Songwriter Sunday

Monday is the new Sunday, right?!

Not “Are You Afraid of the Dark Part 3”?!

Don’t worry. There will be more installments. I need some more time to feel ready to share more chapters of my life (that part at least). I appreciate your patience, friends.

Opinions & songwriting

As we all know, everyone has opinions, beliefs and values about a variety of topics in life: politics, religion, favorite foods (yes - much less serious than the other two mentioned)…I could name many categories.

Admittedly, I am most often inspired to write about love or nature. The two come so easily to me…my love of love and my admiration for nature.

But my eyes and ears are not shut to the workings of our world.

My mother asked me a few months ago: “Have you ever written songs about politics or religion? Any protest songs? Anything controversial?”

Yes, yes and yes.

As a songwriter and performer, it is unbelievably tricky to decide what to share. There is a delicate balancing act at play: being vulnerable and sharing about our lives while simultaneously trying not to offend anyone.

As an entertainer, it has been made clear to us creatives that many folks in society do not wish to hear the opinions of artists. In the case of musicians: sing the songs and keep your mouth shut. I am fully aware that there are a mixture of opinions floating around in our Weary Ramblers’ following. And, truthfully, I would hate to close off connections with folks who have found something they wanted or needed in our music.

Yet, I am fully aware that there are icons, such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, that were not afraid to speak their minds through their songs.

When you make the decision to do that - to lay it all out there - there’s no turning back. The blessing and curse of being an outspoken writer…

Thus far, I have chosen a path where I feel that I am speaking my truth without isolating anyone. This is not because I do not have opinions. And this is not because I believe my approach is the correct one.

This is because I believe in change through song…through spreading a message of love and compassion.

To quote one of my favorite songwriters, Mary Gauthier: “Can a song change the world? Well, yea. Because a song can change a heart. A changed heart has the power to change a mind. When a mind changes, a person changes. When people change, the world changes. One song, one heart, one mind at a time.”

And, so far, it’s working for me.

Have You Heard?

I wrote “Have You Heard?” in November of 2023 while watching the news about Ukraine unfold.

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Can you see?

We’ve lost sight of humanity

We pick and choose when we want to say

We’ll help you make it go away

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What is real?

The stories that we’re told are not what they appear

We pick and choose what we wanna hear

And keep living without fear

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But here’s the truth

There’s madness happening all around

And no one is stopping it now

Who’s gonna stop it now?

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Have you heard?

All that’s happening overseas

I know it’s not the land of the free

But don’t you see

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There’s a world

Outside our fields of grain and corporate world

Where people are crying for help

They need our help

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And here’s the truth

There’s madness happening all around

And no one is stopping it now

We’ve gotta stop it now

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Can you see?

We’ve lost sight of humanity

Sharing time

I’d like to share an unreleased song I wrote with you all, titled, “Have You Heard?” I’ll let the song speak for itself.

I can’t wait to share the back story to more of my songs with all of you, as well as my journey in music and life. Until next time.

See you in a week

If you’re reading this, thank you. I’m honored. And I can’t wait to continue on this journey via Substack with all of you! We’ll see what next Sunday brings.

To learn more about myself, follow my show schedule and hear my music: Kathryn Severing Fox's website

Photo by Chad Elliott

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