In fall 2015, Shivering Songs Festival and United Way Central New Brunswick began collaborating on a concert series called Songs of the City. The series pairs songwriters with people who have benefited from the help of the United Way. Last year, I was lucky to have been chosen to write a song about a man named George Woodworth. George is a carpenter in his mid forties who fell from a tree while raccoon hunting in 2007, leaving him quadriplegic. Meeting George, having the opportunity to share his story through song and performing with him has been an incredibly moving experience for me. His positive attitude and upbeat demeanor in the face of extreme adversity is beyond admirable and inspirational.
George is currently raising money to purchase an accessible van to help him in his day to day life getting around the town.
www.gofundme.com/georges-van-plan
All proceeds from this song also go towards helping him achieve that goal. Thanks for listening.
Tim
From George:
"One of my earliest memories is one of life’s lessons that I've learned to live by. My dad had drowned when I was five weeks old so mom and I lived alone. There was a long, uphill slope behind our house so in the springtime water would run down and into our basement. We were out trying to channel the water away from the house, in all honesty, I was 4 years old so I was probably getting in the way more than I was helping. In any case, my boot got stuck in the mud and in trying to free myself I pulled my foot out of it and ended up putting my sock foot down in the cold, muddy water which of course from an onlooker's perspective must've been quite comical. I looked up and mom was laughing and I started to cry. Mom bent down beside me and said: oh George if you can't laugh at yourself, you can never laugh at anybody else.
Through everything that life has thrown at me, my father’s drowning, a stepfather with a serious mental illness, and becoming a quadriplegic at age 34, my sense of humor has been a fundamental means of coping and staying positive."
released October 9, 2017
recorded mixed and mastered at The Recordery by Brad Perry and Evan Hansen
therecordery.com
Tim Walker - vocals and acoustic guitar
Graeme Walker - bass and backups
Nick Cobham - electric guitar and backups
Kyle Cunjak - keys and backups
Dennis Goodwin - lapsteel
Bob Deveau - drums
