I’ve never played a song on repeat as much as Mandolin Orange’s Wildfire—lyrics by Andrew Marlin. This haunting piece weaves in and out of history through our nation’s fight for independence, the civil war, and the lyricist’s own present-day sorrows.
From the ashes grew sweet liberty
Like the seeds of the pines when the forest burns
They open up to grow and burn again
The harmonies of Andrew Martin and his wife Emily Frantz are truly head & heart-rattling.
This song and these lyrics need to be absorbed…the word my big sister used when she wanted me to lie in the dark and listen to a newly discovered song with her.
Brave men fought with the battle cry
Tears filled the eyes of their loved ones and their brothers in arms
And so it went, for Joseph Warren
It should have been different
It could have been easy
His rank could have saved him
But a country unborn needs bravery
And it spread like wildfire
Wildfire starts with the story of Boston physician and Revolutionary War patriot Joseph Warren, who was killed at Bunker Hill after insisting on fighting as a private, rather than serving as Major General, his recently commissioned rank. —Jody Mace, Glide Magazine (interview link below)
Wildfire
From the ashes grew sweet liberty
Like the seeds of the pines when the forest burns
They open up to grow and burn again
It should have been different
It could have been easy
But too much money rolled in to ever end slavery
The cry for war spread like wildfire
Wildfire
Wildfire
Civil War came, Civil War went
Brother fought the brother, the South was spent
But its true demise was hatred passed down through the years
It should have been different
It could have been easy
But pride has a way of holding too firm to history
And it burns like wildfire
Wildfire
Wildfire
I was a born a southern son
In a small southern town where the rebels run wild
They beat their chests and they swear we’re going to rise again
It should have been different
It could have been easy
The day that old Warren died hate should have gone with him
But here we are caught in the wildfire
Andrew Marlin was born in the small southern town of Warrenton, NC (pop. 862) it was named after Joseph Warren.
Wildfire
Wildfire
Wildfire
Wildfire
It should have been different
It could have been easy
But too much money rolled in to ever end slavery
The cry for war spread like wildfire
Social scientists have long understood race to be a social category invented to justify slavery and evolutionary biologists know the socially constructed racial categories do not align with our biological understanding of genetic variation. The completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 confirmed humans are 99.9% identical at the DNA level and there is no genetic basis for race. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8604262/
NOTE: I created images to represent the way our nation was (or is) stitched together out of vastly different geographies, ideologies, philosophies, and experiences.
NOTE: Mandolin Orange now records and tours as Watchhouse https://www.instagram.com/watchhouseband?hl=en
I knew that I’d find something special over here… struck a chord to be sure. Many thanks!
I appreciate the sentiment of the song, it really moved me, but the half baked explanation about biology and racism as the root of slavery is off track. According to census data 10 to 15% of slave owners were listed as negro, the progenetors of the black slaves were enslaved by African black muslims, who’s descendants til this day in some parts of Africa still practice a form of human bondage. Slavery far predates all racial science going back thousands of years and is a work of the devil. But Christ himself promised in his words to free those in bondage. And it is in obedience to that word that 300,000 men like my great great grandfather gave their last act of devotion to the cause of freedom.
You’re right, it isn’t complete in anyway. However, it does capture some understanding of the contagious nature of hate and racism in only a few minutes time.
That’s all great, but it does not absolve white Americans of their sins around Slavery, Jim Crow and systemic racism. Focusing on a finite time period is ok for a five minute summary. Blaming the Devil and African black muslims is a dodge, but that was likely the point.
No, it doesn’t in any way absolve the behavior. To me this song examined the contagion of hate…here we are caught in the wild fire.