“A combination of acoustic guitars and layered vocals make the lyrics shine, reflecting how the ideals of a once‑beacon nation now feel eroded.”

https://www.w21music.com/post/single-review-john-jenkins-dying-by-inches 

SINGLE REVIEW: JOHN JENKINS - DYING BY INCHES

• CHRIS FARLIE

The striking cover that accompanies "Dying By Inches", the new single from John Jenkins leaves little doubt as to what this song might be about, with the Statue Of Liberty holding her head in hands. Although it is John's latest single it is not as such a new song, originally written and released some years ago, when John could already sense many of the traditional ideals of the USA being eroded. In the light of recent events he's started to add it back into his live set and decided to release it as a single.

Musically a combination of acoustic guitars and John's layered vocals combine to really make the lyrics shine, with a downbeat harmonica solo adding to that feeling of loss. John hails from Liverpool which has always held traditional ties with the USA, seeing it as a beacon of hope - this song reflects on how it seems now.

The second verse is quite revealing, reflecting the the freedoms that had taken many years to acquire being lost and that the essential day to day existence is in decline. 

"Spoke to the DA and he felt the same

“I fought all my life for goodness

But everything it’s now changed

Well, I remember a time way before

When everything felt so different and life wasn’t so poor”"

The chorus takes the Statue Of Liberty contrasting it bearing witness to current events with that of those arriving many years ago, seeing it for the first time, and believing that anything was possible in the land of the free.

"Well, I saw a light held up high in the sky

Of a statue of a woman by the port

And I think of the dreams that my father once had

Laid wasted or just plain ignored

Well, I have no faith in this world

Nothing is sacred nothing feels fair"

John sings the song as a mournful protest, it's not a rallying cry to fight back, more a chronicle of how times can change. 

It closes on a line that truly resonates "We're dying and no-one really knows"