The anthem America needs — Scott Helmer’s “To Them We’re All the Same (Acoustic)”

American singer-songwriter Scott Helmer has released “To Them We’re All the Same (Acoustic),” a one-take performance filmed live in Monument Valley. With only voice and guitar, the track delivers one of Helmer’s most direct and unfiltered statements yet. At a time when the country feels divided, exhausted, and pushed toward endless conflict, his new song cuts through the noise with a message many feel but few say aloud.



Recorded on location, the performance carries the urgency of a man standing alone against a culture built on division. The song pushes past the false left–right paradigm, calling out the manipulation of the military-industrial complex, and reminding listeners that true freedom comes from God—not government. Helmer isn’t attacking neighbors or political tribes—he’s exposing the systems that profit when Americans turn on each other.

The lyrics speak to a reality millions quietly acknowledge: while people argue among themselves, powerful interests drive the country into new conflicts and new distractions. Sons and daughters are sent to wars built on lies, while citizens are told they’re un-American if they question any of it. The song also calls out how race is used as another manufactured dividing line—red, black, white, yellow, or brown—because keeping people separated makes them easier to control.

Helmer points out that every one of us was born into this system long before we had a choice—a structure built on fear, distraction, and division that has been running for generations. Many of the strongest voices challenging it today aren’t activists or commentators but former soldiers. Veterans who once believed they were fighting for freedom are now among the most outspoken critics of the machine they served. After seeing how wars are manufactured and justified, they refuse to stay silent while new generations are pulled into the same cycle.

That perspective echoes a warning from nearly a century ago. Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler—one of the most decorated soldiers in U.S. history—wrote in War Is a Racket that troops were being used to serve corporate interests, not liberty. His words remain as relevant as ever.

The song also addresses everyday life under a system designed to keep people exhausted—expected to drink to survive, work until they die, and never ask why things are the way they are. Helmer captures the quiet pressure millions feel: a culture that wants people compliant, busy, and too worn down to question the forces shaping their lives.

Having performed more than 1,000 shows nationwide and shared stages with Heart, Eddie Money, 3 Doors Down, Eric Burdon & The Animals, and Jeff Bridges, Helmer has built a reputation for speaking plainly and writing songs rooted in real American experience.

“To Them We’re All the Same (Acoustic)” is not a protest song or a political anthem—it’s a human one. A call to see through division and remember that freedom, faith, family, and truth belong to the people—not the powerful.

The acoustic version, video, and full release are available now at scotthelmer.com.