Henry
Nunez

I am writing from Queens, N.Y. — Forest Hills, to be exact. Except for supermarkets and pharmacies, everything else is shut down.

I had written other poems about Covid-19 — funny ones about my experiences just trying to buy toilet paper and sanitizing supplies. One day while talking to my friend Bobby on the phone, he said, “Things are bad, Hank, gotta pray for N.Y. Maybe you should write a song about that.” It wasn’t until perhaps a week later, after hearing a lot about “we’re all in this together,” that I decided to write the song. I wrote the first verse and then just took it from there — or should I say, the words led me to what the song finally became.

My writing at times comes easily — I guess it depends if it’s coming from my heart or my head. I don’t self-edit a lot. I may change a word here and there, or move a verse around, but not that often. After I’d finished writing this one, I knew I didn’t have a title for it, so I went to the chorus and took it from there.

Before I started writing the song, I had seen Bob Dylan’s video of “Murder Most Foul.” I’m a big fan of his music and writings. I could never write like him — but that’s the reason he’s mentioned.

I started writing way back when I used to read the Beatles’ early lyrics and would tell myself, “I think I can do that.” Those were poems back then. A few years later, I started adding a chorus and turning them into songs. I don’t recall my first song, but I have written about O.J. (Obscured Justice) and 9/11 (When Terrorists Converge W.T.C.). I was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the U.S. in 1961 when I was 11 years old. I am also a very proud Vietnam vet.