According to Rolling Stone, David was working on his third album, Gestureland, way back in January, when they dropped in on him. Back then, he was recording his anti-Trump song while lamenting with the lyrics “stupid orange man in a cheap red hat.”
“I probably wrote that song with [bandmate] Colin [Lee] well over a year ago,” he says. “Sadly, it’s a little prophetic at this point — I’m not happy about that. [The song wasn’t] going off of any specific activities; it wasn’t a comment directly on any specific actions. It was simply a snapshot of, for me, my state of mind, and then what I saw as the state of mind of the country. My approach to lyrics is kind of vague in that way, as much as I love [Neil Young’s] ‘Ohio.'”
Based on his own words, he decided to release the song before the election on purpose. “I guess I just kind of wanted to go on record. I mean, not that it’s any act of bravery at this point. … I can’t change anyone’s mind. I understand people that vote for Trump. I understand people that vote for Biden. … I really don’t understand [the undecided voters]. I don’t know how to speak to somebody that hasn’t made up their mind at this point. I mean, to me, that’s a fascinating state of mind to be in. Like, ‘Wow, really?'”
“I probably wrote that song with [bandmate] Colin [Lee] well over a year ago,” he says. “Sadly, it’s a little prophetic at this point — I’m not happy about that. [The song wasn’t] going off of any specific activities; it wasn’t a comment directly on any specific actions. It was simply a snapshot of, for me, my state of mind, and then what I saw as the state of mind of the country. My approach to lyrics is kind of vague in that way, as much as I love [Neil Young’s] ‘Ohio.'”
Based on his own words, he decided to release the song before the election on purpose. “I guess I just kind of wanted to go on record. I mean, not that it’s any act of bravery at this point. … I can’t change anyone’s mind. I understand people that vote for Trump. I understand people that vote for Biden. … I really don’t understand [the undecided voters]. I don’t know how to speak to somebody that hasn’t made up their mind at this point. I mean, to me, that’s a fascinating state of mind to be in. Like, ‘Wow, really?'”