Franklin Springs Family Media

There She Stands

Monday, June 28, 2010

We drove into Franklin on Saturday, and were happy to see seasonal decor starting to welcome in the coming Fourth of July holiday.

It reminded us of a similar Saturday morning eight years ago, when we received a call from a local singer with whom we had worked on numerous projects.

He explained that he had received a request during a recent trip to the Oval Office.  That was our signal to pull into the parking lot of a country market to maintain cell reception.  The singer went on to explain that the President had asked him to write a song that would inspire Americans as the country approached the one year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The singer told us how he had been stumped creatively and had gone to his farm in Franklin to seek inspiration.  He told how he stepped outside for fresh air, and looked up at the stars and stripes atop his flag pole.  In that moment, he had his breakthrough:  he went back inside and wrote There She Stands.

He asked us to join him on what became a whirlwind adventure as we hastened to collaborate on a music video.  That Fall, among many other places, the video played on jumbotrons prior to NFL football games; months later, it played immediately before President Bush delivered his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.

The song struck a chord as the country grappled with the aftermath of 9/11.  Hopefully it has something to say all these years later…