Singer-Songwriter Vanessa Davis Releases "Sing For Me"- A Lullaby For Her Son
- Renee Collins Cobb
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
Lexington, KY's Vanessa Davis has had a lot on her musical plate and has worn many musical hats in the post-Covid era including writing and recording singles and albums, teaching piano and voice to her very talented students- while being honored multiple times for her musical work by the Lexington Music Awards in the years 2018-2024. She is the true definition of what I call "a multipotentialite" A multipotentialite excels in a number of disciplines, each "working in the concert" to create a level of success unmatched by most in the music industry.
Yet the most important hat she now wears is the role of Mother to her son, Oliver. Vanessa has recently released "Sing For Me". The new single is the first lullaby in a series of songs that Vanessa has written and is currently in the process of recording.
"Sing For Me" tells a story blends the best of both of Vanessa's geographic worlds - from Vanessa's native Saskatchewan, Canada to the Appalachian region of the United States. The song is very dear to Vanessa and she recently sat down to tell me about the story behind these lyrics and how much it has resonated with her fellow Mom friends.
The positive feedback has all been very uplifting for Vanessa because so much of her heart and intention went into writing the song.
The first inspiration for the song itself came from Jewell's song " My Father's Daughter" that was released about a decade ago and spoke to how much music in Jewell's family had been passed down from her grandmother to her father and then to Jewell. Vanessa found the song relatable because she, herself, is a third generation music teacher and music has always been the staple of what has been passed down in her own family as well.
The second inspiration came from her son, Oliver, who has been a very vocal child in his early years as he has already shown and love and affection for music, often sustaining high notes, and singing along with his Mother - even matching her pitch.
Vanessa tells us the song was written with the intention of honoring her own past in Canada with her present in Kentucky. Lyrically, you will hear references to those things she loved most and has honored about Saskatchewan, the Boreal forest of Canada and the traditions that she no longer experiences - but are all things that she is desirous of passing on to her son. In the second verse, you hear great homage paid to the Daniel Boone forest and the sounds of Appalachia. While the last chorus, combines both traditions in musical counterpoint representing the dancing in The Northern Lights with the hoofbeats of horses.
The use of strings were described by Vanessa as both "storytellers and participants in the story". The violin represents Northern lights that dance in phrases and the cello tells the story through the eyes of the child wth hammerons, Kentucky verses and lines. The string parts were also written and crafted with the words "you little child of mine" mimicking a child singing along with the strings and when the words describing the Daniel Boone Forest - we see and hear what Mom is now experiencing through her son's eyes.
Vanessa also said that the recording was not done to a click track but with bends. When recording the strings - she actually conducted the violinist, played by Lucy Becker and the cello played by Seth Murphy throughout the song to further bring a beauty that added so much meaning behind the story that Vanessa sought out to tell through "Sing For Me". "Sing For Me" is available on all streaming platforms as well as YouTube, and will become part of a lullaby album that will be released at a later date.
Verse 1:
Oh my only little child
With a disposition mild
But you sing a reckless wild
Melody
All alone and in your room
I hear you howling at the moon
Saying “mamma come back soon
And sing for me”
Chorus 1:
So I sing of the boreal forest
And I sing of aurora borealis
Lift a song for the flowing golden prairie
That raised me, ooh
Verse 2:
Now you little child of mine
Oh your singing voice is fine
And you got a keener’s mind
For melody
Sing to me a treasury
Of the beauty that you see
Your natural surroundings
Sing for me
Chorus 2:
Sing to Daniel Boone’s forest
To the windblown bluegrass under horses
Lift a song to the rolling Appalachia
That’ll raise ya, ooh
Verse 3:
Let’s make up another line
While the ticking clock keeps time
Oh you vocal child of mine
Sing with me
From the rhythm of hoofbeats in the races
To the lights that live and dance in phrases
Lift your voice, let’s sing about the places
That make us
Coda:
Someday when it’s low and grown
Still the sweetest voice I’ve known
Sing for me
Listen to Vanessa Davis "Sing For Me" on Spotify link below
Renee Collins Cobb, M.Ed. and Warren Cobb. B.A. are Executive Producers of Overtones LIVE and Co-Owners of Listen Locally, LLC, as well as Executive Directors and Founders of Room 17 Productions, a non-profit 501c3 organization.
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