There is always an urgency in singer-songwriter Christopher Paul Stelling‘s voice. Regretfully in the case of his latest track, “Bad Guys”, the urgency is real…and seasoned with a bit of fear and anger as well. But it makes for a hell of an impassioned and immediately relevant song.
In a world where we have seemingly lost the edge that came in the folk realm of the past, with politically charged songs of the sins of special interests and government, Stelling’s voice is a beacon in the fog. The passion and energy that he sinks into each and everyone of his performances is on full tilt on this new song. A drawling, swampy blues guitar sets the stage for the song as CPS quick-fires a narrative of the evils we have seen in recent times and that we cannot be complacent, we absolutely cannot be comfortable and accept any sort of defeat. And CPS sure as hell isn’t lying down as the tension builds and the building pressure in his voice is on the brink of exploding.
This tune is a calling to remind us that just because events transpire and outcomes are what they are, we can change the series of events that follow. The battle may be lost, but the war is not over yet…and the resilience and power of the human spirit can indeed overcome the evils of the world. We are all the same, we are in this together…let’s not let the bad guys win. Christopher, thank you for this.
“The darkness has taken over again, let us not forget that we are merely children of men,
the only thing worse than original sin is the knowledge that the bad guys always win”.