We recently featured Saint Nick the Lesser as he cemented his “hope-core” sound with the intentional and profound single, Anne-Marie, so when we heard that the unique and talented artist was back with God Bless, we were curious and couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
Drawing us in with a strummed acoustic guitar with a high octane, boundless energy, and textured drums, Saint Nick the Lesser opens God Bless with a playful timbre and the poignant lyrics, “Every night I pray to God and thank the heaven’s up above that someone’s watching over me, oh yeah, and each night I lay down my head I fall asleep so grateful that the Lord above has given me this gift, I know I’m not alone cause they wiretapped my phone… God bless the NSA…”
God Bless has a fun and energetic energy, like something we might hear at a lively church service, but it’s actually making fun of the way the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) watches people. Saint Nick the Lesser pretends to be thankful for the NSA, but in essence he is really being sarcastic.
The star talks about praying and feeling safe because someone is “watching over” them, but they mean government spies, not angels. The song points out how strange it is that the government says they protect our freedom, but they’re always watching us, taking away our privacy. It’s like saying, “You’re safe, but only because you’re being watched all the time.” In the end, it warns that too much control, even if it’s supposed to help, can feel like living in a cage.
What Saint Nick the Lesser is manifesting with God Bless is a subversive commentary with an unapologetic punk energy at a time when we need it the most. Peace comes from independence, but how can we, as a society, feel secure in our own reality when we are being spied on constantly?
On his inspiration to create the song, he says, “I was upset about the encroachment of the US government into people’s lives, and the reduction of privacy rights, and wanted to make fun of people defending it. I’d always liked the chaotic spectacle found in (particularly Southern) Baptist church revivals In the US, and felt that to be the perfect sound for this song, as I thought it captured the essence of worship inherent in the people defending what the feds are doing.”
Naturally, we have added God Bless to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream Anne-Marie, and anticipate future releases from the visionary artist.