To coincide with this week’s election-day release of the hope-inspiring It’s Morning In America, we caught an interview with long-time songwriter and acoustic musician Jeff Siegel, to find out more about the roots of the song, his journey as an artist, what he has planned creatively for the coming months, and his hopes for the future of America. Here’s how it went.
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Hi Jeff, great to connect with you and my congrats for the beautiful new single and live video. To introduce things – who or what first inspired you to write songs?
As long as I can remember, I’ve been writing – lyrics, poems, stories. As a child, it was my escape from what I saw as the pointless habit of adults fighting and yelling with each other – instead of sitting down and talking through their disagreements. So I spent a lot of time in my room writing. And then as a teen I learned to play the guitar and the lyrics became songs and I’ve been writing songs ever since.
What sparked the moment of writing for It’s Morning in America, and is there something therapeutic about expressing your feelings in this way as a musician?
It’s been a long two years here in the US and I’m a very hopeful person – I always can see the good in the bad. But it’s been tough even for me at times. So, the idea of the song was germinating and then I was listening to one of my favorite historian/podcasters, Heather Cox Richardson @heathercoxrichardson, during the summer and she was talking about how it’s hard to be hopeful, but we should try to not give in to the darkness. The next day I went for a walk and wrote most of the song in my head. Yes, it is very therapeutic. And each time I play it, I feel good about the country, especially now that the American people have raised their voices in the mid-term elections.
What’s the most important lyric from this new song, in your view, and why?
Oh, how can I choose! “Even in the darkest of nights, we can see what we see with our eyes” – to me, this is a declaration that even when circumstances seem impossible to change, we must believe what we see and not close our eyes or believe the lies. “We are free now, to say no now, and say yes to a brand new day” – this is what I was hoping would happen on election day and it did, but of course it’s just the beginning.
“It’s morning in America” – which is a repurposing of a Reagan slogan from the 80s – and now that so much has been broken in this country, we need to not just fix it, but build it back better, as they say. This is a massive opportunity for Americans to steer this country towards a place where our sons and our daughters and our grandchildren can be free to be their best selves. That’s truly how you make a country great.
What’s your biggest hope for the future of America and what role do you think music and art play in that ambition?
That we find it in our hearts to live out the dream of this nation – a place where anyone can come and find the opportunity to achieve whatever it is they want to go for, adding to the spirit and the true wealth of this nation.
“A strong nation is one where the people can afford the basics – a place to live, food, health care – pursue their spiritual beliefs and think and speak as they want to.”
Do you have more music due to be released soon, and is there a common theme or political angle to much of your recent writing?
I have more songs – I’m always writing songs! I hope to put them out regularly. One of my common themes is to be hopeful, to keep your eyes open, to speak the truth, to not fall for lies because these days the lies come on so strong it’s hard for people to resist them. I write about the world I want to see. But I write love songs too! My heart speaks, my hands write and play, and my voice sings.
What made you choose to release the stripped back, acoustic version of the song (video) rather than a full production?
I dabbled with full production during the pandemic and put out an album with lots of background instruments and sounds. It was fun to create and I like the way it turned out, but at heart I’m a singer/songwriter who likes to just pick up my guitar and sing my songs for people. I might get back to more of a full production in the future but for now, it’s just me and my guitar!
Are live shows on the cards soon, and if so, where can people catch you on stage?
I live in New Jersey and get out to local clubs for open mics and other events but I’m hoping to get to more venues as I release my new songs. I’ll keep you posted!
Is there anything else we should know?
There’s this old saying “You can’t fight progress, even if it’s going backwards.” Well, I think in the mid-term elections we proved that wrong. Onward!
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Find Jeff Siegel on YouTube, Threads, TikTok & Instagram.
