New Jeffrey Steele Music Provides ‘A Voice’ To Forgotten Individuals

You’d be hard pressed to find a lot of modern music that speaks to the underappreciated experiences of the everyday American man and woman. But a new song from one of country music’s biggest songwriters seeks to do just that.

On Friday, singer and songwriter Jeffrey Steele released “A Voice,” a powerful anthem he describes as a ” a battle cry and a challenge and a hope that regular people can and will rise to the call of helping others.”

“I hope this song becomes a voice not only for people speaking up for others and speaking up for themselves, but for these young kids and these young artists — to look at the culture and look at what’s happening in our society right now, and don’t be afraid to write about it,” Steele told The Federalist.

Steele’s career dates back decades and includes a songwriting resume of some of country music’s biggest hits. Among his most notable co-writes are Rascal Flatts’ “What Hurts the Most,” Tim McGraw’s “The Cowboy In Me,” and, more recently, Aaron Lewis’ “Am I the Only One.”

Speaking to The Federalist, Steele said the inspiration for “My Voice” came to him when he was asked to write a song for fellow country singer Collin Raye. While pondering what he could write for a “voice” like Raye’s, he began focusing on the word “voice” and thought, “Wait a minute. Voice. What a great idea for a song.”

“I wish I had a voice. I wish I could speak up for people that can’t be spoken for. And then in literally 30 seconds, the whole chorus fell into me,” Steele said.

Steele begins the first verse of the song from the perspective of a soldier and farmer, noting the daily sacrifices both professions make in service of their country that often go unnoticed by their fellow countrymen. Still speaking as these individuals, he then dovetails into the song’s chorus, in which he professes his desire to have “a voice” to stand up for “all the silent ones” in similar circumstances.

I wish I had a voice. I would raise it now.

For all the silent ones, no one seems to care about.

Speak for all of us, and crank the volume up, and let the simple truth cut through the noise.

I wish I had a voice.

Steele told The Federalist that much of his professional music career has been “40 years behind the scenes, giving [his] voice to other people through [his] songs and [his] melodies and words.” Many of the elements in these songs, he noted, “are very culture-, America-, faith-, country-driven, and they’ve all gone to other people.”

When it came to “A Voice,” however, Steele realized that the song’s message is what he’s “been telling everybody for the last 30 years of [his] life,” and decided to put it out himself.

“I’ve been a producer and a writer for everybody in my career. Back in the early days, nobody really understood me, and they couldn’t put a hat on me because of my musical influences, and they couldn’t get it in a box. So, I never got promoted correctly and ended up getting pushed behind the scenes where I had so much musical stuff in my head [that] I could bring that to other people. I could share my gifts with other people and help build their career,” Steele said. “So, to be at this place right now, all these years later, it’s God going, ‘Hey, just hang in there. It’s always on my timing.’”

Speaking to the experiences of the average American is a theme Steele carries throughout the entirety of “My Voice.” It’s also a major component of the tune’s accompanying music video, which includes clips of Steele performing the song interlaced with shots of everyday people he’s met throughout his life whose “voices” have been ignored.

“Most Americans, if they felt like they had a voice, they would give it to somebody else. They’d speak up for somebody else that had less than they did. That’s an instinct of America and the American people. And it’s been so run over by politics and trash talk and narrative[s],” Steele said. “Inherently, people aren’t racist or mean-spirited. They’re loving and giving and they want to help other men. That’s what built America. People can talk about whatever they want, but that’s what built America, and it’s still a guiding light [in our country].”

“When I’m on the road and I’m playing my little shows around the country in small-town America, that’s what I see,” he added.

The concluding verses of “My Voice” end on a positive note, with Steele singing in the song’s bridge about how these forgotten Americans are “finally waking up” and have “had enough of the liars setting the world on fire.”

The lyrics tee up the closing chorus, which is perhaps the most impactful part of the song. Sung by the Americans Steele sings about, the slightly altered lyrics ask the listener, “Will you be our voice? Will you raise it now? For all the silent ones …”

“I just hope that people see the song for what it is. It’s not about me taking a side,” Steele said. “I’ve always said there’s no black and white and left and right. It’s up and down. Those are our two sides that we have to pick. That that’s what I want the song to be.”

“A Voice” is available now for download and streaming on iTunes, Spotify, and other major music platforms.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood