The Cumberland River Project has a way of finding stories that reach deep into the human condition, and with “It’s Still Going On,” they’ve delivered something that feels less like a song and more like a living testimony. This marks their third appearance on our blog — following 2023’s “On A Nashville Night” and “After The Rain” and their return feels like welcoming back a friend who always arrives carrying truth, melody, and emotional weight. But this time, the truth is heavier, the melodies more haunting, and the weight undeniable.
From the very first line, “I saw lasting peace coming closer. I hoped that mankind had moved on,” Daniella Goldfine draws us into an intimate, aching, and brutally honest space. It’s the kind of opening plants you in the middle of a song. These aren’t abstract words; they come from a young Israeli voice who, along with Ukrainian guitarist Oleh Andrievski, knows the sound of sirens in the night and the scramble to find shelter. That lived experience trembles at the edges of every note, giving the performance an authenticity you can’t manufacture.
Goldfine’s vocal delivery is pure folk storytelling at its core. It’s soft yet unshakable, warm yet shadowed by grief. There’s a quiver in her voice that makes you feel like she’s not just singing about the lines “No more pain and no oppression. No more white crosses in a row,” but carrying them from personal memory. Her phrasing leans into the space between words, letting the silence do as much talking as the melody. Not only is she performing to us; she’s sharing with us, as if the song were a candle lit among us in the dark.
The song’s refrain, “But it’s still going on,” lands like an unflinching verdict each time it appears. By the time Goldfine reaches the final stretch — where the words roll into that almost desperate repetition, “on and on and on and on,” we feel the exhaustion of a world that keeps watching history repeat itself. The closing nod, “You may say that I’m a dream, but I’m not the only one,” feels both like a weary sigh and a quiet plea to keep believing. What I loved about this song effectively is that, it didn’t try to wrap the message in false hope. Instead, it offered truth as it is. The Cumberland River Project has always known how to weave narrative and emotion into something lasting, but “It’s Still Going On” is perhaps their most urgent work yet.
Instrumentally, this song pays homage to the folk tradition of the early 1970s, echoing the stripped-back, truth-first ethos of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Frank Renfordt’s production doesn’t crowd the message — instead, it lets the song breathe. Acoustic guitar forms the backbone, steady and earthy, while understated bass and gentle percussion provide a heartbeat that never distracts from the words. Andrievski’s guitar work is tender and melodic, the kind of playing that feels like it was done in a single take, eyes closed, heart open. Subtle harmonies and restrained instrumental flourishes keep the arrangement from feeling bare, but never push it into excess.
Welcoming The Cumberland River Project back to our pages feels like more than just covering another release; it’s recognizing a band that continues to make music that matters and doesn’t flinch from the world as it is, yet still believes in the possibility of what it could be. And in the voice of Daniella Goldfine, carried on Oleh Andrievski’s strings, you hear the echo of generations who have sung before, warning, hoping, pleading. And as the final notes fade, we’re left with that refrain in your mind — not as a resignation, but as a challenge. Because if it’s still going on, then so must the fight to end it.
Listen to “It’s Still Going On” by The Cumberland River Project on Spotify
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