It was the time of the preacher in the year of ’01/ now the preaching is over and the lesson’s begun.

The words are from The Time Of The Preacher the opening track to Willie Nelson‘s seminal 1975 album, ‘Red Headed Stranger.’ I found myself thinking about that song this week. It formed a significant part of the soundtrack to the brilliant Edge of Darkness when a grieving Bob Peck finds himself trying to unpick what might have led to the death of his daughter. A compelling political conspiracy ensued. It’s still worth watching too.

In these highly charged times of national soul searching it seems appropriate to flag up a few political songs in this week’s blog. Maybe it’s the atmosphere or perhaps it’s simply desperate times but I’m encountering a few country records where some significant artists are wearing their country hearts on their checkered shirt sleeves