Americana singer-songwriter Dulcie Taylor lives in Atascadero, California, almost exactly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Here she has a great view over the entire Golden State, and she’s worried about what’s going on. Because of this, she’s put her voice to song, with ‘Halfway To Jesus’, her message to the world, where she asks us to confront the destructive consequences of our actions.
Dulcie, who in her 18 year career has opened for the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Asleep At The Wheel, and Jerry Lee Lewis, is no stranger to controversial topics. One of her previous releases, ‘When The Cherokee Roamed’, was a standout from her album, ‘Wind Over Stone’, and both an expression of compassion about the plight of Native Americans, and a challenge for those who’ve inherited their continent. Her urgency in that song however was not quite so strong, nor so passionate, as in ‘Halfway To Jesus’.
The video for ‘Halfway To Jesus’ opens with a storm, where we’re shown images of floods, hurricanes, melting glaciers, and forest fires. The idea had previously been that these were all “one in a thousand years” catastrophes, but now they seem to be happening every year – it seems the devastation is accellerating at a phenomenal rate. While playing, appropriately for her name, a dulcimer, Taylor sings of encroaching peril, while tipping her cap to California governor Jerry Brown, known for his outspoken advocacy of action against climate change. When he speaks, Taylor’s video suggests, we ought to listen.
You can find out more about Dulcie Taylor from her official website.
