Singled Out: The Kennedys' The Sky Doesn't Look Right

08-28-2023

The Kennedys just released their new album "Headwinds," and to celebrate Maura Kennedy tells us about the song "The Sky Doesn't Look Right". Here is the story:

I like to write about what's in front of me, and I like to observe from all angles. What was in front of us during the pandemic years was a lot of sky and the Hudson River. In April of 2020, we had moved out of the East Village apartment we'd lived in for the better part of 20 years, and up the train line to a place on a bluff high above the river. From our vantage point, we could see storms coming across the river, and we could see three whole towns from that height. In contrast, looking out our New York City window, we could see the building next to us, so this new, broad view of the sky and surroundings was something we noticed on a daily basis. And, of course, we had more time to notice these things during the shutdown. Sky and river, and the environment in general, figure into several of the songs on the new album "Headwinds," especially on "The Sky Doesn't Look Right."

We had been watching a storm move in, and I thought: what if those weren't just storm clouds, but fallout from a nuclear disaster? That's where the idea came from - it's a scary look into an anxious future.

Fast forward to this summer, when we saw many days shrouded in thick smoke from Canadian wildfires. It frightened me to consider how I wasn't that far off, and that, while the current disaster was natural, it's largely the result of man-made climate change.

As a singer, I depend on air - of course we all do. But that is my fuel. So this song, like the Canadian wildfire shroud, is a warning that if we don't take drastic steps to reverse the damage that's already been done, the next disaster may be our last.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here