From the recording How Did We Get Here
“HOW DID WE GET HERE?” is one of the more personal songs I've written for Blue Wave Revival because the question comes from my own life and my own military service.
I served in the U.S. Army, including two tours in Vietnam. I raised my hand, put on the uniform, and took an oath to defend this country. I served beside men from different races, backgrounds, hometowns, religions, and beliefs. We didn't stop to ask which political party somebody belonged to before we depended on them. When things got difficult, the person beside you was your brother. You watched his back, and you trusted him to watch yours. More than five decades later, I still carry those experiences with me. I also carry the scars that can come home with a veteran long after the uniform has been put away.
That's why today's division troubles me so deeply. I look at Americans talking past each other, treating neighbors like enemies, and sometimes forgetting everything we still have in common, and I find myself asking: How did we get here?
This isn't a song about telling anyone which side to choose. It's about remembering something my military service taught me: we don't have to be alike to stand beside one another.
“HOW DID WE GET HERE?” doesn't offer an easy answer. Instead, it asks another question that may matter even more: How do we find our way back?
Maybe we start by listening. Maybe we start with respect. Maybe we remember that before all the labels and arguments, we're veterans, neighbors, families, friends, and fellow Americans.
After everything I've seen and everything I've carried home, I still believe this country is worth standing up for. And I still believe we can find our way back.
— Rick Gaspa
Blue Wave Revival
Lyrics
[HOW DID WE GET HERE?]
[Verse 1]
I grew up believing this land was strong,
That somehow we'd know when something went wrong.
I wore the uniform, I raised my hand,
And swore an oath to defend this land.
Now every headline pulls us apart,
And leaves another crack in my heart.
[Chorus]
How did we get here?
When did we lose our way?
When did listening get harder
Than the words we had to say?
I still believe tomorrow
Can be better than today.
So I keep asking...
How did we get here?
[Verse 2]
I've stood beside people from every walk,
Different hometowns, different ways to talk.
But when we served, those lines disappeared,
We watched each other's backs through hope and fear.
That's the America I still believe,
More than the anger we're taught to see.
[Chorus]
How did we get here?
When did we lose our way?
When did listening get harder
Than the words we had to say?
I still believe tomorrow
Can be better than today.
So I keep asking...
How did we get here?
[Bridge]
I never thought I'd have to ask these words...
After all the miles...
After all the years...
After all the brothers and sisters
who carried this country through blood, sweat, and tears...
Did we forget what we were standing for?
Not one side.
Not one voice.
Not one kind of American.
All of us.
[Verse 3]
I've seen what happens when people divide,
When fear gets louder than what's right inside.
Maybe the answer isn't choosing a side,
Maybe it's remembering who's standing beside us.
Veteran, neighbor, family, friend—
Maybe that's where we start again.
[Final Chorus]
How did we get here?
Can we find our way home?
Can we remember we're neighbors
Before we're standing alone?
I still believe this country
Is worth standing up for.
After everything we've been through,
I believe that even more.
How did we get here?
And how do we find our way back?
[Outro]
Maybe we start by listening.
Maybe we start with respect.
Maybe we remember the promise
We haven't finished keeping yet.
How did we get here?
How do we find our way back?
[Long instrumental outro — piano, cello, clean electric guitar, and strings. No vocals.]