American Spirits, a 2022 single by the band Drumming Birds vents displeasure with American society. The first verse tackles a large part of the stereotypical American household– religion. The verse goes as such, “I was raised on a Jesus who was white and prestigious/Said he never would leave our little country behind … So my friend went and shot himself/The Jesus he asked for help/Was probably somewhere else/Said, "son, get in line"”. This criticism of religion not only goes against the Christian Church, it berates one of the pillars that a lot of the younger generation was raised on. The next verse addresses the historical oppression of the Native American people, “I was born in a city built on homes of the Cherokee/And named after Muskogee words to describe … Leave out the stolen land, replace it with Dixieland/And everyone claps their hands and sings its delight”. This blatant call out of misdeeds done by the government and the American people of the time forms a concrete stance against this issue that guarantees that this seemingly relaxed song is in protest. The last significant part of American Spirits is the repeating chorus, “You can try to veneer it/The American spirit/Oh, but something will smear it/Just you give it the time”. The singer ensures the listener that yes, you can try to cover this hard truth with good things, but there will always be another event that ensures the dismantling of that facade.

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