Adapted from “The Michael Knowles Show,” January 13, 2024.
Today’s song is by my friend, Tom Macdonald, and features Nova Rockafeller. It has gotten 8.4 million views.
Though the song was released in 2024, its lyrics are certainly timely now. In the second line of the song, he sings, “The streets are full of fire and smoke.” It is as though he is referring to the California wildfires, which just began last week.
Tom engages an older tradition of popular music and poetry. The older tradition to which he harkens back is one of works written by poets and musicians that are going to stand as a testament for all time, eternal musings on profound truths. Much of the history of popular music and certainly of poetry involves punditry. In this tradition, music and poetry responded to particular political affairs of the time. Even Dante, my favorite poet, does this. In some ways, Dante is a commentator, a pundit. In the “Divine Comedy,” he writes about contemporary Florentine political figures, continental European political figures, and even the pope. So Tom is partaking in a long-standing tradition — to air his political grievances in real time.
He ends the song with the line, “Burn someone else’s flag” — a recurring notion in this song. The image that he creates at the beginning is our country being on fire. He is pointing out there is a relationship between the symbol and the symbolized. He is connecting the people who regularly burn the American flag — their policies, their neglect, their hatred of our home — has led to the literal burning of our country.
He continues returning to the line, “We love our home.” This is probably my favorite line in the whole song: “We love our home. And if you don’t / Pack your bags, you’re free to go.” This is not the ideological patriotism of the liberals, or even the libertarians — despite the Gadsden flag and “don’t tread on me” references. The song says we love our home.
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Now, why do I love America? I love America, not because of the Declaration of Independence, nor because of some law that was passed at some point. I love America because it is my country, because it is my home.
I started Mayflower Cigars because the brand relates to my family, to a true feeling of home going back to the year 1620, to a deeper form of patriotism than can be written in some manifesto. I do not agree with everything the pilgrims believed. In fact, there is much that the pilgrims believed with which I do not agree. And though they were really smart fellows, I do not agree with everything the Founding Fathers believed. But I love them because they are my forebearers, my ancestors; they helped build my country — and I love my home.
Notably, my home is different from your home. But it is good to love one’s home simply because it is one’s home. It is good to have care for one’s home simply because it is one’s home. The late philosopher Roger Scruton wrote about the love of home, the same love of home that Tom is referring to here. It is deeper than any Gadsden flag or political slogan on the Left or Right.
These passing ideologues who want to burn our country down come and go, but we are still here. So, “goodbye Joe.” We are going to remain here, and we are going to defend our homes.
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