thedrifter
12-05-06, 03:37 PM
December 11, 2006
This one’s for you
Country star offers ‘behind the music’ on his new anthem for the troops
By Beth Zimmerman
Staff writer
Flying through a combat zone during a USO tour to the Middle East, country musician Darryl Worley’s plane hit turbulence, “and the plane dropped like 800 feet in one second,” he said.
“Stuff was coming up from the floor and flying everywhere,” Worley said, laughing just thinking about the chaos.
Worley and the other panicked passengers were convinced the plane had been hit. When the plane stopped its drop out of the sky and evened out — and they all realized they were still alive — everyone burst into laughter.
A moment like that will change your life, Worley said, adding that he realized service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are going through life-changing minutes like that every day.
It was one of many moments that shaped Worley’s understanding of those serving in the U.S. military.
That connection prompted Worley to pen his latest single, “I Just Came Back From a War,” a song that has carved out a home on the country charts and is poised to become an anthem for service members returning from combat deployments.
Closing out “Here and Now,” Worley’s latest album, “I Just Came Back” was never intended as a single. Worley and his best friend Wynn Varble wrote the song for the troops, whom Worley has visited during many USO tours. But after Worley’s record label sent the album to radio stations to preview, the song took on a life of its own, according to Bill Mayne, vice president of promotions at 903 Music.
This is the second time Varble and Worley have brought a war-inspired song to the airwaves. After Worley spent what his friends called a “life-changing” Christmas holiday on a USO war-zone tour in 2002, he came home and wrote “Have You Forgotten,” a song that referred to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and topped the country music charts for six weeks in 2003.
Then, Worley met a young Marine who had returned from Iraq. The Marine talked about problems he and others had faced in trying to readjust after returning home. In telling his story, he used the phrase “Damn, baby, I just came back from a war,” Worley said. It struck the musician at the time as “a great line.”
“‘Have You Forgotten’ took less than two hours to write, and we never changed a thing,” Worley said. But “I Just Came Back” took longer than most songs because they “wanted it to be right.” Worley and Varble both felt there was something to the song, and that maybe it was “more than we realized,” Worley said.
War stories
The last line of the song’s chorus carries its message:
If I’m not exactly the same good ole boy
That you ran around with before
I just came back from a war
The music’s driving guitar carries the listener through a song that’s about the troops, not politics, Worley said.
“We’ve got a lot of people who have sacrificed for us,” Worley said, “and they’re not gonna be the same” when they come back from war.
Service members have recognized Worley’s sincerity — many of them have posted notes of thanks on his MySpace Web page. “I just want to say that your new song strikes a deep chord in my soul,” one soldier wrote. “Maybe some people will hear it and realize that war does change us soldiers. We are not emotionless.”
At the American Freedom Festival, held Nov. 10 in Washington, D.C., an audience of service members, along with their families and friends, listened quietly — almost entranced — as Worley performed “I Just Came Back.”
The song built to a crescendo, with Worley belting out, “I hope you cherish this sweet way of life, and I hope you know that it comes with a price.”
The crowd roared.
The ‘winning team’
Worley, now 42 and a veteran performer, is well-known among country fans for plenty of songs other than the two he wrote about war; he doesn’t need a patriotic song to boost his career. During the Freedom Festival, an annual concert in Washington honoring service members and veterans, Worley shared with the audience his motivation behind these songs.
Earlier that day, Worley had visited with wounded service members recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The rest of the day, he couldn’t shake the memories of the troops he met during his visit.
“When you go and sit with someone who’s lost a hand and a leg and they have nothing bad to say ... ,” Worley said.
He paused.
“We should celebrate their uniqueness,” he said, pacing back and forth on a quiet stage. Worley’s voice echoed through DAR Constitution Hall as he continued, his passion evident in his voice.
“I want other people to know what I’ve experienced. To know what it feels like to stand [with] the winning team,” he said.
“I’ve stood in the midst of that team in Iraq and Afghanistan. I want to share that. That’s why I write these songs. Because these are the best people we have to offer,” Worley said.
“And this song’s for you.”
Ellie
This one’s for you
Country star offers ‘behind the music’ on his new anthem for the troops
By Beth Zimmerman
Staff writer
Flying through a combat zone during a USO tour to the Middle East, country musician Darryl Worley’s plane hit turbulence, “and the plane dropped like 800 feet in one second,” he said.
“Stuff was coming up from the floor and flying everywhere,” Worley said, laughing just thinking about the chaos.
Worley and the other panicked passengers were convinced the plane had been hit. When the plane stopped its drop out of the sky and evened out — and they all realized they were still alive — everyone burst into laughter.
A moment like that will change your life, Worley said, adding that he realized service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are going through life-changing minutes like that every day.
It was one of many moments that shaped Worley’s understanding of those serving in the U.S. military.
That connection prompted Worley to pen his latest single, “I Just Came Back From a War,” a song that has carved out a home on the country charts and is poised to become an anthem for service members returning from combat deployments.
Closing out “Here and Now,” Worley’s latest album, “I Just Came Back” was never intended as a single. Worley and his best friend Wynn Varble wrote the song for the troops, whom Worley has visited during many USO tours. But after Worley’s record label sent the album to radio stations to preview, the song took on a life of its own, according to Bill Mayne, vice president of promotions at 903 Music.
This is the second time Varble and Worley have brought a war-inspired song to the airwaves. After Worley spent what his friends called a “life-changing” Christmas holiday on a USO war-zone tour in 2002, he came home and wrote “Have You Forgotten,” a song that referred to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and topped the country music charts for six weeks in 2003.
Then, Worley met a young Marine who had returned from Iraq. The Marine talked about problems he and others had faced in trying to readjust after returning home. In telling his story, he used the phrase “Damn, baby, I just came back from a war,” Worley said. It struck the musician at the time as “a great line.”
“‘Have You Forgotten’ took less than two hours to write, and we never changed a thing,” Worley said. But “I Just Came Back” took longer than most songs because they “wanted it to be right.” Worley and Varble both felt there was something to the song, and that maybe it was “more than we realized,” Worley said.
War stories
The last line of the song’s chorus carries its message:
If I’m not exactly the same good ole boy
That you ran around with before
I just came back from a war
The music’s driving guitar carries the listener through a song that’s about the troops, not politics, Worley said.
“We’ve got a lot of people who have sacrificed for us,” Worley said, “and they’re not gonna be the same” when they come back from war.
Service members have recognized Worley’s sincerity — many of them have posted notes of thanks on his MySpace Web page. “I just want to say that your new song strikes a deep chord in my soul,” one soldier wrote. “Maybe some people will hear it and realize that war does change us soldiers. We are not emotionless.”
At the American Freedom Festival, held Nov. 10 in Washington, D.C., an audience of service members, along with their families and friends, listened quietly — almost entranced — as Worley performed “I Just Came Back.”
The song built to a crescendo, with Worley belting out, “I hope you cherish this sweet way of life, and I hope you know that it comes with a price.”
The crowd roared.
The ‘winning team’
Worley, now 42 and a veteran performer, is well-known among country fans for plenty of songs other than the two he wrote about war; he doesn’t need a patriotic song to boost his career. During the Freedom Festival, an annual concert in Washington honoring service members and veterans, Worley shared with the audience his motivation behind these songs.
Earlier that day, Worley had visited with wounded service members recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The rest of the day, he couldn’t shake the memories of the troops he met during his visit.
“When you go and sit with someone who’s lost a hand and a leg and they have nothing bad to say ... ,” Worley said.
He paused.
“We should celebrate their uniqueness,” he said, pacing back and forth on a quiet stage. Worley’s voice echoed through DAR Constitution Hall as he continued, his passion evident in his voice.
“I want other people to know what I’ve experienced. To know what it feels like to stand [with] the winning team,” he said.
“I’ve stood in the midst of that team in Iraq and Afghanistan. I want to share that. That’s why I write these songs. Because these are the best people we have to offer,” Worley said.
“And this song’s for you.”
Ellie