This song was inspired by my grandparents - a Maine couple who celebrated 70 anniversaries together. It starts off with this old family anecdote:

“Nana was a registered Republican, Pappy was a Democrat for life…”

There was never a time I didn’t know that about them. And there was never a time that I saw any strife caused by it. 

A relationship like that seems almost inconceivable today. That makes me sad. And it makes me worried. It makes me want to find a way to reach out a hand - even when I feel it being slapped away.

A lot of political songs get their energy out of playing Us against Them. FaceBook knows this tactic all too well. And I’m as susceptible as anyone -- I do love a good rabble-rousing folk song. But when I look around today, I don’t think that’s what we need. 

I wanted this song to capture the deep concern that so many of us are feeling today, and I wanted to do it without pointing fingers or casting blame. I hope there is healing in it. I know that I feel great healing when I play this song for a room of strangers, afraid that people might close themselves off in anger but finding time and again that they open themselves instead.

I take great pride in the fact that this song has been loved and shared by Democrats and Republicans alike. I hope my grandparents would be proud as well. 

Thanks for listening and sharing!

The Great Divide (Single)

Blackberry Time

Live at the Seagull Shop

Stocks Intro

Jigs

Watch the Fall

Mary Mack

Insurance Plan

Insurance Intro

That's the Way We Climb

Moon on a String

Get Poor Slow

Maine singer/songwriter Jud Caswell has an eye for detail, drawing inspiration from the land like Mary Oliver, pushing into the specific, unfolding it into the universal. In 2006 he burst onto the national scene, winning the legendary Kerrville New Folk competition. His songs have been taught at Berklee, recorded by Judy Collins, and named “#4 Song of the Decade” by New York’s WFUV. Jud left the road to raise a family and make his music where his roots go deep. With a voice fresh as water over granite and soft as a pine needle bed, he wields his many instruments with the easy deftness of an old woodsman with an axe.

Jud Caswell

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