I originally wrote this song on Donald Trump's first inauguration day, on January 20 2017. I was at Deer Park Monastery at the time, and the song arose very organically when I was sitting in meditation in the Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall (aka the Big Hall) that morning. It was Lazy Morning at Deer Park that day, which meant there was no group sitting, so I was sitting solo in the Big Hall.

I made a couple of small lyrical edits to the song this morning, on January 20, 2025. Today is the second inauguration day of Donald Trump, and I wonderfully find myself once again stationed at Deer Park Monastery. I recorded this song early this morning, in the Moon Over Mountain Peak Meditation Hall (aka the Small Hall) in Solidity Hamlet.

Lyrics:

Sweet people, of this great country

living in poverty or comfort, I bid to you nonfear

on this day of our inauguration

if your heart calls out for someone else to lead us

Sweet people, of this great country

living in poverty or comfort, I bid to you openness

on this day of our inauguration

if your heart calls out in triumph for our newly elected head of command

The tides are shifting, not just today but in every moment

Our tomorrow is built upon what we do today

And right now, the dawn is ringing in a new morning

thick with the sound of birds and rain*

*When I originally wrote this song in 2017, the sky was just starting to alight and the birds were starting to sing and there was a gentle rain falling outside