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Earlier this summer Green Shoe Studio launched its singer-songwriter
contest
it's a contest that someone can upload a video on to YouTube and send us the link
we thought it was a good way that we could really tie into the local
community
and really get a feel for the music that's going on around here
but we didn't quite expect an entry like fred's
A Letter From Fred
How'd I meet Lorraine?
She was a carhop at the A & W root beer stand
she brought the trays to the car and that
That was in 1938
we dated for two years than we married
June 26 have been our 73rd anniversary
she gave me 75 years of her life
Well, she was
just prettiest girl ever saw
she was just real timid like
I just fell in love with her right there (laughs)
what made Fred's entry so special to us
was for number one it's an online singer-songwriter contest people are supposed to
upload their videos
but instead of a video we received a very large manila envelope
titled Green Shoe Studio Singer Songwriter contest
well I was excited to see what was and open it up in
lo and behold its a letter from a 96-year-old man who said "I've written a song for my
wife"
he said on the, you know, in the letter that he was not a musician
and that said he was not actually a very good singer. In fact,
on the actual envelope itself it says
"PS I don't sing I would scare people
haha" so it's a letter from this 96-year-old man, he sounds like a sweet
guy
but as I am reading through the letter
I begin to realize that his wife just passed away
a month earlier and so
having known that I started reading through the song and he titled it "sweet lorraine"
and listening to the lyrics and passion behind the lyrics
and letter he sent us-- it was just so heartwarming
Well,
after she passed away
I was just sitting in the front room one evening all by myself
and it just come right to me almost
and I just kept humming it and singing it and that
and that's how I come to write it. Just seemed like it just fit her
Green Shoe Studio decided to take Fred's lyrics
and bring them to life. We decided to put it to professional music,
professionally record it, We wanted to have a professional singer sing on the
song
You know, our mission here at Green Shoe studio is to change our community one dream at a
time
and what a better way to do it?
I saw Jacobs's an ad in the paper
About the contest that he was going to put on
so I just thought, "Oh shoot, I'll just
write a letter and send it all in" And never thinking, you know, that'd I
get an answer or something but then he
called one day and I I was surprised!
We decided we're going to do this just by reading a letter without even
meeting Fred
so I called him up one day, and Said "Fred,
we were touched by your story. N,ow it didn't meet the criteria of our
singer-songwriter contest but we are going to do something even better for you
said we're gonna record your song, we're gonna
have professionals do this, we're going to have a professional take so that you
know
so it's not just lyrics anymore it's bringing to life
and he goes all that's just so great but you know, how much is that going to cost? Now I
have any money.
I said, Fred you misunderstand me were going to do all this for free
and he began to cry on the phone and say why would you do this for me
and I said to fred is it's not
is not that we're doing this for you we're doing this together
because music means so much to so many people and
your song touched us and we feel like this is the best way
to do this.
Singing "Oh Sweet Lorraine"
I probably spent more time with his song
that I have on any other song
to be honest, I was a little nervous taking it to him
I've been singer songwriter for years
but,
This was about the first time in probably 10 years I've actually been nervous
giving someone a song
we have taken the time because it meant so much to him it meant so much to me
I hope you like it
and like I said it's not done yet but I will let you hear it
wonderful!
just wonderful! Jacob: I'm glad you like
I was a wonderful seventy-five years the
Just seems kinda unreal, like a
Dream or something but,
it was real thats all I can say
I really really miss her, just doesn't
seem right, like a dream