Brad Paisley drops new song featuring President Zelensky to mark one year of Ukraine war

Marking one year since Russia started a war with Ukraine, country singer Brad Paisley released “Same Here,� a new song featuring a soundbite from a conversation he had with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“On this one year anniversary of the invasion, I’m reminded of the ways we are all so similar,� Paisley, 50, wrote Thursday on Instagram. “Here is the first song available from my new project. This is ‘Same Here’. Featuring Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy.�

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Paisley’s first song since 2021 is an acoustic guitar ballad that references universal themes, including traffic, “left-coast clichés� and bars “where you buy each other beers and solve all the world’s problems.� But it also includes a verse referring to Ukraine’s comedian-turned-leader and the plight of his people.

“I’ve got a friend across the ocean / Seems like a million miles away / He says our worlds are very different / Yeah, that’s true but I gotta say / He’s got his own kind of football team that lets him down every year / A wife he loves and a bunch of dreams for his country he holds so dear / He prays for peace and freedom / Same here,� Paisley sings.

The three-time Grammy Award winner closes the song with audio from a video call he had with Zelensky, asking him how to say “same here� in Ukrainian, which is closely related to Russian: It’s “те ж �аме (te zh same),� the globe-trotting politician replies.

Podcasts

The Times podcast: One year into the Russia-Ukraine war, here’s what has happened and what lies ahead

L.A. Times reporter Laura King has visited Ukraine at four key moments since Russia invaded a year ago. She details the changes she has witnessed.

Feb. 20, 2023

“We speak different languages in our life,� Zelensky says on the call. “But I think we appreciate [the] same things: children, freedom, our flag, our soldiers, our people.

“There is no distance between our two countries in such values,� he adds.

Paisley told the Associated Press that he believes Zelensky “understands that art is how you reach the most people, especially in the heart.� As one of the celebrity ambassadors for Ukraine’s United24 crowdfunding effort, the “Whiskey Lullaby� and “She’s Everything� singer plans to donate his royalties for the song to build housing for displaced Ukrainians.

World & Nation

After a year of war, six Ukrainians share how their lives have changed

War wounds and traumatic captivity, cherry liqueur and air-raid alerts: Weathering the year-old Russian invasion

Feb. 19, 2023

Paisley wrote “Same Here� with Lee Thomas Miller (who also co-wrote his hits “The World� and “Perfect Storm�) and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith. The song is on Paisley’s upcoming album “Son of the Mountains,� which he said in a separate video he had been “quietly working on� for the past year. The album is written from the perspective of “a kid from West Virginia looking at the world today,� he added.

The country star also announced this week that after a 20-year career at Sony Music’s Arista Nashville record label, he has joined Universal Music Group Nashville’s imprint EMI Records Nashville. “Son of the Mountains� will be his first album with the new label and is expected this year.