This song stems from the countless conversations I’ve had with friends and relatives about what Jesus would have to say about America today. I don’t consider myself a religious person, but the teachings of Jesus, as written in the Gospels, seem pretty straight forward to me.  Be kind. Help the neediest among us. These are simple, universal lessons. And yet, it seems that today, two people sitting through the same sermon on a Sunday morning, can come out of the church with two vastly different takeaways on what should be considered Jesus-like behavior. This inability for a community to agree on something as basic as the teachings of Christ, points to a concerning rift in our society. I chose this conversation to happen late night in a bar, because, well hell, isn’t that when we hear all of the best conversations? Especially when the wine is heaven sent?

I have been a history teacher for over 30 years.  For many of those years, I ran the History Department in an urban public high school. In every class I have ever taught, music has been a main conduit for teaching history. The songs, most written by common working-class people, tend to connect more authentically with my students than school-issued textbooks. In song, we learn. And in song, we can begin to make the changes necessary for a good and just society”.  Now pass that wine. Tom Jordan