Between the Bridge and the River

Where the song came from:

Four young people lost their lives to suicide in my town within just a few months. Two other kids had died by suicide just on my street. This deeply effected me. I remember sitting in my garage reading a book about St. Padre Pio and there was a part in the book that described how a mother who had lost her son to suicide approached the Saint and asked him if her son was in Heaven or hell. I was struck by the words St. Padre Pio said to her, “Between the bridge and river he was saved.” I felt like there was a lot of hope in those words, hope that needed to be heard. I started composing the song around those words but never really finished. One night my wife dropped me off at a chapel with my guitar and said, “Don’t come out until it’s done.” I prayed and the rest of the song came flooding in.

How the music video was made:

Everything in the song and music video was created to show authenticity but I never knew how far that would go or where we would end up. The realest part of music video is the suicide note. The director of the music video had asked me to write a suicide note to be used in the film and having no idea what to write and seeking ideas I strangely ended up having lunch with someone who revealed to me that they had at one point attempted suicide. Not only could this person describe word for word what they had said in their suicide note but they gave me permission to use it in the music video. I remember sitting down at the kitchen table in the house we were shooting in and copying my notes from the words he had dictated on to a piece of paper and that ended up being the suicide note we used. Writing out that note was a dark lesson in the utter desperation and despair someone is going through when they want to take their own life.

My hope for the song:

I hope the song and music video will provide some answer of hope to anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide and worries about if they are in Heaven or Hell. The purpose is not to relive the pain but to hear from the song and see on the video the mercy of God. It is also my hope that this song will touch anyone who is struggling with suicidal thoughts and point them towards the relief of God’s mercy in the midst of their darkness.