Donna Mucks: Blog

In 2008 and 2009 I was compelled to attend the wakes of 3 local heroes.  I did not know any of them, nor did I know anyone who did, or so I thought.  I just knew I needed to go. At each event, I was of course, saddened. I was also uplifted though, by the support of the communities, and amazed by the strength of the family members in the receiving lines.  I also participated as a volunteer with the Red Cross at the arrival ceremony of one of these heroes.  During this time I came to know of the Patriot Guard Riders (PGR). When I attended the wake, there was the PGR again, with their “heads and flags held high”, silently standing and guarding the fallen hero and all those gathered.

I stood in line at the funeral home and asked myself, “Why do I go pay my respects to someone I don’t even know?”  I went to my car and took out a pen and paper tried to put my feelings into words.  I sat there for a while, watching people come and go, watching the flags that lined the roadside and the doorway, waving in the breeze.  I went home and sat with the words for a while, and thought not only about fallen heroes, but also of those who serve and who have served.  I managed to put the thoughts and feelings together as a poem. Friends, who know me as a singer and songwriter, asked “when are you writing the music to go with that song?”.  I had never intended it to be a song, but I sat down one afternoon, and it was there.  Another gift from God.

As I prepared to go into the studio, I knew I wanted a fiddle and a drum on the song, but I was not sure how.  I decided to ask a husband and wife team, Mike and Chris, if they would like to join me on this project. Mike is a fiddler and Chris a drummer.  I had run into Chris at the wake of one of the fallen heroes and learned that their families had been friends for many years. Chris, Mike and I had not seen each other except in passing for about 20 years, but when you know good folks, they are friends for life. I am so glad we are back in touch.  At our first rehearsal I learned that that Mike and Chris have a son who is a Marine.  This project was close to their hearts for multiple reasons.

In a brainstorming session with my husband John, he suggested I listen to the song The Minstrel Boy. I brought this idea to Mike and Chris and after several rehearsals and arrangements, we settled in on a beautiful blending of the The Minstrel Boy and For You and For Me.  The Minstrel Boy is also a patriotic song. It was written by Thomas Moore to honor his friends who were killed in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. It was popular in the American Civil War and WW I. The tune of The Minstrel Boy is The Moreen, an old Irish air.

That is “the story behind the song” For You and For Me.  Thanks for listening or reading! Never forget, they do it, For You and For Me!