“Accountability” by Delila Black: A whimsical song with a message

Delila Black, the BIPOC Country/Punk singer-songwriter, had a video interview with me for my blog Music Historian. Her new single, a lyrical country-waltz song, “Accountability,” caught my attention for the following reasons. 1) The lyrics made me think about the current call for social justice reform, especially involving Black Lives Matter; 2) the song feels timeless because the lyrics could apply to any situation and; 3) the lap steel guitar and instrumentation takes my mind to a different place.

The lyrics in the second verse are:

What do you think about, what do you figure out
when you wonder how this came to be?
Do you ponder when you wander before you fall gently to sleep?
And then at night do you awake, because your mind is aflutter with all these things?
Does accountability come one day to everyone but you?

When I spoke to Delila about “Accountability,” I realized that news headlines in which people in power were the subject partially inspired the song. As a whole, this track encourages listeners to examine ‘How complicit have we as people become?’ Did you ever ask yourself, “How did we get here?” Or perhaps you are wondering, “What will next year be like?” I think it is fair to say that when answering the second question, we all play a part in what next year will be like, especially regarding COVID-19.

When it comes to songwriting, Delila always approaches music from what is going on in her head and then putting it out in a song. She also believes that music should mentally take people away on holiday. I invite you to watch my video interview with Delila, where I learn more about how she makes music and her inspiration behind “Accountability.”