That Missionary Heart (unreleased; unmastered)

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT. I've decided to make my upcoming release a "concept album," despite the fact that I've never really liked concept albums in the past and am suspicious of the whole concept, artistically speaking. But since this will be my 24th solo album, and I try never to repeat myself, I guess it's time to try out the format to see if I can do something with it that I actually like. Here's the concept: An alien crashes on Earth, with no chance to get home. Using his powers to blend in, he sets about exploring his new surroundings in a country called the USA. He encounters baffling and alarming chaos and duplicity, with the few humans who are trying to be better than their instincts and programming feeling overwhelmed and disillusioned at the behavior of others around them. Some leave their home country, conflicted, in search of a more altruistic community to live in. Traveling farther afield, our alien observers the desperate search for love amidst the crumbling world civilization. He is stunned by those who refuse to see their situation for what it is, hiding away in churches or in meaningless virtual games. Infiltrating the gatherings of the parasitic rich, our alien meets image consultants, agents and PR specialists who bray and boast of their exploitations--regaling him with tales of manufactured outrage on behalf of their “artist” clients to generate something called “clicks” and “buzz.” Caught up in this whirlwind, our alien finds himself leading a punk band with a giant PR machine behind it, but soon enough recoils from his handlers and breaks free. As the societal collapse approaches terminal velocity, our alien feels a planetary consciousness stir, as the Earth attempts to intervene and rid itself of some of the most destructive monkeys infesting its skin. And as the alien Earth environment wears him down, our involuntary visitor feels a profound loneliness as all that he has seen and experienced weighs heavily upon him. In his final moments, he dreams of how it might have been if the planet’s human inhabitants had only felt some sense of connection and common purpose between each other. This new song, "That Missionary Heart" will be the opening song (preceded only by a short instrumental that represents the spacecraft crashing into the Earth). I think the influence of '80s Lou Reed records is pretty evident here :-) That Missionary Heart (© 2026 Walter Ehresman) That missionary heart steps on what it finds; Sews the seeds of propaganda in the bedrock of your mind. Makes you doubt the things you know; Tries to make you hate your past; Hammers out there’s just one path— “you better drop your memories fast.” And loyalty just goes one way; Look beneath that golden sheen; You meekly give and give again; Adopt the dogma as routine. [chorus] Conquistadors hit your shores with viral tooth and claw; Steal most of what they saw; Burn the rest to show who’s boss; Look for chances to do more— ……to drive you down. That missionary heart in the chest of parasites; Pumps the blood of selfish anger; Attack everything in sight. You gotta learn to spot ‘em comin’; You gotta learn to shut it down; Paint your soul in purest Teflon; Aim your vote straight at the crown. Walter Ehresman: vocals, guitars, 4-string ac./el. fretless bass, keyboard percussion, drum machine programming. For official Walter Ehresman releases, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/ p. 2026 Walter Ehresman. All Rights Reserved.