It’s America, Baby

“It’s America, Baby” is a collection of songs written about America as she exists in 2025. The songs are organized into two suites.

Songs 1-11 represent the darker side of America, and they make up a suite called “i hear america mourning“. Songs 12-19 represent the lighter, frothier side of America, and form a suite I call “i hear america singing”.

There are many songs that are designed to be companion pieces, for example, “the tech gods by the bay” and “silver surfers on the bay”, both inspired by the beauty and the life force of Northern California…and “the sermon from the pit” and “the child on the mountain”, both inspired by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

Like Whitman himself wrote in “Song of Myself”, “…I contain multitudes”.

The project features a sprawling cast of characters—politicians, tech bros, megachurch pastors, oligarchs, gangsters, school shooters, space travel fanboys, pie enthusiasts, circus clowns, and surfers who chase the waves every day. The songs themselves come from many sources. Some are very old: “i hear america mourning” is based on a poem I wrote for an English class when I was a junior in high school, and “i went to see the president” was written when I was 15 after seeing Jimmy Carter speak in Frankfurt, Germany. Some of the songs are inspired by Carl Sandburg’s “The American Songbag“, which I first arranged for the album “Today’s American Songbag” back in 2023. Some of the songs are very new, and feature my cousin Colin Helton as a collaborator – “second chance america” and “silver surfers on the bay”, two of the best songs in the set IMHO.

Available on all major streaming platforms. Videos are below. Enjoy!