Dan and Faith’s “My Name Is George” Is a Quietly Devastating Folk Ballad of Identity, Fear, and Love
In a musical landscape where loud statements often drown out the quiet truths, Dan and Faith’s “My Name Is George” from their 2024 album Who We Are is a masterclass in gentle defiance and profound humanity. This husband-and-wife duo from New Hampshire has long excelled in telling stories that echo from the soul, but with “My Name Is George,” they deliver something rare: a trans anthem wrapped not in fury or fanfare, but in aching honesty and love.
Produced by folk veteran Joe Jencks and delicately mixed by Mark Dann, the track opens with Faith Senie’s voice—clear, pained, intimate—as she sings from the perspective of a trans teenager, closeted and terrified, suffocating beneath the weight of a name that doesn’t belong. “They just see Emily,” she sings, and it’s a dagger of a lyric. Her delivery is restrained, but you can feel the years of quiet agony carried in each word.
The song’s structure is simple and timeless, alternating between the perspectives of the child—who knows himself as George—and the father, voiced with earthy tenderness by Dan Senie. When the shift occurs and Dan sings, “His name is George / I didn’t know,” the moment is revelatory. This isn’t just a song about coming out—it’s about what happens next, about love stepping in where fear once ruled.
There’s a powerful grace in how Dan and Faith present both perspectives without melodrama. The father doesn’t erupt in anger or dissolve in tears. He processes. He shifts. And then, he shows up. “I love you, George / I always will,” he sings, and suddenly, a song that began in the shadows bursts into daylight. The final shared lines—”Dad is telling everyone… my name is George”—are a soft celebration, like spring after a long, brutal winter.
Sonically, the track is understated folk at its finest: acoustic instruments, warm harmonies, and just enough production sheen to let the lyrics shine without getting in their way. Mastering by Charlie Pilzer at Tonal Park Studios ensures the song glows with quiet warmth, like a candle in a dark room.
In a time when trans stories are too often politicized, erased, or flattened into stereotypes, “My Name Is George” offers something radical: recognition. Dan and Faith don’t posture—they listen. And they sing. And in doing so, they remind us that folk music is still, at its best, the music of the people: raw, real, and rooted in the hope that understanding can follow storytelling.
You may not expect one of the most poignant queer ballads of the year to come from a couple traveling the folk circuits in a camper-van. But that’s the beauty of Dan and Faith. They find the universal in the specific, the divine in the everyday. And in “My Name Is George,” they’ve crafted a song that feels like an embrace.
https://www.danandfaith.com
