Lemon Sparks - American Requiem

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NB: "American Requiem" is all the more poignant and timely in light of the tragic events of October 13th in Lemon Sparks' hometown of Raleigh, NC.

In the spirit of protest songs like “For What It’s Worth” and “The Windows of the World", Lemon Sparks have rush-released “American Requiem,” a deeply felt adaption of of Chip Robinson’s viral social media rewrite of “America (My Country ’Tis of Thee.).”

“We readily identified with the candidness of Chip Robinson's lyrics,” says Jeff Carroll of the Raleigh, NC-based trio. “It is certainly an approach that has more grit than anything we would have come up with ourselves. By presenting these lyrics in both a beautiful and familiar landscape, we hope we have helped his thoughts gain more altitude. It is certainly a juxtaposition we believe will intrigue listeners.”

After asking Robinson for his blessing, Carroll rushed his Lemon Sparks bandmates Rick Lassiter and Greg Tourian into the studio with their friend FJ Ventre, who helped them shape the arrangement and production.
Lemon Sparks present Robinson’s angry lyrics with a much sweeter, Beach Boys inflected musical sentiment. Carroll’s earnest, melancholy vocal and the band’s alt-pop smarts and signature harmonies sugarcoat what in other hands might have been a bitter pill indeed.
The Uvalde school massacre was the catalyst for Robinson rewriting the lyrics to Samuel Francis Smith's 1831 adaptation of God Save the King as “America” (commonly called “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.”)
Uvalde is — to put it simply — another predictable result of US lawmakers refusing to make much needed commonsense changes to legislation, and Robinson's blood, like many, had boiled over. Robinson (Backsliders, Vibekillers) posted his pointed rewrite on social media, and his longtime friend Carroll was so moved that he immediately started setting it to music.

Just days after recording, Lemon Sparks offers the song to listeners — as a lament, but also as a plea for change.