DH: "Wave On, Old Glory, Wave On" (written by Wood Newton and Jim Weatherly and sung by Billy Dean with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the Fisk Jubilee Singers) has been sent out. Radio stations listen to MP3s of songs, and they download the ones they want to play. As of today (January 21), it is the fifth-largest download from the stations we sent it to.

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(Appropriately for a project produced in Nashville, the American flag’s nickname "Old Glory" was coined by Captain William Driver, a shipmaster from Salem, Massachusetts, who retired to Nashville in 1837. When Union troops captured the city in February 1862, Driver took from hiding the large American flag that had flown on his ship, and it was hung above the Tennessee capitol.—HN)

HN: You’ve been quoted elsewhere as saying you felt at the beginning of 2008 that America needed a hug. The year ended in even greater consternation. What would you say to Americans to give them hope for the future? What does our history teach us about times like these?

DH: There are a lot of promises that are written in stone, and I think Americans can expect good events. There have to be good times and bad times. America has a brighter future than I would have predicted a year ago. What I see from a distance is America holds great promise, and I think you’re off to a good start this year.

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