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SW​:​S Retreat, Evins Mill, TN June 2021

by SongwritingWith:Soldiers

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1.
Celebration of the Heart Ledel White / Jeff Wilson / Raymond Moore / David Cagle / Scuba Steve Holt / Milton King / Gary Nicholson / Maia Sharp / Jay Clementi Thought I was walking alone Didn’t know what I was looking for Lost on my journey But I knew there was so much more I shared my stories and found my brothers When we unite and lean on each other We’re lifted up with inspiration To leave behind the desperation A reckoning, a revelation, a brand new start A matter of the mind, a celebration of the heart Turning down the negativity To quiet my soul So I can listen to all the things That I know can make me whole Lifted up with inspiration To leave behind the desperation A reckoning, a revelation, a brand new start A matter of the mind, a celebration of the heart In your darkest hour demons at your door Feeling like all hope is gone Just know you're not alone Soldier on, soldier on Lifted up with inspiration To leave behind the desperation A reckoning, a revelation, a brand new start A matter of the mind, a celebration of the heart A matter of the mind, a celebration of the heart © 2021 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Sony/ATV Cross Keys/Gary Nicholson Music (ASCAP) / Crooked Crown Music (BMI) / Sony/ATV Cross Keys (ASCAP)
2.
High On The Water Milton King / Jay Clementi This old ship Has been through some battles in its time It’s taken some hits There’s rust on the hull, but it still can take a shine I’m still floating high on the water I’ve been almost sunk so many times I’m still floating high on the water The one thing that’s always kept me safe and dry God and the guard and the love of my daughter Still floating high on the water Generally speaking I’m always almost running aground Starboard leaning and leaking It’s a wonder I ain’t ever gone down, down, down I’m still floating high on the water I’ve been almost sunk so many times I’m still floating high on the water The one thing that’s always kept me dry is God and the guard and the love of my daughter Still floating high on the water It feels pretty nice just sitting here in spite Of all the hurt and hell that I’ve been through I made it, I’m a little jaded And I still have something to prove Yeah, I still have got something more to prove But I’m still floating high on the water I’ve been almost sunk so many times I’m still floating high on the water The one thing that’s always kept me dry is God and the guard and the love of my daughter Still floating high on the water © 2021 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Sony/ATV Cross Keys (ASCAP)
3.
I Need To Tell My Story Ledel White / Jeff Wilson / Raymond Moore / David Cagle / Scuba Steve Holt / Milton King / Jay Clementi Want you to see the true me Understand what I’m going through I’m tired of feeling all alone Got nothing and everything to prove I need to tell my story I have a lot to say and I don’t know how to say it I need to tell my story I’ve got lot of pain and I can’t make it Go away, honestly, I just think, I need to tell my story I want the ones, that never listened - to start And stop saying I’m broken I’m putting together, the pieces I’m missing Get rid of that guilt I’m holding, and heal my soul I need to tell my story I have a lot to say and I don’t know how to say it I need to tell my story I’ve got a lot of pain and I can’t make it Go away, honestly, I just think, I need to tell my story My body was there But my soul was long gone I did my family wrong, now I just want to make it back home I need to tell my story I have a lot to say and I don’t know how to say it I need to tell my story I got a lot of pain and I can’t make it Go away, honestly, I just think, I need to tell my story I need to tell my story © 2021 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Sony/ATV Cross Keys (ASCAP)
4.
Meteor 03:53
Meteor David Cagle / Jay Clementi Still stuck in the middle of my own war zone Surrounded by people but I’m still all alone I’m still rocked by the mortars at night The enemy is everywhere and nowhere in sight When I was gone they hung my picture at church All the prayers kept me alive, so I guess it worked War made my soul dark as midnight and ice cold Then I’d come streaking through the sky on a C-5 headed home All the shame all the rage all that guilt all that pain Would build into a giant ball of flames And I’d come crashing right through our front door Like a meteor Like a meteor I was lost and raging mad at the world I never meant to take it out on my wife and my girls By not being there even when I was Not giving them what they needed most, my love War made my soul dark as midnight and ice cold Then I’d come streaking through the sky on a C-5 headed home All the shame all the rage all the guilt all the pain Would build into a giant ball of flames And I’d come crashing right through our front door Like a meteor Like a meteor I put a crater in their life I’m going to fill it in I’m going to be the father I should been I’m cooling off, the dust is settling I never want to lose them again I’m never going to lose them again War made my soul dark as midnight and ice cold Then I’d come streaking through the sky on a C-5 headed home All the shame all the rage all the guilt all the pain Would build into a giant ball of flames And I ain't going to do that anymore Not just come crashing right through our front door Like a meteor Like a meteor © 2021 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Sony/ATV Cross Keys (ASCAP)
5.
PAWPAW’S PRIDE AND JOY Ledel White / Gary Nicholson I’m a Mississippi boy born and bred Not a lot of money but I’m well fed Years ago I met a Mississippi girl From that day on she became my world We had some kids and they had some too Makes me want to sing this little song for you Pawpaw’s pride and joy Two little girls and a boy Wish I could be with ‘em every day Never knew I could love this way Two little girls and a boy Pawpaw’s pride and joy Karter and Kloe and Kai They keep me on a natural high They call me up on the phone Say when’s Pawpaw coming home I can’t hug and hold ‘em enough Never knew I could love this much Pawpaw’s pride and joy Two little girls and a boy Wish I could be with ‘em every day Never knew I could love this way Two little girls and a boy Pawpaw’s pride and joy Wish I could be with ‘em every day Never knew I could love this way Pawpaw’s pride and joy Two little girls and a boy Pawpaw’s pride and joy Two little girls and a boy Pawpaw’s pride and joy © 2021 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Sony/ATV Cross Keys/Gary Nicholson Music (ASCAP)
6.
The Water’s Edge Steve Holt / Maia Sharp She got to the point she couldn’t take it anymore I thought this is not the battle I signed up for The next thing I knew I was walking out the door To go on my odyssey I heard myself saying what I’d been denying I was talking to the devil, thinking about dying Like I wasn’t worth saving, like it wasn’t worth trying I was someone I didn’t want to be It was drowning me Then I saw my brothers on the water’s edge And the fear, it fell away I’d gone a mile between the man I was And the man I am today Sometimes I have that nightmare again Flight 77 is taking my friends It used to break me down but now I can bend And make it to another sunrise The spirit and the body, they’re both here With a heart so full, no room for fear My soul is free, my mind is clear Now when I close my eyes I see my brothers on the water’s edge And the fear, it falls away And I’ve gone miles between the man I was And the man I am today I saw my brothers on the water’s edge And I knew I’d be okay With miles between the man I was And the man I am today Miles between the man I was And the man I am today © 2021 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Crooked Crown Music (BMI)
7.
Why I Pray 03:37
WHY I PRAY Raymond Moore / Gary Nicholson Why I pray Why I pray I look for love every day That’s why I pray We have our struggles holding us down Feeling like peace cannot be found Ain’t no medicine to cure the pain You take the pills, the hurt remains So I try to get quiet and listen to my soul Because I know I have no control That’s why I pray Why I pray I look for hope every day That’s why I pray Can’t blame the newsman for the bad news Can’t blame the losers for all they lose Everybody knows this life ain’t fair If you don’t grow you get nowhere I try to be truthful and follow the path Forgiveness is there every time I ask That’s why I pray Why I pray I look for mercy every day That’s why I pray Through the love of Jesus I am forgiven It’s up to me how to go on living I’ve got a good woman she’s been my rock The power of her love taught me a lot Stay true to yourself and love one another In God’s eyes we all are brothers That’s why I pray Why I pray I get a little closer every day That’s why I pray I look for love every day That’s why I pray That’s why I pray That’s why I pray © 2021 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Sony/ATV Cross Keys/Gary Nicholson Music (ASCAP)
8.
Why Not 02:59
Why Not Jeff Wilson / Maia Sharp I almost turned around in Atlanta And almost again in Chattanooga Told my hands and my feet just drive ‘Cause I can’t do this on my own I looked in the mirror and made a promise When I promised my family too I knew I had to break through the wall of fear And stare down the unknown I built up that barricade to protect me from the pain All it did was isolate and shut me in with the shame So I broke it down brick by brick, thought by thought I used to have to tell myself why Now I ask myself why not Why not be the father, the husband and the friend Why not climb to the summit and swim in the deep end Why not wake up and find the way to let myself be free Why not be the best version of me I knew I had to tell my story ‘Cause it wasn’t just mine to tell It was never the plan to be the man To drag them all through hell Hey, Atlanta, Chattanooga Yeah, I didn’t turn around And it’s all too clear that I belong here And it’s time take another brick down I built up that barricade to protect me from the pain All it did was isolate and shut me in with the shame So I broke it down brick by brick, thought by thought I used to have to tell myself why Now I ask myself why not Why not I ask myself why not © 2021 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Crooked Crown Music (BMI)
9.
From the fire of the flash I feel the heat of the past Getting out of the blast And moving on I don’t have control And I’ve gotta let it go The harder I fight it The less I grow I refuse to go back I removed the mask And I watched it all disappear It was hard getting here living with the fear The fire of the flash From this point on I am standing strong Found the peace within calm Where I belong From the heat of this flame I’m not the same We all can change Don’t get me wrong I refuse to go back so I’ll remove the mask And watch it all disappear It was hard getting here living the fear The fire of the flash So I’ll make a pledge To this new oath I accept It’s my next step Toward being free I refuse to go back into the embers of the ash So I watch them all disappear It was hard getting here living with the fear And the fire of the flash

about

SongwritingWith:Soldiers, together with Wounded Warrior Project, paired up six veterans with professional songwriters for a weekend retreat in Evins Mill, Tennessee. Here are their stories.

credits

released June 22, 2021

David Cagle / Steve Holt / Milton King
Raymond Moore Sr. / Ledel White / Jeffrey Wilson
Jay Clementi / Gary Nicholson / Maia Sharp

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SongwritingWith:Soldiers Nashville, Tennessee

SongwritingWith:Soldiers is a non-profit 501c (3) organization.

Our Mission: We transform lives by using collaborative songwriting to expand creativity, connections, and strengths.

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