Denise Glover “Mercy In This Land”
Americana Highways brings you the premiere of Denise Glover’s song “Mercy In This Land,” which is the title track of her forthcoming album. The album was co-produced by Denise Glover, Julian Smedley, and Benjamin Lange. It was recorded, engineered and mixed by Benjamin Lange at Lange Studios with second engineer Cody Ryan Jackson; and it was mastered by Ross Nyberg. This song will be available on June 5.
“Mercy In This Land” is Denise Glover on vocals (lead & choir) and guitar; Cary Black on bass; Benjamin Lange on mandolin and choir vocals; and Julian Smedley on violin and choir vocals.
As Denise Glover tells us about the song, “‘Mercy in This Land’ comes from a place of compassionate concern for the dehumanizing that many have been subjected to due to current US immigration policies. Specifically, I wrote this song with a focus on farmworkers, the people that grow the food of America—a good portion of whom are migrants. I envisioned a couple hiding out in the fields, trying to avoid detection. What could that be like for them? I imagined that they would be terrified, but being in the land of opportunity and supposed love-thy-neighbor sentiment, they might hold out hope for help. They might call out for mercy, the way the land calls out for rain when parched. We don’t actually know how their story ends, their future is unclear.
“This song went through several key stages of development (including a partial rebuild) to arrive at its current form. The pastoral opening was the brilliant idea of co-producer and violinist Julian Smedley. The recording of the vocal choir for the song came from three voices recorded in stereo and sourced from several different locations in the main recording room of the studio.”
Beautifully plucked strings create a natural setup for this song, as it launches with “open skies, no rain in sight, you and I hiding in the moonlight. All we have is our hands all we know ties to this land….” The choir is heavenly and reverent and the message is profound: “on our knees in these troubled fields, how can it be? This land has lost mercy.”
Find more details and information here on her website: https://www.deniseglovermusic.com