Episode 16 - Man On Fire
Hi friends,
To be honest, this song feels unfinished and I’m conflicted about what it’s saying, and what it’s trying to say. I want to say that up front.
The song makes observations about long-standing conditions in America that deeply unsettle me and from which — as a straight, white, middle-class man who grew up with many privileges — I benefit. I worry that the lyrics could suggest I’m reveling in that privilege rather than condemning it.
On the other hand, that’s the insidious thing about privilege, one continues to benefit from it whether they reject or accept it. In listening and reflecting over the course of my life and generous education by the grace of my friends and mentors who come from different perspectives, the path for people in my position is to listen and take action to dismantle the institutions and ignorances that enshrine white male supremacy in our country.
And I’m flawed, so I will be awkward and imperfect in that pursuit. And that’s why I’m sharing the song even with my doubts — because I will always be an imperfect vessel and so I don’t want that to prevent my attempt to be a voice for change. That discomfort is what describes the “man on fire” in the song's title. But that discomfort is nothing compared to the active oppression, humiliation, fear, and suffering that has been and continues to be exacted on the people who live outside of this narrow sphere of favored identity in American life.
I have work to do on this song and on myself. But I have been inspired by artists of the past like Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty, and Bob Dylan who use their voices to make bold statements about the truths they witness in American life — even when they themselves speak from a position of privilege.
So please forgive me if I’m missing the mark here. I will continue to try to grow and be a better ally and fighter for the justices and equal opportunity our country idealizes but has never truly offered.
Finally, I want to mention something else that’s on my mind in light of this song and some of the others Delta Rae writes and performs. I struggle with the line between appropriation and authentic honoring of the musical styles I was raised on. Growing up in Marietta, GA, my first music teachers were black women whose singing styles and teaching materials leaned toward the Black Gospel canon. That music has always spoken to me more and been more emotionally resonant than any other. And I reflect that in the way I write and sing. But taking so much from the innovations, genius, and incredible talents of Black artists runs the risk of becoming appropriation.
I was influenced by Black activists to think that perhaps the best way to grapple with this tension is to dedicate our art and activism to being an ally to Black causes and I try to do that with both Delta Rae and in my personal life, with my voice, my vote, and my dollar. But the truth is with so much history of a tragically tilted playing board for the American dream, it’s hard to know when you’re doing enough or creating a net good.
So I offer this song with humility and in the hopes that white voices calling out the corrosive, actively harmful nature of their privilege might help change it in the end.
Love,
Ian
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Man On Fire
— First Edition Handwritten Lyrics —
for sale now in the Secret Store
