Photo courtesy of Cody Encinas

As a writer, John Flanagan believes that a good song is a good song no matter when that song is released. When he wrote the song “Freedom” for his folk-pop duo with Ashley Morgan, Faultlines, the United States was already experiencing enough darkness. They placed it on the back burner for a brighter day.

Enduring a global pandemic as a full-time artist meant watching an entire livelihood disappear overnight. As the months dragged on, moments to reflect became moments to address. Creatives in any medium took that opportunity to try to make sense of the madness. Faultlines chose “Freedom” as their contribution to the ongoing conversations.

“I remember it being said that there were more protests in 2020 than the nation had seen since the 60s,” Flanagan said. “People realized - once they had five seconds to think - that things aren’t right in America. We saw the police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (along with countless others) and the surge in the Black Lives Matter movement. The disparaging income inequality between our billionaire oligarchy class and people, like me, who needed to go on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance was highlighted by the shutdown. The rich got richer off of all the death, while the average person helplessly watched their savings drain.”

Flanagan compares releasing “Freedom” to the television series Black Mirror. Creator Charlie Brooker held off on writing season six of the show as he believed his audience could use a break from the darkness. Flanagan agreed with that thought process, and wanted to make sure that he wasn’t taking away the spotlight from voices that needed to be heard.

Morgan rediscovered the demo of “Freedom” shortly after The Covenant School in Nashville was devastated by a school shooting in 2023. It seemed that no matter how long they held on to this song, it was going to remain relevant. It was important to them to get the song right.

They kept the original lyrics from four years ago and added a bridge that focuses on the band’s harmonies. Originally, the bridge focused on overlapping “ohs” but seemed to fall short on Flanagan’s vision. It was beautiful, but it was still missing something.

“The song didn’t build to the final chorus and ad libs with the power I wanted,” he said. “I remember driving in frustration over Laurel Canyon after what was supposed to be our last session when a lightbulb went off, and I realized that all we needed was a vocal build on the word “freedom”. It was so easy - as most fixes usually are - and I recorded a voice note to send to Ashley and our producer, David Kidd. A week later, the song was ready to go.”

Mixing politics with music was frowned upon for decades. For Faultines, this is their soapbox. They formed a folk band because that is the genre that connects most to forming opinions and engaging in a dialogue that could change those opinions. Flanagan believes in the concept of, “if you want to change someone’s mind, you’ve got to get inside their head”, and that there is no better way to do that than with a song. He asks, “Doesn’t everyone walk around with a melody stuck in their head all day?”

“If ‘Freedom’ can be that melody, if people can be inspired to question and call out their leaders because of something I said, then good! And given the choice between writing another distracting and fluffy song, or one that can create change, I chose the latter.”

“Freedom” is undeniably political, but Flanagan doesn’t believe it is partisan. It is a song born out of a time that is both unlike anything the country has ever seen and a discourse that has been seen time and time again.

“As we narrow the political field this fall, I don’t think it is a coincidence that Kamala Harris’ campaign song and platform is ‘freedom’,” he said. “There is a lingering question in the American subconscious which asks: who is this country for? Do some deserve more freedom than others? Do we bow to wealth and christofascism or do we choose policies of equity and love? So what do I hope listeners will take away from the song? Vote! Vote with compassion, with empathy and with a thoughtful conscience that sees beyond party lines to the values of the individual who deserves your check mark!”