Songfacts®:

• This is based on an open letter Young wrote to friends and fans in April 2008. It begins, "No one song can change the world. But that doesn't mean it's time to stop singing." The letter goes on to describe Young joining the ongoing search for "the people's fuel," and that he knows "the secret is just within reach."
• For about a year before its release on Fork in the Road in April 2009, this was recorded by fans at Young's concerts and circulated on websites and in digital form, apparently with Young's tacit approval.
• The lyrics invite listeners to "drive in my car," a reference to the LincVolt project in which a hydroelectric engine was installed in a 1959 Lincoln Continental. The enormous car was used to symbolize Americans' love for huge vehicles, and to demonstrate that we don't have to give up driving big cars if an affordable clean fuel is found. Young and his project committee describe their ideas and accomplishments at lincvolt.force.com. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Ekristheh - Halath, for all above
• When Young debuted the song live on August 7 in Helsinki, Finland, he introduced it as "Just Singing A Song Won't Change the World", rather than the shortened, final title used on the album.