#107 Fathers Sons and Brothers
My father and his older brother William C.
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“Fathers, Sons, and Brothers” is a straightforward song that earnestly and forcefully preaches brotherly love. While it doesn’t add much to the story, it conveys an attitude reset on my part as I got sober and started reflecting on my actions and behavior over the years. I was working on this song when the shocking footage of George Floyd’s death was aired on national networks, and it served as a way for those of us working on this recording to reckon with his death.
The spark for the song came to me after watching a shared video of a boy’s birthday party on social media. When the first piece of cake is sliced, the boy gives it to his little brother as an act of kindness. The little brother, about five years old, bursts into tears because he adores his older brother and is overwhelmed by the kindness and respect shown to him. This made me think of my father, who surely loved his older brother in the same way. When his brother was murdered, it devastated him (see #99 Piney Woods). Although he never really talked to me about his brother’s murder until the last years of his life, I know it was something he carried with him his entire life. It made him forever a little sad, a little sweet, and always on alert or fearful that something terrible could happen.
There is also an interesting backstory here. The recording is a collaboration with a “sibling” band, The Bellrays, who emerged from the same Inland Empire music scene in California. The two principals, Lisa Kekaula (vocals) and Bob Venom (guitars), are long-time family friends. The recording is a reunion of sorts, bringing together not just Lisa and Bob, but members of Cracker and a far-flung cast of musicians I’ve worked with over the years. This was at the height of the COVID lockdowns, so Luke Moller, who arranged and played the strings, sent in his parts from Australia, and Leith Fleming-Smith played that insane keyboard solo from his home in Nova Scotia.
Fathers sons and brothers
Each of us
All of us
Everyone
Fathers sons and brothers
Each of us
All of us
Everyone
A young man filled with pride and vanity
Feeling like I must always compete
Took me way too long to understand
This in my heart
Every man is someone’s father brother or son
Live by this
You will be
Infinitely less an asshole
Father sons and brothers
Each of us
All of us
Everyone
Father sons and brothers
Each of us
All of us
Everyone
Help me reach across the chasm
Help me hear the signal in the noise
Help me put aside
All my pettiness and ego
Every man is someone’s father
Brother or son
Live by this
You will be
Infinitely less an asshole
Fathers sons and brothers
Each of us
All of us
Everyone
Fathers sons and brothers
Each of us
All of us
Everyone
++++++++++++++++++++++
Leith Fleming-Smith: organ
Bryan Howard: bass
Lisa Kekaula: vocals
David Lowery: guitars and vocals
Luke Moller: strings and arrangement
Carlton Owens: drums
Velena Vego: Tambourine and shaker
Bob Venum: guitars and vocals
300 Songs 
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