Tom Prasada-Rao has been a quiet giant on the folk scene since the early 1990s. His new song, "$20 Bill (for George Floyd)" reflects the same sort of gentle power. It's a quiet song, neither too simple nor overwrought, recorded under a desk lamp in an otherwise dark room, intermittently lit by the flashing screen of his television. There's a kind of honesty in his presentation: he is not putting on a show for us. "$20 Bill" truly is a song for George Floyd. We just happen to be listening to it. It's not a protest song, shot through with calls to action and indictments of a system. It's a lament. Reflecting quietly through song on the unfairness of Floyd's death, Prasada-Rao conjures up images of better ends he could have met. In the climax of the song, he speaks to Floyd directly: "Brother, I never knew you/And now I never will/But I make this promise to you/I'll remember you still." "$20 Bill" is an affecting piece that will secure George Floyd's memory in the minds of more people than just Prasada-Rao. This is a powerful song derived from classic folk sounds, and it's easy to imagine it becoming part of the genre's canon in the years to come.
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