The 80-year-old soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples has been busy lately; her last album, We Get By, came out less than a year ago. Today, Staples has released a new single called “All In It Together” as a fundraiser for My Block, My Hood, My City, a Chicago nonprofit dedicated to helping seniors who are dealing with the coronavirus. Staples co-wrote the song with Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy, her frequent collaborator, and it’s a plea for all of society to pull together to help each other out.
“All In It Together” is an old-timey, folksy acoustic song. The lyrics are self-explanatory: “I gave up on hating you just for hating me.” Tweedy adds guitar, bass, and backing vocals, and the contributing musicians include vocalist Kelly Hogan and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche.
In a statement, Staples says:
The song speaks to what we’re going through now — everyone is in this together, whether you like it or not. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, what race or sex you are, where you live… It can still touch you. It’s hit so many people in our country and around the world in such a horrible way, and I just hope this song can bring a little light to the darkness. We will get through this, but we’re going to have to do it together. If this song is able to bring any happiness or relief to anyone out there in even the smallest way, I wanted to make sure that I helped to do that.
Listen to “All In It Together” below:
“All In It Together” is out now on ANTI-.