I first heard of Mattie Stepanek a couple years ago when my grandma
mentioned having seen this frail young boy sharing his inspirational
poetry on a talk show. I read through his first two books the next time I
visited and awoke to his message of hope on Christmas morning on Good Morning America.
Here was a boy with Muscular Dystrophy who had known more pain in his
11 years than most people will in a lifetime yet approached life with a
positive attitude and brought hope to thousands who heard his message.
Very impressive. So when I heard that Mattie, the MDA’s Goodwill
Ambassador, had collaborated with child country star Billy Gilman, the
MDA’s National Youth Chairperson whose music I had been wanting to check
out for quite some time, I knew I had to get the album. I picked it up
the beginning of this summer but never got around to listening to it
until last week. It didn’t occur to me at the time that the Jerry Lewis
MDA Marathon was just around the corner and I would be bound to see him
then.
I usually only catch snippets of Lewis’ marathon, but I
found myself glued this year. The sight of all those amazing performers
and ordinary people from all walks of life coming together for the
common cause of fighting this malicious disease was a true inspiration.
It didn’t hurt that Clay Aiken was given the supreme honor of closing
out the telethon’s performances with the extremely appropriate Bridge Over Troubled Water,
which he performed radiantly. In spite of time constraints, Jerry made a
point of announcing that Clay’s fans had donated $30,000 in his name
and of calling Clay over after his performance to share his affection
and accolades for the 24-year-old, whom he compared to his old buddy
Frank Sinatra. But Mattie got the last word in the telethon, and he and
Billy were frequent presences throughout the telethon. Music Through Heartsongs
formed a continuing thread through the program, with both boys speaking
out in support of the MDA and Billy singing several songs from the
album.
Mattie is an incredibly intelligent, articulate,
compassionate 13-year-old, and through his poems, some written when he
was a toddler, he gives voice to the plight of children with Muscular
Dystrophy and the hope that he maintains and which drives the MDA
Telethon. Who Mattie is and what he has suffered lend poignancy and
urgency to his poems. He now has five books out, and the lyrics for the
album’s twelve tracks were drawn from four of these. Several different
musicians worked with Mattie’s words and molded them into songs. The
final product is a message from two boys to the rest of the world. It’s
an album giving voice to the young victims of Muscular Dystrophy, and
the songs are earnest and honest. We never forget that this is a
collaboration between a couple of kids. But what a couple of kids they
are.
For Our World: As far as I know, Billy sang three
songs during the telethon. I was half-asleep during the second song and
don’t remember too clearly, but I think this was what he sang. If not,
it would have been appropriate. Billy’s plaintive vocals with strong
piano backing give great voice to this song pleading people to be kind
to one another. I heard Mattie read this poem on television late in 2001
as a sort of response to September 11. Simple but powerful. “We need to
stop, just stop, stop for a moment before anybody says or does anything
that may hurt anyone else.”
About Things That Matter:
This one starts out with Mattie uttering the statement “It matters that
the world knows.” This guitar-driven upbeat track reminds people to
appreciate the joy of life and not squander it with unkind actions. “We
all have a song in our heart that inspires us in good times and hard
times if we take the time to listen.”
Morning Gift:
This one features the pennywhistle and follows along the same lines as
the second track. This song is more specific, however, referring to the
beauty of morning in particular. “Don’t you just love the morning when
you’re reminded of the special gifts of life?”
I Am / Shades of Life:
This is the longest track on the album and seems to be the album’s
centerpiece. Billy sang this one last night on the telethon, and it
seemed to go beyond the Mattie’s own identity to the many faces of
children with Muscular Dystrophy. Most of Mattie’s poems are free verse,
but this has a pretty regular rhyme and rhythm to it, as well as a
pattern; all of the lines in the verses begin with “I am.” It’s
basically a list of identifying characteristics, many of which seemingly
contradict one another. The idea seems to be that he is a little bit of
everything. The chorus focuses on the various colors to be found in the
world, concluding, as Mattie often does, with a statement of peace.
“The color of peace is people together.” This is another track on which
Mattie contributes his voice, speaking several lines toward the end.
It Happened Anyway:
A very sad and personal song about the time Mattie lost his brother
Jamie to MD. The most downcast tune on the album. “If crying could bring
him back he’d be here with me today. But then I remember... It happened
anyway.”
Possession: A song about the hold that
Mattie’s disease has upon him. It leaves him with a fear that never
fully departs, but the song ends on the hopeful note that it can be
conquered. “The less my world revolves around it then I can just live
out my life without the fear of ‘it.’”
Songs of the Wind:
This breezy song has a tropical feel to it and is backed by
Hawaiian-sounding instruments and chanting. Another song about finding a
message of peace in nature. “Listen to the wind. If you listen
carefully you will hear soft notes. Listen with your mind.”
Making Real Sense of the Senses:
A tribute to the different senses and what they can do for us. It
starts with the most practical applications of the senses, moving on to
particularly altruistic uses. “Our hands are for feeling but also for
hugging and touching so gently.”
The Gift of Color:
This jazzy number is a prayer of thanks for all the colors of the world
and the things that they make more beautiful. “And thank you for the
colors of the Heaven-in-the-earth and of the Heaven-in-the-sky.”
I Could... If They Would:
Billy performed this song towards the end of the Telethon. Here, Mattie
ruminates on the things he could do at various points in his life if a
cure were found in time. Although he wants the chance for a normal life,
he ends with the sentiment that he will be happy as long as he can help
future children have a better life. “If they would find a cure when I’m
alive I could live each day without pain and machines, and I could
celebrate the biggest thank you of life ever.”
About Memories:
This is a dramatic, rather prophetic song encouraging people to pay
attention to their memories, treasuring them and learning from their
lessons. This one is only slightly shorter than the longest song on the
album. It also is the third and final song to feature Mattie’s speech on
the track. “Memories are a gift of the past that we hold in the present
to create what can be a great future.”
About Watches:
This fast-paced number is a reminder of the general urgency with which
Mattie lives his life, as time is not on his side; he has already beaten
nearly impossible odds to live to this day. Wearing lots of watches
gives him the illusion of having plenty of time when, in truth, he knows
that his time could well run out very soon. “With all these watches on
me it’s like having ‘all the time in the world’ and never having to
think about the end of time or about dying.”
Music Through Heartsongs
is a unique collaboration between two idealistic boys raising awareness
and funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Check it out, let
their message move you, and pray for a day in the near future when
children like Mattie can enjoy a normal life free from pain and
debilitation.
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