You may have heard about it by now, but Neil Young is about to release a new record entitled, I believe, “Life with War.” As you might expect from the title, it’s supposed to be political in nature. Word is that the first track is called “Impeach the President.” Well, a few days ago, one of the singers hired to do backup vocals on the single left a post on her website about the experience. Here’s a clip:

…On Wednesday, I was at work when I got a call for a Neil Young session the next day. Needless to say, I was excited about it - Neil Young is one of my musical heroes. When my husband and I got to Capitol, we found 98 other singers, a collection of L.A.’s finest. All I knew was that we were singing on a new Neil Young record, but when the lyrics we were supposed to sing flashed on the giant screen, a roar went up from the choir. I’m not going to give the whole thing away, but the first line of one of the songs was “Let’s impeach the President for lyin’!” Turns out the whole thing is a classic beautiful protest record. The session was like being at a 12-hour peace rally. Every time new lyrics would come up on the screen, there were cheers, tears and applause. It was a spiritual experience. I can’t believe my good fortune at being a part of this…

Let’s hope it packs the same kind of wallop that his song “Ohio” did in the wake of the tragic events that unfolded on the campus of Kent State in May of 1970… “Ohio” was released just ten days after members of the US National Guard killed four unarmed students during a peace protest. It’s taken him a bit longer this time out, but it’s better late than never. Of course, some will say that since he still maintains Canadian citizenship, he doesn’t deserve to have an opinion (in spite of the fact that he lives here, pays taxes, etc). To that, I say, thank god we’ve got at least one cantankerous, old Canadian living among us who isn’t terrified to do what few else will and speak the truth. I wish we had a hundred more like him. (note: Here’s an interesting fact that I just picked up tonight. Young’s father was a well-regarded Canadian journalist.) So, buy the record when it comes out, and help the single some radio play. It’s your patriotic duty.