I wrote a song at the end of 2020. I’ve included images from the pages from my songwriting journal and an acoustic recording below.
But first, a foray into what music could be for and its connection to my musical origins.
Last night we watched episode one of Woody Guthrie and the Ghost of Tom Joad Today, a PBS documentary narrated by Rosanne Cash1.
The meat of sacred cows can be hard to chew but they
offer nothing of sustenance while they live.
I recommend it. I suspect those who most need to watch it never will… it is offensive in that it reveals much about our inhumanity and disturbing lack of progress and/or regression.
We watched it with a realization that the past few years have been a political and social backstep into the same battle that Steinbeck and Guthrie were fighting in the 1930’s and after.
And, in reality, that battle is likely a perpetual one.
Woody Guthrie’s song, Deportees, sounds more like a prophecy than the snippet of reality it actually portrays.
Goodbye to my Juan, farewell Roselita Adios mes amigos, Jesus e Maria You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane All they will call you will be deportees - Deportees, Woody Guthrie
With a new “red scare” - watching the word communism be bandied around and mindlessly conflated with the word socialism - devoid of context and honest clarity - we are witnessing a Republican Party that would happily embrace is happily embracing, McCarthyism.
And we’re watching a Democratic party that will level the same attack on their own to preserve their own corporate money status quo.
They burned The Grapes of Wrath back then and they would burn it today.
I’m not going to address this topic in any more detail except to say that I’m grateful that the second song I learned on guitar was Guthrie’s, This Land is Your Land. and that it was my father recording Dylan’s, Blowing In The Wind, at our dining room table that prompted me to learn guitar.
A few years ago, reflecting on disbanding my religious beliefs and a radical shift in my cultural and political positions, I wrote the lyrics below.
Close that door behind me, first morning light Headed down that highway and opened up my eyes And it don’t help me sleep none but I’m feeling free now Left the altar stained with those sacred cows - Ordinary Man, Matthew Moran
I believe it is an imperative for the thoughtful human to lay our most strongly held beliefs on the altar of scrutiny, some semblance of grounded epistemology, and with a willingness to take a sharpened blade to all our sacred cows.
The meat of sacred cows can be hard to chew but they offer nothing of sustenance while they live.
What is Music For?
Many things I suppose. It can lift your mood or accent it… heartbreak, joy, anger, awe, love, hate, despair, hope… etc. etc. etc.
I will NOT attempt to be the arbitrator of what music can or should be. That is a fool’s errand and above my pay grade.
On December 3rd, 2020 - during the pandemic - I wrote the chorus to the song below. As chronicled in the journal pages I’ve included, I finished the verses by December 5th and added the second/final chorus on December 18th and 19th.
Based on the top of the page on 12/18, I see that I wrote my song, Call on it Now - a song for Deb - between the 5th and the 18th.
Yesterday I recorded an acoustic version of the song. I’ve included that recording and the lyrics below that.
RECORDING
LYRICS
Do You Remember What The Music’s For
© 2020 - Matthew Moran
Late night radio, here comes another song
Tappin’ to the beat, maybe sing along
Feel the broken-hearted loneliness
Hear the injustice, make you shake your fist
Close your eyes and take you far away
Inflame your passion for a brand new day
That’s the magic of the melody
Captivates you and then sets you free
Do you remember what the music’s for
Forget your troubles or protest the war
To gently tell him how you really feel
To whisper love and to make them hear
To calm your fears, chase away your doubts
Speak truth to power with an angry shout
To build a bridge or to shut the door
Do you remember what the music’s for
Do you remember what the music’s for
It’s just an easy groove gets you moving across the floor
It’s the rhythm and refrain. Oh but it’s so much more
It’s every future that you’ve ever dreamed
Every emotion that you can’t contain
Now I’m offering my own submission
Entertain or move you, that’s my only mission
A simple tune to simply catch your ear
Simple truths if we choose to hear
Do you remember what the music’s for
Forget your troubles or protest the war
To gently tell her how you really feel
To whisper love and to make them hear
To calm your fears, chase away your doubts
Speak truth to power with an angry shout
To build a bridge or to shut the door
Do you remember what the music’s for
Do you remember what the music’s for
Do you remember what the music’s for
Entice your lover, tell ‘em what’s in store
Get everybody up to dance and sing
To give them courage to chase their dream
To get through heartache or just dull the pain
To share the joy that you can’t contain
Connect the future with what’s come before
Do you remember what the music’s for
Do you remember what the music’s for
Do you remember what the music’s forI hope you enjoyed that well enough. If so, let me know.
Sometime in the next week I’m going to let you in on a bit of an emotional and revelatory journey I’ve been taking with my music - specifically, my vocals and my vocal delivery.
It’s an ongoing evolution and one that has been prompted and pushed by Debbie, Korel - my vocal coach, and my long-time friend Freda - a wonderful singer I met back in 2011 - who, a few months ago said a single sentence that turned out to be an eye-opening (and welcome) slap in the face.
But you will have to wait for that. 😉
As always, thank you for joining me on this journey!
With Love and Gratitude,
Matthew Moran
August 2, 2026
We had the privilege of watching Rosanne Cash at The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival last year (2025) where Deb took the image below:
Really enjoyed this! Thanks
I loved seeing the images from your notebook, as well as the song you wrote. As for your introduction, al I can say is AMEN!
Be well,
J