/Will I go to hell if I don’t feel like trying.” I know a lot of us can
relate to these lines. I hope the current political and social situation comes
to a swift close soon, so we can get back on track. Will that be enough to push
back the depression that so many of us feel? I don’t know, but certainly it
will be a good start. Anyway, this is a seriously good song to start the album.
It’s followed by “Oh My My,” a harder, somewhat harsher tune, a sound which is
fitting the times, don’t you think? “I
hate my job, hate this strife/Hate this town, hate my life.” There is just
the slightest amount of optimism in the lines, “Maybe someday change my mind/Maybe come out on the other side/Maybe
darkness turn to light.” And that’s the thing – no matter how dark things
become, we still hold onto the possibility of improvement.
“For The Pain” is my favorite
song on this album. It has a mellower vibe and groove, and really moves me.
Like the best of the blues, this song has the power to make us feel better even
as it digs into our pain. The pain of living, the pain of addiction. Here is a
taste of the lyrics: “Here comes the pain
again, I wonder when it will end/My addiction is my only friend who always
stays by my side/It's just my pain and me, we keep to ourselves/Doctor, write
me up, or I'll do it myself, for the pain, for the pain.” Lew Jetton
delivers an incredibly personal and heartfelt vocal performance here. I also
love his emotional work on guitar. What an incredible song.
“Mexico” is about jobs moving
to other countries, something a lot of folks are experiencing these days. My
brother just lost his job, as the position went to India. “Mexico” is followed
by “Sold Us Out,” and this one too feels timely (though I suppose it would have
felt that way for quite a while, and – I fear – probably will for decades to
come). “The politicians in DC done sold
us out/Don't give a damn about you and me, they sold us out/We’re taking on
more than we can bear/They’re making the money and they just don't care/They
want more and more and more.” And, no, it’s not just the politicians, but
the corporations who are addressed in this song (though really the lines
between the two are more than a little blurry): “The corporations with their profit line, they sold us out/They want to
take away my overtime, they sold us out/It's ‘bout the money and you best
beware/Don't give a damn and they just don't care/They want more and more and
more, they sold us out.”
“Drinking Again” is a wonderful,
somewhat mellow blues tune about how we turn to alcohol for many different
reasons. “One for the road, one ‘cause
you're mad/One when you're happy, another when you're sad.” I like that he’s
not committed to stopping as he sings “I
guess it’s a sin.” I love how honest Lew Jetton is. How many of us are
certain about anything? Though at the end of the song, perhaps he’s convinced
himself and is sounding more sure. And then in “Don’t Need No Devil,” he sings,
“You know there ain't no whiskey can take
away my pain/Ain't no whiskey can take away my pain/It just makes it worse, and
the pain, well, it just stays.”
The album concludes with a good
blues rocker, “‘Bout Time,” one which will probably speak strongly to a lot of
us. “‘Bout time to stop feeling bad/Change
my way of thinking before it drives me mad.” But it’s not that easy, and the
song doesn’t pretend that it is. At the end, Lew sings, “‘Bout time, they all say the same/Yeah, that's easy to say when you
ain't the one in pain.”
CD Track List
- Will I Go To Hell
- Oh My My
- For The Pain
- Mexico
- Sold Us Out
- Drinking Again
- Don’t Need No Devil
- Christ Have Mercy
- Drama
- ‘Bout Time
Palestine Blues was released on August 7, 2017.
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