We’re All In This Together
I have always had a deep love and appreciation of Native American art and culture. We recently played a few shows in Oklahoma with long time friend and fellow musician, Mike Music. One evening he handed me a book and said, “This was my second cousin.” The book, He Stood In The Sun, was about the Native American artist, poet, and songwriter T.C.Cannon. I couldn’t put the book down. Not only did I love his artwork, I loved the depth of his insight and spirituality that was conveyed throughout the book. What struck me most, however, was a letter written by T.C. that was found ten years after his death in 1978 at the age of 31. The letter conveyed a sense of humility and realization that throughout our various endeavors in life we are all striving for the same things, “fulfillment and satisfaction”. This sense of inclusion is what I wanted to portray in the song. He was proud of his heritage as a Kiowa warrior, fought in the Vietnam war, and though deeply affected by the ugliness of war he still offered his paintings, poems, and songs as a ray of hope to a fragmented world.
“What I do here and there is simply what everyone else does in their own time and way”
T. C. Cannon Self Portrait
WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
He came from a long line of fighters
I guess you could say it ran in his blood
A soldier can’t erase, what his eyes have seen
He painted memories, so the world could see that
We’re all in this together
Tryin’ to find a way to make things better
When the skies get dark and gray
In my own time and your own way
We’re lookin’ for the light of a brighter day
It’s just a matter of time
The suns gonna shine, shine, shine
She wears his tags around her neck
In hopes that she won’t ever forget,
The man who stood in the sun and sang to the moon
Wrote down his words, to remind us of the truth
We’re all in this together
Tryin’ to find a way to make things better
When the skies get dark and gray
In my own time and your own way
We’re lookin’ for the light of a brighter day
It’s just a matter of time
The suns gonna shine, shine, shine
I’ve got a hand that you can hold
Your shoulders are strong enough to lean on
This world takes and it gives, it gives and it takes
I need you and you need me, we’re all one family
Released March 12, 2022. Recorded and mixed by Ronnie Frugé in Lake Charles, Louisiana. ©2019 Elk Mountain Music ASCAP
A very special thanks to Mike Music for making the introduction.