If anything, this song is more relevant now than it was when we recorded it.

Note: Some links in this post lead to products in our band’s online store, The Reign Store. Proceeds support the band, which I’m a part of.

In the late ’80s or early ’90s, when I wrote the lyrics, we were at the tail end of the Moral Majority + Reagan/Bush years, and the racism intertwined in all that — welfare queens, Willie Horton, Bob Jones University — was clearly on my mind.

It was bad, for sure, but GOP/Religious Right support for state-sponsored terror was a bit more subtle than it is today.

I’ve written about my surprise at white Evangelical support for Trump, though the further along we get, the more I understand how foolishly naive I was. That said, their continued support in the face of ICE’s unconstitutional, not to mention murderous, campaign still baffles me.

Add to that the “Don’t Tread on Me” crowd, who — after cries of “tyranny” over masks during the pandemic — seem to have switched over to “Comply or Die”… Well, our song echoes pretty hard right now.

That said, I’m a little embarrassed at the way I used Jane Austen’s title. Pride and Prejudice is a complex formulation, exploring both how these problematic ways of viewing the world are inextricably linked as well as the ways they interact at personal, interpersonal, and societal levels. Looking back, it feels kind of cheap to flatten the phrase the way I did.

Still, it’s got some good parts. I like how the chorus shifts to 7/4 time, and I especially like how, toward the end, Doug (the drummer) plays straight four over those seven, creating a kind of stammering rotation. I like that kind of thing.

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credits

Here are the lyrics, if you’re interested.

Written by The Reign.

• Greg Kemble: Lead and background vocals, guitars
• Curtis Holtzen: Bass
• Doug Lada: Drums
• Travis Sheets: Keys, vocals
• David Hackbarth: Recording engineer (RIP, Dave)
• Marc DeSisto: Mixing engineer

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Better Late than Neverland is available on vinyl, CD, and digital download through The Reign Store. It’s also available for purchase digitally through Amazon and iTunes (through Apple Music).

The album and individual songs are available to stream on YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other streaming services. (You can find them on YouTube, too, but if you’re not a Premium subscriber, it will serve you ads….)

lyrics and Liner Notes

(I’ll update this list as I complete blog posts…)

Side One	Side Two
Strip: Lyrics  — Liner Notes Long Shadow: Lyrics — Liner Notes Hold Me Now: Lyrics — Liner Notes Pride & Prejudice: Lyrics — Liner Notes	Wall St. Wisdom: Lyrics — Liner Notes