Stevie Wonder is back with his first new song in four years, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart.”
The track is a tender plea for unity built around dextrous acoustic guitars and a melange of light percussion, while Wonder also laces it with piano, bass, harmonica, and more. Despite the multitudes this arrangement contains, Wonder’s voice and message remain front-and-center as he sings, “We’ve come together with purpose far bigger than you and me/Don’t have no time for hatred and negativity/It’s you and me, we hold the key/So tell me please, can we fix our nation’s broken heart?”
“Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” feels like a fitting tune for an election year, and it actually marks Wonder’s first new music since the last presidential election cycle in 2020. That year, he dropped three songs, “Real Love” with Byron Miller and Walter Beasley, “Where Is Our Love Song” with Gary Clark Jr., and “Can’t Put It In the Hands of Fate” with Rapsody, Cordae, Chika, and Buster Rhymes.
Even before releasing “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” Wonder had started dipping his toe back into the political arena this month. At the beginning of August, he spoke at the funeral for Duke Fakir of the Four Tops, performing two songs and giving Kamala Harris a shout-out.
Then, he popped up at the 2024 Democratic National Convention where he spoke and performed his 1973 classic, “Higher Ground.” And while addressing the convention, Wonder shared a few words that echo the sentiment of his new song.
“This year, I prayed very hard for peace to come to our world’s nations, but also to each one of our hearts, even though our hearts have been beaten and broken beyond prayer,” he said. “Now is the time to understand where we are and what it will take to win. Win the broken hearts, win the disenchanted, win the angry spirits — now is the time.”
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