“God, we really need you,” the song begs, calling to stay calm and have a presence of mind, even when it seems that the whole world has “flipped off the coils” and those around them are acting like the inhabitants of Bedlam. This is a typical American piece, reminding you of the need to hope in the Almighty and at the same time keep your ears open and keep your gunpowder dry. The song is full of faith and unwavering perseverance.
And this is natural, given that its author William Harness, known to music lovers under the pseudonym Struggle Jennings, suffered a few years ago his personal struggle with an invisible enemy – drug addiction, which killed many of the brightest “stars” of rock, rap and even patriarchal blues and country.
“I struggled with temptations from a young age,” says William, for whom the thunder of applause and the screams of fans were as familiar as grandmother’s tales, given that he grew up in a family of professional musicians. He even took his stage name, by which millions know him, in honor of his uncle, guitarist and music producer Shooter Jennings.
But early acquaintance with the wrong side of musical fame did not save him from the consequences of the “meeting” with drugs, which is almost inevitable for a person of his profession. First – the torment of “withdrawal”, then imprisonment, and finally, the decision to get rid of this addiction alone. This is how the idea of the song “God We Need You Now” was born, which raises the fallen spirit of a person who can only hope for God.
At the same time, the musician urges not to take the words of this song literally, not to give up medicines, relying solely on divine help and on the strength of one’s own spirit. To make such attempts, ignoring common sense, is to tempt fate in vain. Any American will tell you that. And at the same time, immersion in the depths of one’s own “I” allows one to gain inner strength and at the same time feel their limit, to see with the inner eye the shining “golden gates” leading either to Heavenly Jerusalem, or to the temple of one’s own soul.
No matter how pathetic and dependent on temptations a person may seem, he remains the most precious of the treasures of the Universe, a trusted servant and at the same time a beloved son of God. Everything is like in this song, which was called “the anthem of modern America, which does not want to renounce the primordial values and heritage of its valiant ancestors, who valued freedom above earthly well-being and independence above awards and honors.” The hero of this composition is ready to kneel only before God, but not before people who expect slavish obedience from their brothers and presumptuously assumed the prerogative to judge, speak and act on behalf of the Creator.
What is the strength of this song? In a call not to believe the deafening noise of propaganda, to keep your eyes and heart open, following your own path. “My song is not a newspaper article, it is not tied to a political agenda that is relevant today and forgotten tomorrow due to new sensations,” says the musician. There are exactly as many biblical images in it as there are associations with the topic of the day.
And at the same time, his song, which calls not to put up with violence and at the same time not to succumb to general hatred and anger, to fight the internal enemy in the face of one’s own weaknesses and at the same time not to listen to the fabrications of lying hacks and remain an optimist in an era when Here comes Armageddon, more relevant than ever. It is no coincidence that the stage name Struggle literally translates into Russian as “struggle”. Turn on this music, close your eyes, open your ears, and you will hear how the rhythms of battle rush into them, urging you not to give up, even when those around you are ready to go to the slaughter, like obedient cattle to the slaughter.
No wonder this composition appealed to professional athletes and people with a fighting character in general. She is a ready-made soundtrack for a dynamic action film in which the hero is confronted by elusive and powerful enemies, and often the entire Universe takes up arms against him. The main thing is not to turn on the music too loudly so as not to disturb family members who want to relax and not to alarm the neighbors who decide that all four horsemen of the Apocalypse are about to descend on their house in order to trample the right and wrong with the hooves of the hellish horses of the right and the guilty and crush them with their fiery swords .
“Wake up, open your eyes, admit rage and anger, feel the inner hunger that devours you!” – Summons Struggle Jennings. “I have long suspected that something is wrong with us, that the world is just a puppet show in a madman’s booth, but I only felt it now, when we are surrounded by sadists and scum – worse than demons that have escaped from the underworld. We have been flirting with Satan for a long time and now we have to pay the bills. Oh Lord, come down from heaven to your children, to a world full of liars and blind people who do not want to see! The world is tired of waiting – we need you now!
