| Track 9: A Soldier's Daughter
(4:17)
Reb Robinson
(D.Iammarino/ J.Trentes/
R.Robinson) BMI/ASCAP/BMI
about the writers /
artist:
Debra "Reb" Robinson
is a singer, songwriter and fulltime professional
musician. She writes, plays and produces material for her
own CD's in her studio, as well as jingles for regional
radio and TV. She is descended from a long line of
patriotic Americans, and is a member of the hereditary
society, Daughters Of The American Revolution. Her uncles'
were in WW2 and Vietnam, and she has friends involved in
the current struggle in Iraq.
Debbie Iammarino
From Debbie:
It was not until after losing my mother, almost 5 years
ago, that I start to write again; she had passed just a
couple weeks when I was at the cemetary in Cleveland and
I witnessed a Military Funeral with a full rifle salute.
That experience was so moving to me , by the time I got
home that day, I had the full story of Soldier's Daughter
in my mind, and shortly after, a full notebook of many
lyrical lines that contributed to the song as it is today.
I have always felt that Soldier's Daughter was a gift to
me, first, it brought me back into writing again.
I also have many relatives who have served in the Armed
services through the years, but, the most special to me
is my brother Bobbie, he was in the Marines during the
Vietnam war and unfortunatly has been on a full disabilty
since he came home.
When I first played Soldier's Daughter for him one
afternoon driving around in my jeep, .. I can't explain
the humble feeling I had when I watched my brother break
into tears the first time he heard it, when I played it
that day.
I am very, very proud to be writer on the song.
|
PASS IT ON
FOR
A
FREE
DOWNLOAD
OF THIS SONGJohn Trentes
has been writing songs for 22 years and is the recipient
of numerous national and international song contest
awards. He performs several times a year at writer's
nights in Nashville, TN and has also performed at the
world famous Bluebird Cafe. He supports all of our troops
especially those in harm's way and is proud of his father
who is a Korean War veteran.
Quote from John Trentes,
"My father served his country in the United States
Navy during the Korean War. He actually entered the
service at age seventeen with the permission of his
mother, who was raising my father and his sister all by
herself. He put himself in harm's way and sent much
of his pay home to help his mother with the bills.
What could make a son prouder of his father than that?
Thinking about that leads my thoughts to
the fact that he was lucky enough to return home; to
become a father and to be privileged to live the rest of
his years. That's a gift that many men and women
who serve don't get because they were called upon to give
their last full measure of devotion for their country.
Every time I turn on the news and hear about U.S. service
men and women losing their lives, I feel the loss,
because I wonder If I deserve the sacrifice they made for
me.
Lately, I've noticed that the media is
getting almost complacent about reporting the war
casualties. I am starting to hear lives being
reported as numbers. That makes me feel emotions
that I don't think the English language has words to
describe.
Perhaps, in some way, this project will
help remind people that behind every casualty statistic
is a son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister,
friend, but most of all, hero.
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A SOLDIER'S DAUGHTER
Verse I
Momma kissed her soldier goodbye
Said a prayer as he walked away
Momma, she tried so hard not to cry
As she promised him she'd write him every day
With words to strengthen his soul
And lighten heavy boots along the way
Then one day she told him about me
The baby girl he'd never see
Chorus
I am a soldier' daughter
That's what I'm most proud to be
I am a soldier's daughter
His living legacy
Verse II
Every day she prayed that she would find
His letter sayin' he was comin' home
She dreamed that he'd climb two stairs at a time
And promise her she'd never be alone
Then one day in 1970
Two solemn soldiers met her at the door
With the letter that she prayed she'd never read
"He died for you, he died for me"
Chorus (repeat)
Bridge
Today I kissed his loving name
And through a veil of tears I saw
His soft brown eyes were crying back at me
From that cold black shiny wall
Verse III
Momma saved his letters all for me
My father always had so much to say
And from the tattered pages I can see
The love he sent me from so far away
With words that strengthen my soul
And give me the courage to believe
I wish I could tell him what he means to me
All that I am I owe to his memory
Chorus (repeat 2X)
(c)2005
Debbie Iammarino (BMI), John Trentes (ASCAP), Reb
Robinson (BMI)
|
"I
am a Soldier's Daughter,
That's
what I'm most proud to be,
I am a
Soldier's Daughter,
His
living legacy"
|
|
| Track 10: A Ballad Of Junior
(3:29)
Alton Rex
(A.Rex) BMI
about the writer /
artist
Alton Rex
is a nationally touring performing
songwriter with several CD's and a DVD available. He
resides in Austin, Texas.
'Ballad of Junior'
is the true story of what happened to my Uncle Leonard
Skierski during WWII. It was a story told at family
gatherings and holiday meals from the time I was a very
small boy. Uncle Junior was my Mother's eldest brother,
and I know they had a very special relationship... one
that endured even after he was changed by the vagaries of
war.
My father was a
career military man, serving 8 years in the Marine Corps
and 13 in the USAF. Dad's service included combat tours
in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He died on Mother's Day, 1965
after returning from his second tour in Southeast Asia.
I've performed live
as part of the Father's Day Rose Remembrance Ceremony at
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC (2001
& 2002).
I'm also a veteran
of the
|
 military,
having served an enlisted tour in the United States
Navy as an Avionics Technician.
In 1999, I started
to perform free concerts for veterans at VA Hospitals in
Texas. After my performance at the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial in Washington, DC, there were more opportunities
to perform at events for Veterans and active duty
military folks, and as I toured nationally, I started
doing shows at other hospitals.
I'd like to thank employees of the JT3 LLC Corporation, a
small NASA & US defense contractor, the Radio America
Network, and a number of private citizens in partnership
with the VFW Foundation who have stepped forward and
sponsored more than forty free concerts at VA Hospitals
in 12 states, given away over three thousand EP's to the
patients and staff at these facilities.
|
"A Ballad Of
Junior"
Ballad of
Junior
One cold grey dawn in Normandy found Junior on the beach
The second morning after the bloodiest of weeks
Walking weary with his best friend held frozen in his
arms
Though his buddy had been gone... gone at least a day
Junior couldn't put him down... turn his back and walk
away
Chorus:
Momma thought he'd be the same when he came back from the
war
But he talks a little less, and drinks a little more
Now Junior too was wounded knocked senseless by the
shells
And who can say what Junior saw those two nights in hell
Junior never talks about it though it's been these many
years
But there's something in his eyes... and I wouldn't call
it fear
A look he has that says out loud, he lived beyond his
tears
Chorus:
Momma thought he'd be the same when he came back from the
war
But he talks a little less, and drinks a little more
Now it's damn near sixty years since that day in Normandy
When boys were changed to me to men and some died for
liberty
they said Junior was a hero but he never felt that way
And when I asked about it, all that he would say
Is the hero's all are buried, half a life and world away
bridge:
Donald was the eldest child of Leonard and Marie
He was my momma's hero come home from Normandy
Chorus:
Momma thought he'd be the same when he came back from the
war
But he talks a little less, and drinks a little more
|
10 out of 10"
"Though
his buddy had been gone,
Gone at
least a day,
Junior
couldn't put him down,
Turn his
back and walk away"
|
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| Track 11: If Every Second Was Ours
(3:35)
Donna Gale
(V.Daniel / B.Goodwin / C.Cameron) BMI/BMI/ASCAP
about the writers /
artist:
Donna Gale
Vaughan Daniel
Since moving to Nashville in 1994, Vaughan has had thirty
songs published and four independent artist
cuts. He credits his years in the Armed Services for
giving him the courage and tenacity to follow his dreams.
From Vaughan: It
truly is an awesome feeling that has a price which
is depicted in our song "If Every Second Was Ours",
co-written by Curtis Cameron and Brock Goodwin.
The price is often having to leave your loved ones at
home, while you're doing your job in a foreign land. I
know that side of it, as well. It can be very difficult
to maintain relationships, which is even more reason to
celebrate the lives of soldiers and the sacrifices they
make for us all.
Brock Goodwin
Curtis Cameron
|
|
From "If Every Second
Was Ours"
"If every second
was ours,
I would hold you in my
arms,
And boy we'd have the
power,
To never spend a day
apart"
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