How My Song Became a Song for Haiti Earthquake Victims

bydjlv

425 followers

Updated 10 years ago

As this week marks the fourth anniversary of the Haiti earthquake I thought i would also take this opportunity to reflect and share a personal experience with you.

I'll never forget January 10, 2010...

I was in my home studio in Adelaide, South Australia, working on a demo recording of a song i had just finished titled "Calling All The Saints." For me, this was one of those songs that had just sat around in a state of limbo as a "work-in-progress" for a couple of years, so i was pretty excited about finally recording it and giving it wings.

But even before it was finished, right from the moment i wrote the opening line "It's too late, I've lost tomorrow" I knew there was something quite unique about this song.

Every time i'd work on the song I'd find myself being taken to this incredibly deep emotional place of sadness and loss.. it was actually quite overwhelming at times. During a couple of the writing sessions I even teared up!

I had no idea where these emotions were coming from as there was nothing going on in my life at the time to relate these feelings. I just somehow knew I was tapping into something else that was out of my control...

But there was a part of me that knew that this song had a preordained purpose and destiny of its own.

Then, during a break from my recording session I heard the breaking news about the Haiti earthquake. And as the story began to unfold with images displaying the devastation, like many others around the world, I became overwhelmed with sadness.

I knew right then and there that this song belonged to the people of Haiti.

I latter received permission from the American Red Cross to use photographs that they had taken on the ground (as they were administering aid) for a video that i could release with my song as a way of raising extra funds and awareness for the ongoing need for support and aid for the people of Haiti.

The song and video was then officially released in February, 2010, and has since helped to maintain continued awareness and support for the people of Haiti.

In 2013 "Calling All The Saints" became the most downloaded song under ReverbNation's "Music For Good" initiative with funds supporting Oxfam America's ongoing relief efforts in Haiti.

Here's the link were you can watch the video and hear "Calling All The Saints" for yourself and find out how you can get your own copy of the song.