To Churn The Soil (El Warren, 2018)
We’re hiding in the weeds
We’re hiding in the weeds under a wall
That wall is ten feet high
That wall is ten feet higher than it was yesterday

I say it’s time to dig
Deep
Into the deep dark soil
Deep
Cause it’s our job
To churn the soil and take it underground
Yeah, it’s our job
To churn the soil and take it underground

We’re hiding in the leaves
We’re hiding in the leaves under a wall
That wall is ten feet high
That wall is ten feet higher than it was yesterday



I say it’s time to dig
Deep
Into the deep dark soil
Deep

Cause it’s our job
To churn the soil and take it underground
Yeah, it’s our job
To churn the soil and take it underground (x4)

To Churn the Soil is the first song on El Warren's 4th album, Just a Little More. El Warren combines a rich baritone with a wide breadth of layered guitars (12-string acoustic, electric and bass guitars).  He isheavily influenced by melodic but off-kilter rock music from the 1960s through contemporary times: Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen, The Feelies, Wilco, Sufjan Stevens, Neko Case, Camper Van Beethoven, Grateful Dead, M Ward, etc, but also alt-country performers such as the Jayhawks, James McMurtry, and the like. Warren's  lyrics range from hyper-personal to hyper political. To Churn the soil is an explicitly anti-nationalist song calling on us to dismantle borders and fight for the rights of poor migrants worldwide.