World Worth Keeping
“World Worth Keeping” is an eco-feminist anthem for the masses—combining the best of blues, folks, and country traditions. Jaime Wyatt recruited Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada as a producer for this track and the entirety of her 2023 album, Feel Good. What results is an organ-backed, soulful strut no less heartfelt than her earlier work (Lend 2017’s “Giving Back the Best of Me” an ear!). If steel guitar and a well-placed twang don’t get you going, you are sadly misguided, but you will enjoy this selection on its own merits and not solely in comparison to her honky-tonk albums.
Wyatt is also a late-blooming lesbian. Like other queer women in the country world, she is a trailblazer. Vocal in her activism for the LGBTQ+ community, she wears her heart on her sleeve, crooning, “She has freed me from a lifetime of grief” in the equally consummate, “Love Is A Place.” We are better for it! I was considering a different artist and genre for this entry but chose “World Worth Keeping” because it seemed the most appropriate way to commemorate Earth Day, Lesbian Visibility Week, and the progressive vision of another trailblazer who passed this week—Pope Francis. While he did not have a perfect record when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community—harboring serious misgivings about “gender ideology,” for instance—he did advocate for the inherent dignity and worthiness of LGBTQ+ people. Pope Francis was also truth-teller on matters of human-caused climate change and Israel’s actions in Gaza. Finally, both he and Jaime could take down rich assholes with the best of them. On Trump (in 2016, mind you): “A person who only thinks about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” As for Jaime:
We kissed the ring from the billionaire's sleeve, yeah
We let 'em poison the roots
Our planet is polluted by the agendas of self-serving billionaires and corporate lackeys, but it’s what we’ve got, at least for those not seeking to colonize Mars. It is deserving of love, protection, and justice. Our home and all its people. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Bogard, Chris. “Barreling Down Life’s Queer Highway with Jaime Wyatt.” Country Queer, https://countryqueer.com/stories/interview/barreling-down-lifes-queer-highway-with-jaime-wyatt/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
Brooks, Dave. “Jaime Wyatt on Finding Freedom in New Track ‘World Worth Keeping’.” Billboard, 3 Aug. 2023, https://www.billboard.com/music/country/jaime-wyatt-world-worth-keeping-outlaw-country-jail-1235384509/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
McElwee, Joshua. “Cardinal’s funeral sermon stresses pope's call for Trump to 'build bridges, not walls'.” Reuters, 26 Apr. 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/cardinals-funeral-sermon-stresses-popes-call-trump-build-bridges-not-walls-2025-04-26/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.