Songs of Families
Imagine being a child and saying goodbye to your parent who is going off to war. Or being a parent, and saying goodbye to your family before you head off to combat…not knowing when, or if, you will make it home. When SW:S was asked to hold a retreat specifically for military families, we jumped […]
Special Feature — Guest blog from Retreat Visitor, a Veteran
“That is exactly what I felt after this weekend, open, with light shining through armor. I’m hoping to see more veterans share their light; to break out of the box as one participant phrased it. The songs bring a complicated voice to the invisible soldier, allowing those who have no military experience to bear witness, […]
Heading Home
“Chasing meaning is better for your health than avoiding discomfort.” – Kelly McGonigal “I never leave my house…” No matter how many times we hear these words from veterans arriving at our SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreats, it is always a jolt. We want to ask why? Why do these exemplars of will and courage get to […]
Bridging the Gap with a Song
SongwritingWith:Soldiers was deeply honored to be invited to the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s special event at the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, DC. Not only were we able to thank our BWF friends in person for their guidance and support, we were also able to help them showcase their impact on small programs such as ours. […]
“I am changed because of this. I am a deeper person.”
These words were said to me earlier today when I asked Peter, one of our SW:S Veterans from Albany, NY, how he felt listening to the songs he had written. “I still feel more release, even now. We need more of this for veterans,” he said quietly. Peter is a Vietnam Veteran who was initially […]
Something That Happened To You
So, what do you see when you look at this photo? A bunch of men eating lunch, right? Maybe co-workers at a picnic, a ball team after a game? They are US Veterans from various wars sitting around the table with professional songwriters from Austin, Nashville and LA. What they are doing here is talking […]
Can You Feel it?
“It should be written on every door A thing of beauty is not a thing to ignore” Lyrics from the song, “Thing of Beauty” by Hothouse Flowers hit me hard the other day. ““Look out your window on a winter’s morning Your breath is steam and there’s frost falling And the sun casts a […]
The Age of Awareness – why we need these songs
I think most of us, including children, have feelings about war. We are introduced to it in countless ways – seeing footage on the news, listening to an ancient fable at bedtime, hearing about relatives who served. War is something we each deal with in our own way. Still, very few of us have first-hand […]
How to Carry a Tune
I love looking at these shots from our last retreat at the Carey Center in Rensselaerville, NY. They remind me of so many moments of beauty throughout the weekend… Starting with how, as the soldiers, songwriters, staff, and volunteers arrived, one by one, they paused to appreciate the sublime surroundings – the crystal blue skies, […]
Here is Palermo Deschamps
Here is Palermo Deschamps – participant in the April retreat. He’s holding one of two walking sticks he brought with him. He carved them himself. I know he is a sports fan so I texted him during the NBA finals, saying – “Can you believe this series?” I got this message from him yesterday – […]
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