My First FAWM Song

When Jacob (now 11 years old) was in the hospital last fall, the music therapist there at Primary Children’s Medical Center helped him write a couple of songs.  She had a notation program that she used to type out the notes and the words, then she printed them out and mounted them on colored paper.

They were really cool.  They weren’t really pop tunes, more like, through-composed, stream-of-consciousness art songs, if I had to give them a label.  What really excited me about them was their heart.  He really got inside himself and talked about what he felt.  One was about how being in a wheelchair didn’t make him different from other kids, and another was just about riding life’s roller coaster.

So, when FAWM came around, and I was hunting for song ideas, I thought of these. I immediately knew how much fun it would be to work with Jake and make them into pop songs.  This morning, before school, he and I did the first one, and here it is, below.  Most of the words and all of the ideas are his.  I did come up with a few lines, but my main role as a collaborator was to shape his words and thoughts into a verse-chorus pop song form.  It was thrilling for both of us!

The Roller Coaster of Life
By Jacob and Mark Hansen

2/1/11

Verse I

I know you’ve had some rough times
I know that it seems strange
I know it’s not going to be easy
But it’s OK for change


Climb & Chorus

Move on, it’s OK
For tomorrow is a new day

You don’t have to hide
Or spend your life inside
We all strap in for the ride
On the Roller Coaster of Life

Verse II

When I’m feeling down
That’s when people help the most
When I need some good friends
That’s when they hold me close

Climb & Chorus






Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.