Ever feel like a mutant?
Like, outcasted by the powerful ones, for reasons beyond your control, because of the body you were born into, or the way your mind works, or how you express yourself. Just because your existence threatens their idea of "normal."
I've felt that a lot, especially when I was a teenager, mostly for how my mind works, and the things I feel to be important, and sometimes I still do feel like a mutant. It's a shitty feeling, not being accepted. Nobody deserves that.
But there's power in being a mutant, too. You realize that you get to be yourself, regardless of other peoples' judgments of you. That's liberation. Maintaining that in the face of the constant barrage of normy nonsense can be a real struggle, one that far too many people don't recover from.
This song is for all the mutants, and most especially those who have it the hardest. I particularly want to honor trans folks, neurodivergent people, disabled people and the close friends who have shared their experiences of being born into bodies and minds that they are constantly told are "wrong." You are beautiful, people. Not in spite of the ways you are different, but because of them. And I will never stop working for a world that recognizes that.
Played by my band, Open Sorcerer, and videoed by the amazing Mer of the Republic of Light. You can download our music for free if you like.
Open Sorcerer
Dylan Jennings - baritone saxophone
William Renauld - drums
Jared Wood - keyboards
Paintings by: Yusuf Ssali, Kaspa Kasambeko, Mathias Tusiime, Carol Nakizito, James Nsamba, Hassan Mukiibi, and Charles Mbaziira of the Uganda Art Consortium