Listen: Jason Isbell guests on Amanda Shires’ new single, The Problem – released for International Safe Abortion day
Proceeds from the single go towards the Yellowhammer Fund, an Alabama-based reproductive justice organisation.
Image: David A. Smith / Getty
Singer-songwriter Amanda Shires has released a new song in conjunction with her bandmate and husband Jason Isbell, entitled The Problem – you can listen to it below.
The song is released in conjunction with International Safe Abortion Day, and proceeds from the release will go towards the Yellowhammer fund – a reproductive justice organisation and abortion fund based in Alabama.
Shires said of the song’s themes: “This song is about making tough decisions and not having to go it alone.”
“To me, The Problem is a song about supporting someone you love through a difficult time,” added Isbell, “It’s about helping without exerting your own will. I support a woman’s right to choose, and I know these choices are never easy.”
The Yellowhammer Fund is an organization dedicated to ensuring that all people, regardless of race, income, location, age, gender, ability, marital status, or documentation have the freedom and the resources to make decisions regarding their own health. Both Shires and Isbell have strong ties to Alabama, and so the partnership came as a natural decision.
Laurie Bertram Roberts, executive director of the Yellowhammer Fund said of the song: “The Problem tells a story that’s rarely heard or discussed – especially by southerners – and we are grateful that Amanda is shining a light to keep the conversation going.”
“With the 2020 election looming, we want to continue destigmatizing abortion and we hope that normalizing conversations around it will help folks feel more comfortable seeking the essential health care they need,” they added. “We at Yellowhammer Fund deeply appreciate that Amanda understands why accessible abortion for all is so essential and we’re beyond thrilled to join her in this venture.”
The release follows Isbell’s appearance on Shires’ live stream series, I So Lounging, where he played a cover of the Van Morrison tune Into The Mystic – but not before addressing and criticising Morrison’s outspoken views, which have recently included calling social distancing “pseudoscience” and asserting that “Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and myself appear to be the only people in the music business trying to get it back up and running again.”
Find out more about the Yellowhammer Fund here. For more music news, click here.