Testimony at commission hearings doesn’t usually go viral, but Drew Landry changed that this week when he serenaded President Obama’s oil-spill commission.
Landry, a 37-year-old Lafayette, La., native, is an out-of-work crawfisher. He wants to volunteer with oil-spill cleanup but was turned away. He says “going green” could be a good solution, but he doesn’t want his friends who work in the oil industry to lose their livelihoods. He’s worried that cleanup and recovery funds are being squandered. He’s worried about the dispersants that have been sprayed in the Gulf. He’s worried that the region isn’t ready for hurricane season. He packs all that emotion into his original song, “BP Blues.”
After singing to the suits, he shared a few more thoughts: “It feels like BP is in control of this deal, and the Coast Guard does what they want, you know, the press can’t be around. But more importantly, the people don’t have a voice. They’re upset. … It just sucks. Let’s just do the right damn thing. It shouldn’t be this hard. It shouldn’t take a committee to listen to people.”
Singing truth to power:
