Daylight Up Ahead

I cried on election night
Once in gladness, Once in fear
I tried to get it right
But days of madness
Are surely here

Here we are
Wondering will this never end?
Thunder precedes the storm
But I see daylight up ahead

The mob has won
The damage done
Might last for decades
Might last for years
Lies get spun
We’re riding shotgun
Ace of red spades
He just grinds the gears

Here we are
Wondering will this never end?
Thunder precedes the storm
But I see daylight up ahead

When all our leaders are bottom feeders
When the swamp becomes a bona fide lagoon
And though the job is thankless
We must vanquish all the anguish
We must all be all the change that’s coming soon

In troubled times
When history rhymes
Our moral compass
Is always clear
Been fight or flight
Since election night
But sound the trumpets
Our resistance is near

Here we are
Wondering will this never end?
Thunder precedes the storm
But I see daylight up ahead

I was speaking with a friend about politics (who isn't these days???) when I told him, "You know, I just realized that I cried on election night 2008, and again in 2016, but for totally different reasons!"

I wrote the phrase in my notebook, and kept it percolating for a while. When I finally sat down to write the song, I found it easy to vividly express my overwhelming emotions of angst, ennui and Weltschmerz, along with the reasons for having those feelings (which I was pretty sure were shared by a great many others).

But when it came to the last line of the song's chorus, the optimistic phrase "I see daylight up ahead" just flowed out, most assuredly propelled by my good fortune to have been born with a sunny and buoyant disposition.

The outro of Daylight Up Ahead features a raucous chorus of more than 30 friends and family, gathered together for the occasion, lured by pizza, beer and excitement at being part of the creative process.

Steve Schuster

Steve Schuster