Everyday Heroes

"People give, people care. There are heroes ev'rywhere." The memory of the events of September 11, 2001, will haunt all of us for a very long time. But the stories of heroism will also be with us. We have all paid our respects to the service people who did their jobs so extraordinarily that day, some at the cost of their very lives. We have honored them in song and ceremony, in thought and prayer, and will continue to do so, no doubt.

There were other heroes that day as well. People who never intended to be heroes. The stories of the people on the plane that went down in Pennsylvania still produce goose bumps. What kind of courage does it take to do a heroic thing when you know your own life will surely end? The amazing thing is that these people were just regular folks, like you and me.

The song "Everyday Heroes" is for all kinds of heroes - the ones who know they might have to be someday, and the ones who never meant to be. Either way, they are heroes. Either way, we owe them a debt of gratitude. As we have many times since September 11, we encourage you to invite your local heroes to your performance of this piece, as well as other songs of acknowledgement, thanks, and respect for what they have done. Of course, this includes heroes of any and all events, not just September 11. For example, use it to honor the veterans in your community on Veterans Day or Memorial Day. Use it on the Fourth of July. Indeed, any patriotic function would be appropriate. (Suggestions for special programming for other similar events can be found on pages 68 and 69.) But, use it to honor world heroes as well. Turn it into a class or school project to do research on world heroes - past and/or present. They might be surprised by their results. Like the song says, "There are heroes ev'rywhere."

Melodically, the song is reminiscent of a folk song, maybe even from the British Isles. On the recording, the haunting tones of the penny whistle combined with the piano and ethereal synthesizer add to an air of poignancy. The song builds with the addition of orchestral elements making it very musical and poetic, if not dramatic. The dynamic nuances should be noted, especially if you wish to play the piano live instead of using the recording. You will not be able to play it all as written, especially as it moves into the section at measure 41. This is meant to be more of a reduced orchestral score, so you will have to choose what notes you can cover. We recommend the highest and lowest.

Though the melody is unison, you will also want your singers to ebb and flow with the dynamic and tempo changes as the piano or orchestration does. The solos at the beginning and the end of the piece are optional, of course. But a clear, beautiful solo voice adds to the impact of the song as our soloist, Megan Byers, demonstrates.