Nelson composer Danielle Corbin has released her debut music video Till We Meet Again, and she hopes the message contained within will help those grieving the loss of a loved one.
The Selkirk grad was first inspired to grapple with the topic after learning her stepson Quin’s good friend had died at the age of 13. The unexpected tragedy had a huge impact on him, as well as his younger brothers Kaegan and Isaac.
“Basically this song came from talking to them and hearing the questions they had while they were dealing with the grief,” said Corbin.
“I was trying to fall asleep that night and the conversations kept running through my head.”
She composed the song over two years ago, initially planning for it only to be shared with family, but then they encouraged her to record the song and distribute it further.
“I’ve always been an instrumentalist and composer, plus I’ve worked writing film scores, but this is my first step into the song-writing world, at least professionally,” she said.
All the music featured in the song was composed by Corbin , who recorded all the instruments acoustically or with her keyboard.
“Why did he have to go? I want to understand,” she sings on the track. “Why did he die so young? I can’t comprehend a reason. How would it be that someone who means so much to me is gone?”
Corbin said the song takes the listener on an emotional journey from a place of pain to one of acceptance and gratitude.
“In the final chorus the words change, and it becomes about being thankful even though the person’s gone. It moves into a place of healing, of being thankful for the time you had with them, and hoping to meet them again in the future in Heaven.”
She said people react strongly to the message.
“I apparently have made a lot of people cry since I released it, which is a good thing I hope,” she joked.
Corbin is now offering multiple versions of the song, with the pronouns tweaked from one to the next.
“We realized at some point it works well with memorial services, so there’s four versions of the song. I’ll also be offering personalized versions where I put someone’s name into the song.”
Corbin worked with Selkirk instructor John Tucker on finishing the project. She’s working towards a full-length album. Dan Poirier of Dapoirier Inc. created the music video.
For more information on Corbin visit her at daniellecorbin.com.
This story will be published in the Friday issue of the West Kootenay Advertiser.
