MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — They
served. They survived. Some of them speak of it.
Now more military veterans are singing about their experiences, with
support from the musicians of the Nashville-headquartered Operation Song and a growing partnership with MTSU’s Commercial
Songwriting Program.
The collaborative effort recently welcomed 10 area veterans from multiple
service branches for an unofficial “veterans day” on campus, the second annual daylong
work session held in MTSU’s Bragg Media and Entertainment Building.
Each vet again worked with a student writer and a professional
songwriter, then the trios premiered the new song at an informal showcase.
They sang of commanding officers, devoted loved ones, brothers and
sisters in arms, hardscrabble origins, family heritage, and the psychological
and physical wounds they still carry. And they sang of hope.
“There’s been someone in the military service in my family since the
1890s, when my great-grandfather came over from Ireland,” explained Jay Reilly, a retired sergeant first
class and 27-year U.S Army veteran who is also an academic adviser for MTSU’s University College.
“There was one event that happened on Thanksgiving that caught (songwriter)
Marc Beeson’s attention, so we were talking
about family and then the extended family we all get through the military, and
we wound up with this.”
Five of Reilly’s uncles, all D-Day veterans, were part of a holiday
family gathering several years ago, he explained. They’d never discussed their
experiences with the family, but that cold, rainy day was different.
With Beeson and MTSU senior audio production major James Austin’s help, Reilly’s Thanksgiving story became “All
American Sons”:
“One bombed the beaches a few
hours before
One drove the boat that brought
troops ashore
One dropped in, two landed in
the heart of that war
They gave all they had and then
they gave more
They were soldiers, sailors,
Air Force, Marines
Wounded and shell-shocked with
PTSD
These brothers from other
mothers stand or fall
They’re all American sons”
Caleb Allen of
Nashville, a third-generation Army veteran who worked with pro songwriter Wil Nance and senior commercial
songwriting major Karis Bradley,
noted that he “didn’t get as personal as some of the others” with his song
“Lucky Me, Lucky You.”
He did make it simple, succinct and very catchy, leaving audience
members humming its harmonies after the performance.
“I’m passionate about this. People keep bickering and arguing over silly
stuff that doesn’t really matter when there’s kids in other countries who don’t
know whether they’re gonna eat,” he explained. “They don’t realize how lucky we
are.”
Operation Song, established in 2012 by Nashville songwriters who met
veterans worldwide during Armed Forces Entertainment Tours, helps retired and
active-duty veterans and their families sort out their experiences and emotions
by telling their stories and turning them into song.
The organization first offered weekly programs for veterans at
Murfreesboro’s Alvin C. York Medical Center and now offers five more in
Nashville, Clarksville, Chattanooga and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as well as
songwriting retreats around the country.
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of
Fame, which works closely with Operation Song, contacted songwriting
program director Odie Blackmon in
the Department of Recording Industry
last year about starting an event with the university. MTSU’s Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and
Military Family Center once again encouraged local veterans’ participation.
“My mind is always blown at these sessions, and today was no exception,”
said Operation Song co-founder Bob Regan,
who wrote with veteran John Douglas
and MTSU student songwriter Eli Kirk.
“I’m so proud of these veterans for telling their
stories and of the student songwriters and my good buddies … I could not be
more proud of all of you being a part of this.”
The songwriting students will receive credit for their Advanced
Commercial Songwriting experiential learning course, which allows them to work
with music industry mentors and co-write with pros on songwriting concepts and
assigned writing projects.
The songwriting trios also included:
- National Guard member and Daniels
Center secretary Teana Harle,
student songwriter Lisa Zetterlund
and pro songwriter Jamie Floyd.
- veteran Andrew Bunch, student Dusty
Cantrell and professional David
Kent.
- retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, MTSU’s senior adviser
for veterans and leadership initiatives; student Jackson Gulick; and Operation Song co-founder Don Goodman.
- MTSU student and Army veteran Nick Ferzacca, fellow student
songwriter Lydia MacDavid and
pro songwriter Cindy Morgan.
- veteran Trey Smith, student Matthew
Holley and professional Rob
Crosby.
- veteran Ed Russell, student songwriter Wesley Davis and pro songwriter Jim McBride.
- veteran Jackie Evans, student Ashton
Prosser and professional George
Teren.
For more information about Operation Song, visit http://www.operationsong.org. For more information on the Daniels
Veterans and Military Family Center at MTSU, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/military.
For details on MTSU’s Commercial Songwriting Program in the College of Media and Entertainment,
visit http://www.mtsu.edu/programs/commercial-songwriting.
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