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All proceeds to Fair Fight.
From Mick:
Since I can remember, news of America has been talked about in Ireland. There is a storyed connection between the two nations. In 2018 I wrote a song called "Rosaleen", a song to Ireland, in which I tried to make sense of a person's relationship to the state in which they live. The song "Minnesota" has a similar theme, inspired by what, in the news at least, appears to be an evermore fractured and polarised American society.
It is written from a female perspective which is one reason I asked Anaïs Mitchell to sing the song, aside from the fact that I’ve been a fan of Anaïs’ work for many years now. She being an American citizen also gives her voice better authority than mine.
I wondered what it must be like for someone who grew up in the U.S. to see the ever-changing face of the nation, as the generations passed, as attitudes progressed and changed, as troubles old and new emerged and re-emerged. A nation being composed of individuals in relationship to each other is what I wanted to evoke, so the narrator refers to the state itself as a "Mother" and later a "Daughter", and thus takes on the hopes and dreams of this complex character.
When Anais suggested that funds go to the Fair Fight association it felt very fitting. If a nation committed to democracy is indeed to reflect the voice of its citizens then it ought to do so to the very best of its ability.
I am very grateful to all involved in the making of this recording, special thanks to Anaïs and to Christian Best.
From Anaïs:
The Irish songwriter Mick Flannery is one of my very favorite writers in the world. I would sing any song he asked, but was especially moved to sing ‘Minnesota’. I just gave birth to my second child and I connect deeply with that watershed feeling of going from daughter to mother. Part of it is the realization that no one else is going to fix things for us; the trouble, the mess, the responsibility is ours. America is “a growing child”. Everybody please vote!
supported by 12 fans who also own “Minnesota Feat. Anaïs Mitchell”
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