American Songwriter Talks Inspiration and Activism With ‘Inspired By Jane’ Artists Bishop Briggs, Lily Meola, and Nightly

American Songwriter Membership hosted Bishop Briggs, Lily Meola, and Nightly for an exclusive event about “Inspiration, Activism, and Songwriting.” 

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Each of them wrote and recorded songs for the new EP Inspired By Jane, out April 18th. Jane is a live-action children’s TV series on Apple Plus, produced by the Jane Goodall Institute that honors Dr. Jane Goodall’s mission by raising awareness of endangered species.

“Inspired by Jane” is a companion EP full of new music by artists who each have a unique personal tie to encouraging action to preserve the environment and its animals. The following is an excerpt from our interview.  You might just get inspired by what Bishop Briggs, Nightly, and Lily Meola had to say about their process!

An Exclusive American Songwriter Interview With Nightly, Lily Meola, and Bishop Briggs

AS: Everyone has their own tie to this project. Tell us about your song, its background, and its place in the overall message and meaning of the show.

BISHOP BRIGGS: The song that my husband and I wrote together is called “In Your Eyes”. My husband is a musician as well, so it kind of worked out and he’s the one that produced it. I think the biggest mission really was to convey the connection that Dr. Jane Goodall has with animals. And, I think a big part of her connection that I’ve gathered from hearing her speak and the way she navigates the world is she really understands that animals have emotions. They just don’t have the ability to articulate in the same way that we do.

When I first heard about the project, my first instinct was this idea of in your eyes. And I didn’t know if that would be a lyric, if that would be, you know, the chorus, the title, something, maybe even just the theme. But this idea of, like, when you look in their eyes, that’s when you see all the messages. That’s when you see all the stories untold and the pain and the sorrow and all the things that need to be changed about the world. So I wanted to encompass that in some way.

LILY MEOLA: When this opportunity arose, I obviously have always been in awe of Jane Goodall and everything that she’s done. And I went and watched the show. I know it’s a kids’ show, but it was honestly really fascinating. 

I wish something like that was around when I was growing up. It was so informative, but also really fun and interesting. And I just think it’s going to be amazing for this up-and-coming generation to be able to tap into caring about the things around us and have a better understanding of that.

What I really took away from it was that we’re all just here on this planet, and we got to take care of it, and we got to share it because it’s not only ours, and we got to treat it with love and respect because it’s all that we have. And so that’s kind of where the inspiration for the song came from.  It talks about there’s a chimpanzee on the front porch swing, and the kitchen’s full of lemon trees, and out back there’s a waterfall. It just talks about how we’re all just here together. And sometimes I think we lose sight of that.

NIGHTLY: We were really pumped about getting the opportunity to be a part of this collaboration. And so when we were in talks, there were some quotes that were kind of thrown around from, you know, Dr. Jane and and others in the show. So we were kind of working in those parameters of finding inspiration from things that she said and [did] and trying to apply that in the musical format, you know, with a song that feels maybe applicable or more universal to our audience, that also is connected with the TV show.

We were super inspired by the monarch butterfly. I was searching the internet:  “What kind of sound does a monarch butterfly make?” And they actually do make a sound. It’s called a waterfall. It’s like when millions of them all fly at once.

So in the beginning of the song, there’s like this noise that goes throughout the whole song. That’s actually a sound capture of a waterfall. And it is throughout the whole song in the background. That kind of help had us in the right direction of [sic] the production of it. There’s a lot of sounds that go throughout it that are supposed to mimic that.

AS: Did you have something prepared, or did you write this song specifically to the prompt of being used in the TV series?

BRIGGS: No, not at all. And I will say, if you listen to the track at the beginning,

There are these sounds that are in the background that really are supposed to be as if you’re immersed in nature. You hear birds and you hear a stream far away. And, I have a little two-year-old. And, as you can imagine, The Lion King is ever present. For our household currently, it’s just the soundtrack and something that I noticed in the music. This is from the version that’s in the 90s, by the way.

But something that I noticed is that they use these natural sounds that make you feel as though you are there in whatever environment. And for me, that makes me feel a lot more connected to the earth and in such a particular way. Even in “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” There are sounds of cicadas in the background and just these little things that I think make a really big difference when you’re trying to describe an environment that you’re not necessarily in at that precise moment.

MEOLA: I had a day with a couple of incredible producers and writers and brought in this project. And everyone had their own heartfelt side to this story and wanted to be a part of it. So it was really special. And, yeah, we talked about all sorts of different concepts and how we could spin it, but, just kept going back to, you know, “this is all of our home.”

The people that I worked with on it are incredible humans and also incredible writers: Steve Solomon, David Hodges, and Melissa Fuller, who I write most of my songs with. We’re like a little pair. It’s so sweet. She’s they’re all so amazing.

And honestly, it was really fun. It also made us take a moment to think about the important things. Sometimes, you know, we all get lost in our day-to-day and we don’t think about that. And so it was nice to spend some time really focusing on it.

AS: Do you consider yourself an advocate or an activist in any way in your general life or as an artist?

BRIGGS: Well, I hope so. I mean, I definitely am an advocate for my baby on the playground. It gets crazy on the playground, you know? But I think the way that I move through the world is always with that in mind. I mean, for my own personal music, my goal has always been for people to feel less alone. I think people get really overwhelmed at the idea of being an advocate or anything like that because they feel as though they’re not making a big enough impact.

But I really think, in this modern day, even just doing these things that feel so small, comparatively to whatever we’re seeing online, I think those things make a big impact. Even if it’s just internally in your smaller community. I think those really transcend, at least I hope. I hope it does.

MEOLA: I grew up in Hawaii, and it’s a really fragile ecosystem there. And so I think that seeing how much things can have an effect on different things has made me, you know, a little bit more charged up to want to take care of our surroundings. And also just growing up in nature. I love animals, I love the outdoors. I guess I wouldn’t say that I’m a very gung-ho activist, but it’s definitely within me. And I do a lot of things with different conservation projects and stuff. 

NIGHTLY: I saw another artist do a tour, which they had partnered with Charity Water and played one of the videos. And it was just like a really powerful moment, you know? So then we had the opportunity to partner with them as well. And it was cool. They’ve done water projects in over 29 different countries. And hundreds of thousands of people’s lives have been changed by getting clean water. And that is just something that we can take for granted here in the US.

I don’t know if I would consider us like activists as much as, like, just people who try to do our best with what’s put in front of us. I think we just do the best with what we have, whether it’s being able to partner with Charity Water, being a part of this soundtrack or our own little environmental, contributions like, one of the things is our last vinyls that we had made, there’s always like leftover batch vinyls from other people’s projects, and we were able to use some of those recycled vinyls on ours and make each vinyl a unique piece. But it was using, you know, materials that were otherwise going to be thrown out.

So just little things like that. We try to do our best with what we can in our own backyards. And sometimes our backyards are on tour, and sometimes they’re our literal backyards when we’re in Nashville.

AS: What are some other artists, songwriters, or bands that you feel like are doing a great job of keeping their missions and awareness integrated into their work?

BRIGGS: I think a huge one would be Billie Eilish with “Ocean Eyes”. That’s one of her early songs that came out. And I’ve noticed that she has really used that song for environmental purposes continuously throughout her career. It feels like there’s always been a very distinct focus on the message.

Another great one is Cyndi Lauper and it’s actually for unhoused LGBTQ communities. And she does a lot of work with them. I’ve done some things with her.

NIGHTLY: Coldplay, definitely. They’re the best. They’ve always worn their advocacies on their sleeve. But there are also people, you know, who are advocating for songwriters’ rights and donating portions of proceeds to various things. So, I mean, there’s a ton of people doing great stuff.

MEOLA: Growing up, Joni Mitchell was my idol. And, she has the song [lyrics] “Pave paradise and put up a parking lot.” You know, she’s doing a lot of really, really forward things.

AS: Any advice to folks who want to be more vocal, either in their writing or using their own platform?

BRIGGS: We can do so much with visuals these days. I mean, I think having any sort of visual element to your music, if you want that messaging to be distinctly about that. But I will say, a big thing that I do is if I’m wanting to be in business with someone or I’m currently in business with someone, I always try and just bring up the question of like, “What’s a charitable angle we can add to this?”

Even if it’s like five percent of sales, like “What’s something we could do?” And that way the messaging is always out there. I just went on tour and we had everyone bring unopened toys and gift cards. And then when we went to the local hospitals, we could give all of that. It was so sweet to see their reaction. And then we worked with Toys For Tots at some of the locations. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

Previously, when I have brought up these things, there’s always been some logistical pushback. And it was really exciting this time around working with people who are like, “Hey, there’s definitely logistical pushback, but let’s work with the venues. Let’s do anything we can to really make this happen, make this work.”And also like, find out what you’re passionate about and what is working for you.

I think in such a beautiful way, I feel like this, like the generation that’s coming up, they are passionate about all the things. And I think that can make them feel quite overwhelmed and feel as though they can’t do anything. And so I think even if it’s just honing in on one of those passions and going from there.

MEOLA: I just love that Jane [Goodall] has dedicated her entire life to this and I just think that that is the most selfless thing somebody can do. And I just really commend her for it. And it’s an honor to be even just like a tiny little fraction of the wonder that she is bringing to this world.

Not everyone has the capacity to dive into a purpose or a mission, you know, like this with their entire being, but being able to do what they can is a place to start.

NIGHTLY: The whole idea of the song and the message of “Jane” is like, you have more power to, you know, create change within yourself than you think. You know, don’t underestimate that.

Bishop Briggs, Lily Meola, and Nightly joined us in the American Songwriter Membership Hub. To watch the full episode, become a member and get access to exclusive content, including access to the songwriters behind hit songs by Ed Sheeran, Bonnie Raitt, Morgan Wallen, Guns N’ Roses, and more. Plus, members can explore exclusive content, events, giveaways, tips, and a community of songwriters and music lovers. 

Featured image by Zach Pigg, photo of Bishop Briggs by Christina Bryson