Inspirational singer-songwriter Dar Williams, known for her work with many social and environmental organizations, releases her second single, ‘Today and Every Day‘, from her upcoming album, ‘I’ll Meet You Here‘.
This beautifully written song celebrates the everyday actions that Williams believes can heal the earth. Her faith in local activism and in the power of personal and community solutions to societal problems inspired her 2017 urban-planning study book, ‘What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician’s Guide to Rebuilding America’s Communities — One Coffee Shop, Dog Run & Open-Mike Night at a Time,‘ with the book arising from William’s commitment to taking her music to audiences in out-of-the-way venues across small-town America.
“Good and bad things happen, and it’s not necessarily a reward or indictment. I’ve just got to meet it.” Williams observes. “Like, I’m bringing my whole life to this moment; it will surprise me, challenge me, show me where I was wrong, even make a fool out of me, but my job is to show up and not take adversity personally. Real happiness doesn’t have to feel like Snoopy dancing with Woodstock; it can just be knowing you have the resilience to meet whatever comes to you. I will call that a good life.”
As worthy as the politics may be, the song is a belter too. It’s a joyful, toe-tapper packed with melodic hooks and featuring great playing from everyone involved. Of course, as someone who has shared a stage with Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Griffin, Ani DiFranco and many more, Williams has a fabulous voice and it beautifully caps what is just a great bit of Americana folk. “Hey there, polar bear, I know this much is true // There are so many, many things that we can do // If you don’t go and make it down the line // What will we tell tomorrow when tomorrow says we have this time?”
The video is a bit special, too. Made by Willams’ friend and fellow singer/songwriter, Antje Duvekot, it’s a nicely designed and animated piece of stop-motion filmmaking. It features a very sweet claymation polar bear and a cast of claymation characters that includes Williams herself, and cleverly underlines the song’s very positive message. It’s remarkable work on a scale you’d usually expect to see with a big budget, major label releases. Expect it to be picked up by animation festivals around the world.
All-in-all, it’s a superb package and will certainly reinforce Williams’ reputation as an important figure in Americana, both at her preferred local level and internationally.
