John Fogerty, the legendary former frontman of Creedence Clearwater Revival is no stranger to composing socially conscious tunes. Songs such as “Fortunate Son” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain” are timeless anthems that were written in response to Vietnam and the Nixon administration.
Concerning “Fortunate Son,” Fogerty issued a cease-and-desist order to Donald Trump for playing the tune at his rallies in the fall. It is understandable why this would upset him; Donald Trump is the personification of what that song was protesting.
At 75-years-old he decided now was the time to write another song to comment on the current political climate. He penned and recorded the gospel-tinged “Weeping in the Promised Land,” his first new tune in eight years.
The genesis of the song began 25 years ago when he wrote down the phrase “Weeping in the Promised Land” in his songwriting journal. A few years ago, he wrote a tune with that title, but never recorded it because he was unhappy with the results. With the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, he was provided with the impetus to revisit the phrase and composed an entirely new song.
The lyrics touched upon several current issues such as the government failed response to the pandemic (“He dances on their bones/Pharaoh shoutin’ down the medicine man”).
He also references the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd (“Pharaoh’s army knockin’ on the door/Weepin’ in the Promised Land/Shoot you in your bed just like they done before/Weepin’ in the Promised Land/Out in the street, on your neck with a knee/All the people are cryin’ your last words, ‘I can’t breathe’ and a white judge say, there been no crime here today”).
In these painful times, we need the healing power of music to help us get through. Fogerty is doing his part to help us pull through.