With a message as poignant as it is heartwarming, singer-songwriter Rod Abernethy plunges his listeners into emotional valleys and troughs on “Another Year.”
Videos by American Songwriter
Detailing the hypothetical lives of four different characters, the thesis remains the same, they are all fighting to obtain the privilege of making it through another year.
A woman struggling with homelessness, a handicapped veteran, a couple struggling to pay off medical expenses, a man fleeing his country, the scenario doesn’t matter, we are all fighting to live through another year.
As the 2019 winner of American Songwriter’s Bob Dylan Song Contest, it’s no wonder Abernethy possesses such authentic and emotional lyrical prowess .
Even so, the single works symbiotically with its heartrending music video which visually portrays the lives Abernethy brings to life lyrically. The video serves to further the message of unification which lies only skin deep.
By stripping back status, appearance, upbringing and tribulations, only one element remains intact within all of us: our humanity.
“With the passing of both my parents in recent years, I’ve gotten to know the importance of having friends and family around you. To put it simply, on the streets we may look different but alone we all look the same,” he explains.
Musically, the song is quite understated, which allows the lyrics to truly shine through. It’s clear Abernethy crafted this track from a place of raw sentimentality and hopes to bring out that same sense in others.
In the chorus, a sweeping moment of impassioned relatability, Abernethy sings, “Every face is a mirror / Every face has a name / On the streets we may look different / But alone, we’re all the same.”
This idea of unity, so valuable and necessary in these times of polarization and strife, is so beautifully done.
And alongside the music video, this song echoes peace and breaks down the most important factor of all of our lives: the privilege of living at all.
In the bridge, Abernethy vulnerably touches on his own shortcomings. He shares his past blindness to the truth which lies in front of us during every interaction with any human being ever.
But this song, for him and for all of us, is a step in the right direction.
After all, we’re all just trying to live through another year.
Check out the music video for “Another Year” below and the rest of Abernethy’s affecting album Normal Isn’t Normal Anymore upon release early next year.
