If the American flag had her own anthem, no offense to the Star Spangled Banner, I think she’d choose Stand By Me.
Originally written by R&B singer-songwriter, Ben E. King, along with writing duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, it was first recorded in 1961 by King. It topped the charts, twice, was central to the movie of the same name, and a quick search states that it has been covered over 400 times. I’ve been listening to it on repeat today, letting it work its way into my bones. This R&B original is at once resonant, soulful, and aspirational. Which sounds a lot like America to me.
Recently, someone I love sent me a rendition performed by Stephen Wilson Jr.. I listened to it non-stop for 6 hours. Put it on repeat until it worked its way into my bones. Wilson’s version is kind of rock meets country with a dash of prayer and a splash of whiskey, and is at once tender, gritty, and raw. Which sounds a lot like America to me, too.
Stand By Me is a song that has stood the test of time, and will probably continue to do so as long as humans walk the planet, because it strikes a cord that is hard wired into our beautiful and broken hearts. We need one another. We need people to stand by us, and they need us to stand by them, come what may. It’s when we forget this that we get into trouble. Which sounds a lot like America to me, too.
Because we love our country, come what may, we fly the flag. Ours is a hard country to love right now, and the flag we’ve flown for the past few years came to look a lot like what America feels like these days. Tattered, faded, weather beaten, and so bound up by the division in our country, she could hardly fly. Just wrapped herself around the flag pole and hung there in despair. She tried mightily to remind us of the we-the-people-ness of our country, of our need to stand by rather than against one another, until she’d couldn’t do it anymore. It was clearly time to let her rest in peace, and fly a new flag to take up her old song.
The thing is, no one is forcing us to turn away from each other. No one is coercing us to stay in our silos, confirm our own biases, blame and/or hate the other side, use disparaging/dehumanizing/demeaning language, or choose an us-vs-them mindset. If we are doing that, it is on no one but us.
I just asked a musician friend of mine to consider creating his own version, and I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with. In the meantime he sent me the Playing For Change version. It is a compilation performed by musicians recorded in their own neighborhoods, streets, plazas, alleyways, deserts, and mountainsides. I’ve had it on repeat as I finish writing this, letting it work its way into my bones. It is a rich tapestry of humans hailing from different places and with their own stories of life on planet earth. A blend of styles, cultures, instruments, and voices, it is at once joyful, sorrowful, and hopeful. Which sounds a lot like America to me, too.
As I send this your way, it is a beautiful day. The sky is blue, the sun bright, and the wind is blowing just hard enough to let our bright new flag take flight. She’s out there singing her song to anyone who will listen. If you close your eyes, maybe you can hear her. Stand by me. Stand by me. Stand by me. Which sounds a lot like America to me, too.
Choose a version (links above—bear with the ads)
Put on repeat
Let it work its way into your bones and out into the world within your reach.
