"Oh California" is one of those songs whose meaning continues to change with the changing times. It began as a love song, a road song, a song of hope and belief for a world that so often feels like it’s ending. A rich, warm introduction leads into harmony vocals and guitars that wind and wander around each other, all coming to land in a glorious final chorus.
So much has happened in the three months since we set this release date. We’ve watched as wildfires take lives and homes in Sam’s birthplace of California, in the city where his parents first met. We’ve watched as events in the US and Canada seem to draw our focus away from the future of this planet and our place on it.
In the new light of these events, the song becomes something new: an anthem for the people who refuse to accept the grim fate of the climate emergency with flooding, storms and fires. A song of resilience and to never quit looking for answers wherever they might be found, with a promise to do the same ourselves.
Lyrics
Oh California
Oh California, where are you going in such a rush?
Packing up your things and getting ready for the big push
Maybe it’s time we start running
Time and time and time again
When I met Rosanna
We were 21 years old
Born running out of time, or so we were told
It was all in the papers
Bright lights in the Indiana sky
What are they asking for, or are they just biding time?
Oh California, where are you going in such a rush?
Packing up your things and getting ready for the big push
Maybe it’s time we start running
Time and time and time again
Storms in Kansas
Floods in New Orleans
She was always chasing after the ends of things
Stars were falling
It was headline news
She liked the sound of satellites in the living room
What if we met this head on
Like we were always meant to
Feet in the sand, hair in the wind
Hand in hand, wouldn’t it be something?
Oh California, where are you going in such a rush?
Packing up your things and getting ready for the big push
Maybe it’s time we start running
Time and time
Time and time
Time and time and time again
