Sully Erna – No One Should Play God With Freedom of Speech

There’s no doubt that political discourse has impacted most of our live more prominently over the last few elections and through the pandemic. But through it all, Godsmack’s Sully Erna has one clear message that he wants to get out there. He’s proud of his country. In fact, it’s that reflection of the U.S. that has inspired the new Godsmack song, “Red, White and Blue” off their Lighting Up the Sky album.

Erna opened up to Loudwire Nights‘ Kevin Vargas in an extensive track-by-track breakdown surrounding the new Lighting Up the Sky album. Discussing the patriotic connotations of the song’s title and the inspiration behind the track, Erna explained, “Listen, we’ve lived through some crazy years recently and that song is the next piece of the puzzle. As a person, we’ll just call it a third person for now even though we all know that these songs are written about things that have affected me on a personal level, good or bad.”

“After we’ve talked about finding love in your life, I wanted to talk about the times that we’re living in as we go through some of this stuff. And it really is a reflection of realizing what a great country we live in and how proud we are of it, even through our faults,” Erna continues. “It’s part of our history and it’s helped us grow to be better people. With the exception of the extremists, there’s way more good people in this planet than there are bad. It’s just that bad people bark a little more louder and we stay a little bit more reserved and quiet because we’re human and humane.”

The singer admits that there has been some pretty loud barking in recent years, which inspired him to write the song. The song does include the lyrics, “I never thought I’d say / One day I’d question my faith / To a country that made me / What I am today,” but then he strengthens his resolve singing, “And the times keep changing / And the world is screaming / All the lies keep ringing through / But I still stand by you / One side for the never / Oh, and the other stands right / The only colors that stand true / Are the red, white, and blue, so I stand by you.”

“Part of it was in my frustration of being tired of hearing either side, the extremists on either side of the fence here, but I’m just making a statement to say I’m proud of this country, I’m proud of the flag, I’m proud of what it represents, I’m proud of the constitution, and I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to play God and silence us when what we hold pride to is our freedom of speech,” concludes the vocalist.

“Red White and Blue” is featured on Godsmack’s new album, Lighting Up the Sky, which is out now. You can pick up the record in physical and digital formats here and look for the band back out on tour this spring.

To see more of Godsmack’s Sully Erna breaking down the songs on the Lighting Up the Sky album with Loudwire Nights‘ host Kevin Vargas, check out the full video below. Loudwire Nights airs nightly starting at 7PM ET. You can tune in anytime, from anywhere right here or by downloading the Loudwire app.

Godsmack’s Sully Erna Breaks Down Lighting Up the Sky Songs With Loudwire Nights‘ Kevin Vargas

Godsmack, “Red White and Blue”