Rosanne Cash and John Paul White’s ‘We’re All in This Together Now’ Is a Song for the Times [LISTEN]
Rosanne Cash and John Paul White wrote "We're All in This Together Now" last year, but it's certainly a song of the times. The two singer-songwriters have released the track, along with a timely music video, to benefit the Music Health Alliance during a time when many in the music industry are in need of the non-profit's services.
Cash and White have been friends for years, she shares, and had often thought about writing together, but never made it happen. Searching for a song that would help her "find some little corner of community, some instinct toward unity," Cash wrote the lyrics to "We're All in This Together Now" and sent them to White.
"He wrote this gorgeous melody very quickly. I was so moved," Cash recalls. However, the song wasn't quite right for either of their most recent albums, "so it sat there waiting for just the right moment. Which is now."
Over a simple, solitary acoustic guitar, Cash and White sing about people with differing worldviews and on different life paths. "But make no mistake, for Heaven's sake," they conclude, "we're all in this together now."
The music video for "We're All in This Together Now" is a compilation of photos and video footage that shows people around the world grappling with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. "It's a lonely world / It's our only world / We're all in this together now," they conclude as an animation of the COVID-19 virus falls away to reveal an aerial view of Earth.
"I don’t believe I’ve ever been a part of something that foretold things to come as vividly as this song, or something that would feel so relevant months after its completion," White reflects. "I loved the song, but for whatever reason, it hadn’t yet seen the light of day ... Once it dawned on me recently how prescient the song was, I asked Rosanne if she’d be willing to put her voice on it. She said, 'I thought you’d never ask.'"
The Music Health Alliance helps members of the music industry navigate the healthcare system, from helping people get health insurance to assisting monetarily when the need arises. Proceeds from "We're All in This Together Now" will go toward the organization's mission.
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