By Jay Scott Kanes
KINGSTON, Ontario, Canada -- Mary-Lynn Neil never has stood amid danger and destruction in a war-torn land. But her dad Mike did in Afghanistan. For 12-year-old Mary-Lynn, proud yet fearful, that’s big-time inspiration.
A resident of Kingston, Mary-Lynn wrote a poem, turned it into a song called “A Daughter’s Prayer” and began to sing it. Now she has recorded it with the guidance of Brian Dolph at Café Music in nearby Belleville.
“I love my family, my friends and performing music,” Mary-Lynn said. Her emotional, country-gospel, maybe-a-hit song tells of a daughter’s angst when duty takes her soldier-father overseas to a place buzzed by bullets and blasted by bombs.
“One night Mary-Lynn wrote a poem about her dad (a Canadian soldier) who was serving in Afghanistan, after talking to him on the phone,” said Brian, who praises her mindset, creative spark and strong potential. “She was worried, couldn’t sleep and decided to write her thoughts in her journal. With a little help from her mother and then from me, those thoughts later became a song.”
As Mary-Lynn explains, “I thought about what my dad was doing over in Afghanistan and all the children he was helping there. The first thought that came to me was that he’s really someone to be proud of and that I wasn’t going to be scared because other children needed him.
“Still, I was scared because I had to think about what would happen if he died and what I would do. I did cry a little bit. It took me about an hour to write how I felt.”
Newly recorded, “A Daughter’s Prayer” has started to attract attention. Already released across Canada, it’s entering the United States market too. Details about Mary-Lynn and her song graced the front page of her hometown newspaper, The Kingston Whig Standard.
“He’s not just a soldier. Remember he’s my dad.
Other children need him. I’ll try not to be so sad.
He’s not just a soldier, so keep him in your care.
Bring him home. I’m so alone. That’s a daughter’s prayer.
I miss you, Daddy, and I pray for you each night.
I just want you to hold me, and tell me everything’s alright.
I know they need you, but Dad, I need you too.
Please come home. I’m so alone. That’s a daughter’s prayer.
Yes, please come home. I’m so alone. That’s your daughter’s prayer.
I love you, Daddy.”
From “A Daughter’s Prayer”, written by Mary-Lynn Neil, D.L. Neil and Brian Dolph, recorded by Mary-Lynn Neil, 2009
Powerful public reactions jolted even the song’s young writer. “The first time I performed it was at the RCHA club here in Kingston,” Mary-Lynn said. “It was kind of shocking because a lot of people in the audience were crying. I didn’t know what was happening or what to do and thought I should stop singing.
“Later people came up to me and said how beautiful the song is. It’s like that whenever I sing ‘A Daughter’s Prayer’. I regret making people cry, but I’m happy and grateful that it’s because they like my song.”
So far, Mary-Lynn copes well with public attention. “It still surprises me that so many people like the song and know who I am,” she said. “It’s strange, but nice, when I’m out shopping and people I don’t know talk about the song and tell me how inspiring it is.”
For Mary-Lynn, writing the song felt logical. “When I’m worried or stressed, I write things down,” she said.
“At first, I didn’t think that anyone else, except my mom, would hear my poem. When I brought it out for Mom to read, it was because I felt sad and wanted to talk about my dad. I didn’t expect her to like it as much as she did. When she said it could be a song and started to work with me on it using a guitar, it helped to take my mind off my dad.”
The song “gives a voice” to military children. “I don’t claim to know much about war,” Mary-Lynn said, “but I’m from the fourth generation of a military family on my Dad’s side, so I have a deep respect for military men and women.
“I’m very happy that now a lot of people know how it feels to be a military child and about the worries we have when our parents are deployed overseas. I feel like ‘A Daughter’s Prayer’ belongs to every military child, not just me.
“When my dad was in Afghanistan, I thought about him all the time, always worried that something might happen to him. We live near the Highway of Heroes and the place where repatriation ceremonies are held. Sometimes we went to visit my mom’s best friend and drove on that highway. Every time I saw the Highway of Heroes signs, I’d wish for Dad to come home safe.
“A few weeks before I wrote ‘A Daughter’s Prayer’, my dad called, and I think he was a little scared too because he mentioned some things that had happened to him over there. That’s when I started to really worry about him.”
What does Mary-Lynn’s father think about the song? “He’s proud of me,” she said. The first time he heard it, he cried too.
Mary-Lynn has dabbled in music for a few years. Her mom Donna’s family has a musical history. Donna and Mary-Lynn’s grandmother were singers. Like Mary-Lynn, her two brothers, 14-year-old Jacob and 11-year-old Michael, play guitar.
“We have family jam sessions,” Mary-Lynn said. Her favorite music comes from the likes of Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash. “I grew up listening to old country, and my mom always sings it.
“I’ve been surrounded by music. Singing and dancing make me the happiest. I think of my guitar (nicknamed ‘Little Blue’) as a best friend because I spend a lot of time playing.”
Has Mary-Lynn written other poems or songs? “Yes,” she said. “My favorite so far is called ‘Different’. It’s about people who don’t quite fit in because they’re different. My youngest brother has a disability, and I wrote it after he had a hard day at school.
“Another one I really like is called ‘Wishing Stars’, sort of about kind of liking a boy, but not really. Then there’s ‘I’m Gonna Fly’ about a little girl living big dreams.”
More than a singer, songwriter and Grade 7 student, Mary-Lynn also does a little modeling and acting. In 2007, she acted in Milo, a Canadian movie. At home, she enjoys the company of a pet cat named Nashville.
“In school, she’s a grade-A type,” said Brian. “In person, she can be quite shy until she warms up to you, but she has no fear of the stage.”
As yet, Mary-Lynn hasn’t finalized her career direction. “I’d really like to have a career in music or modeling,” she said. “I’d also like to be a marine biologist.
“School and friends are my favorite things. I’m studying in French immersion and want to go to Memorial University in Newfoundland because it has the best marine-biology program in Canada.”
Now Mary-Lynn’s dad, a master corporal, has returned from Afghanistan. He did three tours of duty there and may return on a fourth, but this time with “A Daughter’s Prayer” to take along. For a soldier, that’s close to the ultimate motivation.
For more information: http://www.cafemusicgroup.com/MaryLynn.htm
Hear the song “A Daughter’s Prayer”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htru9jI0nUI
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