Interview With a Songwriter- “One Nation Over God”
As we celebrate the 240th birthday of the U.S.A., we’re standing on the brink of another presidential election, terrorist threats now loom regularly here and abroad, and many feel like there’s no reason to trust that God’s got this anymore. Have the American people—as a whole—declared their independence from what our Founding Fathers often referred to as “Divine Providence”?
Recently, Nashville singer and songwriter Stephanie Layne took a few minutes to answer some questions about a song she co-wrote titled “One Nation Over God” that talks about this very idea of our nation being much different than what the Founders had in mind in 1776.
Liberty Bell Blog: How did “One Nation Over God” come about?
Stephanie Layne: Heading into a presidential election year, we were discussing the political and moral climate in which we found ourselves. When we got around to throwing out potential song ideas, I said, “What do you think about One Nation Over God”? It was one of those rare moments when there was no hesitation for any of us. That’s the song we wanted to write! There are a lot of people in this country who have a growing sense of loss, sadness, and even outrage that the fundamental ideals upon which this country was founded and became a great nation have slowly eroded– and now are even being brazenly cast aside. We wanted to take a stand with Americans who believe we are headed down the wrong path. This song is our way of letting our voice be heard, but is also offered in the hope of stirring the voices of so many in this country who want to speak up and stand up for the ideals and values that have characterized America for almost two and a half centuries.
LBB: Who was involved with you in writing this song?
SL: Debbie Hall, Jason Wyatt, and Monte King, all Nashville songwriters. I’ve been writing with these great friends and songwriters for years.
LBB: What kind of reception has the song gotten so far?
SL: “One Nation Over God” resonated so much with the message of North Carolina Congressional candidate Chris Hardin’s movement that he adopted the song as an official campaign to rally supporters. Sadly, he recently lost in the primary.
LBB: There’s one part where it says “under-educated, making choices we can’t take back” that really stuck with me…I’d be interested to hear what inspired that part?
SL: We were concerned about some of the bad choices our government has made that could jeopardize the safety and security of American citizens. Also the school systems are not up to the standards of other countries. Many Americans are uninformed, being taught political correctness and socialistic ideas rather than hitting on math and history, and especially ignorant of the U.S. Constitution.
LBB: What do you hope will happen with this song?
SL: This song is my ministry. Our goal is to make people think and understand that morally, spiritually, and ethically we’re headed down the wrong path…that we need to get back to being a country that is One Nation Under God. We would love a commercial country or Christian cut. To hear it on the radio as a number one single would be an amazing dream come true. The song has been pitched to Franklin Graham, Ted Cruz, Sean Hannity, Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, Chris Tomlin, Darryl Worley, and Andy Griggs.
LBB: Any plans for a video?
SL: U.S. Congressional candidate Chris Hardin made a campaign YouTube video in his hometown that has received almost 9K views. Jason Wyatt’s church in Texas made a lyric video that has received almost 8K views. We have plans to produce our Official “One Nation Over God” music video in the near future.
LBB: Will you be performing it this summer anywhere?
SL: I will be performing it at the National Day of the Cowboy in Humboldt, Kansas this month (July 22-23). RFD-TV show “Best of America by Horseback” will be on location and filming the event. Horse enthusiasts from all over the country will ride the trails and enjoy western music from Del Shields—co-host of the show—and as I said I’ll be there too.
LBB: Is there anything else you would want readers to know?
SL: “One Nation Over God” is available on all worldwide digital distribution companies–iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play, etc. Also, there are two versions of the song. The male version was sung by my co-writer Jason Wyatt, with my harmonies. I recorded the song on my newly-released album, Eclectic.
NOTE: Stephanie Layne’s music is available at www.stephanielayne.com, all worldwide digital distribution companies, and—if you’re in the Nashville area—the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Store. Visit the “One Nation Over God” Official Website at www.OneNationOverGodSong.com.
Thanks to Stephanie and the other writers of this moving song for your hard work and inspiration. I encourage everyone to check it out, download it and share it. Have a Happy & Safe Independence Day!
Time to Grow Up
Tomorrow we’ll celebrate the 237th birthday of our great nation—our independence from the oppressive rule of a tyrannical king in England. A certain former Speaker of the House of Representatives that will remain nameless due to the celebration of the day thinks we should be thankful for “healthcare freedom”, in the form of Obamacare of course. Apparently, in her world, the Founders would have loved the massive government takeover of a large segment of our economy.
But for normal, thinking Americans, this is our opportunity to thank God for this place called the United States of America. To thank Him for all He did in raising up the right people at the right points in history that allowed this nation to become the most powerful one on the face of the earth in such a relatively short period of time. To thank Him for people willing to sacrifice all they had to build this nation, and for those who have died and are continuing to die to secure freedom for future generations.
Unfortunately, many, if not most people won’t think about those generations of patriots as they celebrate what’s now only known as “The Fourth”. In between their picnics, parades and fireworks displays, it would be great if all of us would take the time to read the Declaration of Independence—especially those who have children. Do they— do we really understand what it meant when those 56 men put their signatures to that document? As British subjects, they were committing treason. They were setting themselves—and their loved ones—up for certain hardship and possibly death. It’s important that we not forget this and that the youngest among us hear the stories of these people that they are likely being denied in the public schools of today.
What America needs is another “Greatest Generation”. Those under 30 would do well to become like King Josiah in the Old Testament. He was very young when he became the king of Judah and it was during his reign that the Book of the Law had been found after many generations of being “lost to history” so to speak. The people weren’t living according to the laws of God and weren’t behaving as if they were his Chosen People. When King Josiah heard the words of the law for the first time, he became very distraught to the point that he tore his robes because he realized how far they had drifted from God and what His intentions were for their nation. Many people then were probably young, as he was, and didn’t even realize what they were doing.
It’s possible that if enough young people hear the words of the Founding Fathers—and I’d even go as far back as the pre-founding generation (the Pilgrims)***—they might realize and be humbled at what it took to build the nation. They could be the ones to turn things around again. Maybe, like King Josiah hearing the words of The Law, they’ll be moved to tears when they read these words: “…with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
They’ve had their heritage stripped from them, and many aren’t even aware of it. If or when they ever do look up from their ipads, iphones and video games to realize it, they may be pretty upset at the generations before them for keeping them in the dark. For keeping them entertained and un-enlightened.
They need to know that the United States of America is still the last best hope for freedom for people from all over the world, even in our current circumstances, which admittedly aren’t good. It would do us all good to keep in mind the words of people like Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian evangelical minister and author who spent 14years in a Romanian prison for his faith. In 1967, he called America the hope of every enslaved man, and reminded Americans of a truth that may be even truer now: that freedom-loving people all over the world are counting on us not to let the flame of liberty burn out. Wurmbrand said: “I have seen fellow prisoners in communist prisons beaten, tortured, with 50 pounds of chains on their legs—praying for America…that the dike will not crumble; that it will remain free.”
With that said, Happy Independence Day!
***Read “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford
To the progressives of today, these were right-wing radicals
Liberty Belle Blog 
Hold Fast Our Freedoms- Guest Commentary
**The following brief article was written by my father to the editor of his local paper, The Batavia Daily News. It was one of many conservative opinion pieces he wrote. There was no date on it, but I have to assume that it was pre-2009, so as you read it, keep that in mind. We now know the downhill slide that Europe is currently on…for example, he notes unemployment rates at the time for various EU nations- Spain’s rate was 52.1% in March 2012–nearly five times what it was when he wrote this! This is the same road we’ve been taking over the past three and a half years or more. We’ve just celebrated our nation’s Independence Day, so freedom (or lack of it) has been on the minds of many of us. We need to seriously think about what we’re going to be– free, responsible individuals, or slaves to an overgrown, broken state.**
We are losing our freedom every day. There are too many Americans who believe we should take programs from some of the Third World countries. Sure, they have some great programs for the ones lucky enough to have a job, but take a look at their unemployment rate: Italy, 8.5 percent; France, 9.4 percent; Belgium, 8.6 percent; Spain, 11.1 percent; Denmark, 6 percent; Poland 18.9 percent; United States, 5.6 percent and United Kingdom, 4.7 percent. The European Union governments are waking up to the fact that they will have to cut benefits and you know how well that will go with the people.
The United States’ GDP (gross domestic product) per capita was a whopping 32 percent higher than the EU average in 2000 and the gap hasn’t closed since. A new study by Sweden–a bastion of cradle-to-grave nannystatism– shows that the European standard of living has fallen far off the pace of American life.
Wake up, America, just remember these words of Abraham Lincoln, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”