Joan Osborne didn’t set out to be your new protest bard — but you try raising a kid in this mess and not writing a record that calls out the world’s bullshit. Trouble and Strife is Osborne’s most political album yet, though she swears she’s no Woody Guthrie. “I never thought I could write political songs,” she tells me, eyes bright and shoulders shrugged. “I’d see Lennon, Marley, Dylan — I didn’t think I had anything near that perspective. But then I thought: who the hell else is gonna do it?”
If the 2016 election didn’t break you, congratulations. Osborne got to work instead. “It was a response to watching who our government really works for. And being a mom — that flips it from an abstract idea about ‘future generations’ to your own kid’s life. You can’t ignore that.”
Of course, Osborne’s no stranger to righteous rebellion. But she didn’t just yell slogans — she went back to school with Bob Dylan first. Her 2017 Dylan covers record gave her a masterclass in timeless protest. “How do you write songs that sound like they were written for today but hold up for decades? That’s what he did. I tried to learn from that.”
She’s not playing it safe. The single “Boy Don’t You Know” leans into gender identity but zooms way out. “I was in Scotland reading about these kids wanting to transition, and the school official was like: of course we’ll help, but let’s ask what pressures make kids feel that way. I thought about young girls seeing the world we’re handing them. Wouldn’t you envy being on the other side?”
Then there’s “It’s What You Say,” featuring real immigrant voices. Osborne turned her song into a mic for someone else: Ana Maria Raya, who crossed the border as a kid after her dad was kidnapped. “We don’t listen to immigrants — we talk about them. I wanted her to speak for herself.” Cue tears in a basement studio while Osborne’s engineer stitched the story into her warm, rootsy groove.
For a Kentucky native, the Louisville protests after Breonna Taylor’s killing hit home. “It doesn’t shock me that happened there. But I was heartened by how people responded. The South isn’t a monolith. Protests matter — anyone who tells you they don’t just wants you to stay home.”
She’s never been just a one-hit wonder, even if “One of Us” still floats around as a dorm room stoner question. Speaking of that song — Prince covered it. Yes, the Prince. “People told me, and I thought they were joking. Then he invited me to a party. Questlove DJ’d, Sheryl Crow’s on the floor — they usher me in all sweaty from dancing, and Prince just goes, ‘Words can do a lot.’” She laughs. “I was like… okay, I love you.”
With Trouble and Strife, Joan Osborne’s not pulling punches. She’s got her kid in mind, Dylan in her DNA, and Prince’s smooth one-liners as backup. “At my age, I don’t care what people think. That’s freedom. I’ve got enough of an audience that sticks with me. I can say what I want — and I will.”
Watch or listen to the interview above and then check out the videos below.
