On his 2003 cd, Time Will Tell, Robert Cray threw fans a curve by including two “political” songs amongst his usual relationship-oriented blues/R&B. Cray’s “Survivor” and “Distant Shore,” which was written by his co-producer and bandmate Jimmy Pugh, were tunes critical of the US war on Iraq and sent an implicit warning about creeping fascism.
Cray’s father served in Vietnam and he grew up on military bases in the US and abroad.
All About Jazz reports that the title track of his new album, Twenty, which will be released laster this month, continues the trend, as a song written from the perspective of a disillusionted solider in Iraq.
“The song is about an innocent young guy, who, after the events of 9/11, wants to do his part for his country,” Cray explains. “He doesn’t know he’s going to end up in Iraq, watching the horror that’s going on there
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Great song. Very truthful in lyric and sound