Independence

Written after David Berkeley lived in a 35-person mountain village in Corsica and recorded after his return to the United States. The album incorporated field recordings of village church bells and Corsican singers and was produced by Will Robertson. Released on Some Kind of Cure, the song examines the uneasy aftermath of victory through images of July 5, smoke, ashes and diminished freedom. It formed part of an album paired with Berkeley’s short-story collection 140 Goats and a Guitar. The track remains a central example of the Corsican experiences and narrative songwriting that shaped Some Kind of Cure. Its accompanying story extended the song into Berkeley’s combined music-and-literature project.