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Don't Get Caught Sick (Extended Mix)

by Kam Franklin

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about

“Don’t Get Caught Sick In America” can mean many things to different people, but this song was inspired by the high insurance bills that come with getting sick in the land of the...free.
A few years back, I found myself enraged after reading a few articles about multiple diabetic Americans dying from not being able to afford insulin. Not much has changed, and the prices of the hospital bills and medication are only getting higher.
Almost three years ago, my friend and frequent collaborator, Nick Zamora (longtime drummer and co-writer for The Suffers), sent me this chord progression via text that I found equal parts eerie and beautiful. He had recorded himself messing around on this toy instrument that currently lives in a public park in Salt Lake City, Utah. Back in Houston, I was immediately drawn in by what Nick had sent, down to the voices of his son and the other children playing in the background. It took me a few tries to figure out exactly what I wanted to say, but once I was in the zone, I just sang the truth and released the frustration I was feeling into the microphone.

What you hear on this, is the first take. Everything I tried after, just didn’t feel as authentic. The song is meant to be a warning, but at times it feels like a threat, or even a promise. There is a tinge of hope at the end of it that was inspired by the voices of the children. “Joy is on the way, I know it”.

The cover photo was taken by Cedric Jones at Harvest Hands Community Development in Nashville, TN.

-Kam Franklin

lyrics

Don’t Get Caught Sick
By Kam Franklin and Nick Zamora

Don’t get caught sick in America
Don’t get caught sick no in the USA
Hard to find some calm in all the noise
Hard to find some calm in all the noise


Don’t get caught sick in America
Don’t get caught sick no in the USA
Hard to find some calm in all the noise
Hard to find some calm in all the noise


Hard to see your light
When the clouds are formed
Hard to see your light shine through
when the clouds are formed

Don’t get caught sick in America
Don’t get caught sick no in America
Don’t get caught sick no in America
Don’t get caught sick no in America

It’s hard to see the light when the clouds are formed
It’s hard to see the sun shine through when the clouds are formed

Joy is on the way
I know it
Joy is on the way
I know it
Don’t get caught sick no in America
In the USA
In the USA
In the USA

credits

released November 6, 2021
Written by Kam Franklin and Nick Zamora
Lyrics by Kam Franklin
Mixed by Kam Franklin
Mastered by Chris Longwood
Cover Photo by Cedrick Jones

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all rights reserved

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about

Kam Franklin Houston, Texas

Kam Franklin is a singer-songwriter, activist, writer, orator, and actress from Houston, TX. She is best known for her work with the gulf coast soul band, The Suffers.

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