Nostalgia has a way of allowing us to gloss over certain parts of the past. Boston-based singer-songwriter Mark Erelli examines the "good old days" through a different lens on the folk-rocker "Rose-Colored Rearview," the latest release from his forthcoming album Blindsided ( out on March 27 via Soundly Music).
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"Was there a time or was it only in my mind when everything seemed simpler/ and we all sat down for dinner every night," Erelli sings. "Or am I only looking through this rose-colored rearview?"
The song's final verse looks at how privilege plays a role in how you view days gone by.
"I was rewriting and revising the last verse of this song until the morning we tracked on the last day of the recording sessions, which is unusual for me," Erelli tells Wide Open Country. "I wanted to land a bit of a lyrical gut-punch to finish the song, and just couldn't let go until I felt the last verse's visceral impact. Though we certainly have a ways to go to improve things for all colors and creeds, I am fairly certain that longing for the 'good ol' days' is mainly another form of white privilege. I love how this track feels nostalgic and almost like a classic rock song you might have heard before -- until you pay attention to the lyrics.
Listen to "Rose-Colored Rearview" below.
Erelli was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2019 Americana Honors & Awards for his anti-gun violence song "By Degrees," which features Lori McKenna, Josh Ritter, Rosanne Cash, Anais Mitchell and Sheryl Crow.
For more information on Mark Erelli, visit his official website.
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