David Berkeley’s latest song takes a fairly bleak look at his homeland – a land which is riven with distrust and hatred, where the old ideas of working together for a better world have given way to less laudable ambitions. The Sante Fe based singer-songwriter notes that he is “watching this country we were born in turn to some place you don’t understand” as people struggle against the fates and maybe take comfort in the othering of others as a way of offloading their frustrations. Not, in the final measure, that David Berkeley is completely pessimistic about the future, as he bets that he’s not alone in not giving “a damn if you were born here, and I don’t care to whom you give your heart – all that should matter is your kindness.” As downbeat and broken as ‘Oh My America‘ may sound, there is a burning flame kindling the warmth of joy in the potential for societal healing. You have to hope that he’s right, and the current antagonistic and divisive approach to the shaping of a country’s outlook can be just a passing phase.
