I Won't Wait Anymore.....

Not long ago I was on a business trip, alone in a hotel room with my guitar. That evening while watching the evening news I saw yet another story about US soldiers killed in Iraq. At that moment all the anger, fear, shame and hurt that I had been carrying for so long consumed me. Out of instinct I grabbed my guitar and notebook, and this song just burst out of me – that is the only way I can describe the process. When I was done I was exhausted and my emotions were spent.

After listening to what I wrote I realized that this song did not belong to me. I wrote it, but it is not mine. It belongs to everyone who can no longer accept what is going on in our government. With our elections only two weeks away, I need to make a difference, to do something to help fix what has gone so horribly wrong. The best I can give is this song, so I give it to everyone – no copyright issues, no royalties, no ‘terms of use’ restrictions, no record industry lawyers waiting to sue your children. This song, born out of love for this country and what it stands for, belongs to everyone.

The song is called “I Won't Wait”, because waiting is something we cannot afford to do anymore. Those to whom we gave our trust have failed us. We have an obligation to remove those failed leaders and send a message to Congress. Let them know we are watching, we are not stupid, and we are tired of the lies.

The song has been attached to this blog entry, and you can download it here.

(The zipfile above contains the tablature and the lyrics as well as the MP3. Here's the bare MP3. - Brent)

What I ask is this: download this song and listen to it. If it inspires you, if you agree with what it says, play it for people you know; give it away. Use the Internet to distribute it around the world – no strings attached. E-mail it to your friends and family. If you are active in an election, give it to your candidate and see if they will use it in their campaigning. If you know a soldier in any of the armed forces, send him a CD or MP3. Post it to your favorite blogs and file-sharing systems, link to it on your MySpace page. Any video directors who would like to make a video and post it on YouTube – go for it.

Lets’ make this song a rallying cry for change, a unifying voice for our anger. Now more than any other time in our history we as a people must stand up and take responsibility for our government. What our leaders have done cannot stand, nor can we stand behind those leaders who betrayed our trust. Let’s take the first steps toward change together on November 7.

I have included guitar tablature for other musicians who would like to perform or record the song. If you know an artist, famous or otherwise, who could perform this song at a rally or political event, ask them to. And I would love to hear other musician’s versions of the song as well – it would be an honor.

The Republican spin machine uses the Internet and the media to disseminate fear and lies. I believe that we can counter that spin machine with truth and hope….and music.

Let’s tell our corrupt government that we won’t wait anymore.