Hi there,
We have a single at the moment called "Road to Elmersville". The song came about through a friendship with someone we met on the website Myspace (which im sure everyone has heard of by now). The story is on our myspace page (www.myspace.com/callaghanspage) but I thought I would include it on here too to give you some background about the song, the reason we wrote it, and the effect it has had.
(This is the article from myspace below...)
All of us in Callaghan thought that the best person to tell you about it would be our fanclub secretary and dear MySpace friend Karen:
Well, if I were to write a country song about my Dad, I would have done the unthinkable. I would have cheated and used one already written because I can't write worth a darn and because until now, Loretta Lynn's "They Don't Make 'Em Like My Daddy Anymore" always came to mind. She had always been my Dad's favorite. Shortly before my Dad left this earth for eternity with my Mom, however, he got to hear another beautiful country singer by the name of Callaghan. I shared with him songs of hers that he truly enjoyed, especially when I would claim certain ones as my own, such as "Whatever I Want" (he laughingly understood that). I bought him his own CD, which he got autographed with his nickname "Irish" on a beautiful photo of Callaghan, which he listened to often.
In the meantime, I was developing an amazing friendship with Callaghan. It was almost as if we were cousins across the sea who had never met and I felt the need to keep in touch. I knew her fan base was increasing, but I kept leaving comments and messages anyway, not to torture her (really), but to reach out simply because she seemed to have somthing in common with me, wasn't sure what. I'm glad I did, because it kept a friendship going that did bring out our "bond" so to speak. That bond is one of hope. As my Dad became more ill, they learned more of his history and of our background as a family, his roots of having homesteaded with his parents in beautiful red rock Sedona, Arizona. I showed them my personal website (karenswanson.friendpages.com - no www) where I had posted an article about the homestead and my memories of visiting it growing up and how we all wound up back in Arizona eventually. The makings of a song came about in their minds and they shared it with me through an email, which I just happened to read at my Dad's house one day in Sedona. I brought him in the room and had him read it; I was overwhelmed with happiness for my Dad. He read through it, and the humble, low-key man that he is, said, "Well, ain't that somethin'!" I just hugged him, as tears flowed down my face and told him what a dent he had made in the world.
Speaking of dents, he was not only a cowboy growing up, but a body and fender man, fixing dents in cars as well as many other trades. Here is the Memorial Day tribute I wrote about this amazing Dad of mine:
"Once a Marine, always a Marine, well Semper Fi, DAD! Truly, you are what makes America free. I sat there and cried happy tears as you humbly said "wow, ain't that something", reading the effects of your life on others. You had to work very hard to do it, but you put smiles on so many faces. You do what God has asked of all of us. You love. You don't ask questions. You just love. If someone needs, you give. If a nation needs, you give more. All those years you spent fixing dents in cars, you've spent making a huge dent in the character of this great country of ours. A huge dent that is visible for us to model ourselves after. A dent into which we can dig deeply to find the answers. You're the only role model I will ever need. And so many roles: father, son, brother, soldier, husband, grandson, grandfather, great grandfather, teacher, mechanic, cowboy, body and fender guy, builder, gardener, railroad car inspector, grave digger, barber, hair stylist, bird watcher, fisherman, hunter, and so many more roles!
Dad, so many of the men in your squadron did not make it back to do what you did. God bless you for having the courage to go on and be strong enough to carry on the duties that they gave their lives for. You did it for all of them so that they did not die in vain. For that I am here and I am blessed. I am thankful for them and for you. Happy Memorial Day. I love you. "
As far as the song itself goes, it was completed just a few short weeks after my Dad passed. I know he hears it and I know my Mom is passing out copies to everyone in Heaven (she's that way). It is PERFECT!! There are literal things in the song that are HUGE memories like the oval driveway and playing spoons and of course, my Dad teaching us to not only ride horses, but to drive cars on that land, haha!! (I ran over my sister with an old sand buggy once, thank God for the big back tires). And Mom always teaching us to see the good in folks, for sure.
But the chorus, life is a road to Elmersville, can be used a thousand ways if you are one of us and probably even if you're not one of us if you think about it. Let me put it this way, As it stands, we still grieve the loss of my Dad. One of my nieces says in her mourning that
she is sad that she may not have as many family visitors because she lives just beyond where my Dad did on Elmersville Road. But that means hope to all of us that there will be more of us, family and friends going down that road, just to see her. Not to mention the implications of the eternal road to Elmersville, to see my Mom and Dad one fine day in Heaven, for they have come home.
Much love,
Karen.
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