Hello, I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama and grew up playing in Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The current oil spill is creating a great deal of trauma to the people of this region. The following story is about a little tune I wrote in response to the current situation. If you prefer, feel free to skip to the bottom of the page to listen to the audio file while you read. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the music and the story behind it.
The Phone Call:
I’m sitting in my studio working. The phone rings. I answer it. It’s my mom.
“Hello sweetheart.”
“Hey mom, how are you?”
“I’m fine honey. Now, you know I don’t like to meddle in your business, BUT…”
I sit down and brace myself for a motherly invasion. However, she ends up surprising me with a simple non-invasive suggestion.
“Sweetheart, your band Mithril is playing tomorrow night, and I know sometimes you dedicate music to different people or causes. Have you considered dedicating a piece of music to what is going on in the Gulf right now? You could dedicate it to all the families and animals affected by the oil spill.”
“Hmm, you know what mom? We haven’t actually discussed this. We have rehearsal in a few hours so I will bring it up and see what happens.”
A few additional words are exchanged and the conversation ends. I set the phone down on my desk and sit back as childhood memories begin filling my mind.
John and David Playing in Mobile Bay
The Memories:
A young boy, filled with smiles and laughter, runs through knee deep muddy water as he chases his big brother. Minutes pass, the two boys run to shore and pick up a large net. Together they pull the net into the water, drag it out about ten yards, carve a large u-turn and drag it back to shore. As the net makes it’s way out of the water, a multitude of small shrimp appear bouncing around on the sand. The boys erupt with cheers. Their shrimp catch has provided plenty of bait for their next adventure, fishing!
As the older brother gathers the shrimp into a little bucket he gives instructions to the younger brother, “David, go get the fishin’ poles an’ meet me on the pier.”
Smiling from ear to ear, David responds, “Okay, John!” He stares at the beautiful bouncing shrimp for a moment longer before racing away to acquire two small fishing poles.
Soon the boys are anxiously baiting hooks and casting lines into the water. Minutes pass as jokes are exchanged and a nice catch of croakers and catfish is landed. Eventually the boys decide it is time for another adventure. The remaining bait shrimp are poured back into the water, fishing poles are left sitting on the pier, and the two boys instantly become Olympic long jumpers as they race toward the end of the pier to leap into the murky bay. Moments later, two world renowned wrestlers tussle and tumble through the waist deep water as shouts of pure delight are carried down the beach by the summer breeze.
The Melody:
The sight of a little keyboard instrument sitting across the room interrupts my day dreaming. I pick it up, begin to play, and within a few minutes a simple melody takes shape.
I was proud of that speckled trout.
“Hmm, could this be a tune to dedicate to the current oil situation in the Gulf?” I grab my cheap warped guitar to find the chords for the melody. An hour later I arrive to rehearsal and play the tune for my friends. They like it! We decide to perform the tune and dedicate it everyone and everything affected by the Gulf oil spill.
The Concerts:
Tuesday arrives and it is concert time. I become quite nervous wondering how this simple little melody will be received. The concert is fun, we perform well and the audience is engaging. To my surprise the new tune deeply touches the emotions of many people in a positive way. Wednesday arrives and it is concert time again. The same outcome occurs. The new tune touches people in a very positive fashion.
I am especially honored by a special voice mail from a cool little fellow name Billy.
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We play the tune again a few days later in Bay Minette, Alabama and receive the same response from the audience. The following weekend we have the opportunity to open up for guitarist Billy McLaughlin. We play the tune and yet again many people respond with extremely kind words. People say they cried. The word hope is mentioned several times. Even the review the next day in the Mobile Register mentions this simple “unnamed” little melody. “Hughes explained that the tune is meant to convey a boy’s sadness and uncertainty about the future of the bay where he grew up, playing, fishing and scuba diving.”
The Name:
So, I have this tune, that people seem to enjoy. I ask my Mithril band mates if they would be willing to record it for free. They welcome the invite with open arms. However, there is one problem. The tune currently has no name. By this point we have received a number of great suggestions from friends and family concerning a title. A few suggestions were Deep Water Dirge, The Pelican’s Lament, and Gulf Requiem. I like them all, but for some reason in my heart they just don’t fit. Little do I know, two children are about to name the tune.
David Playing on the Gulf Shores' Beach
The day after the Billy McLaughlin concert I receive a phone call from another Billy. The same little fellow who left me the sweet message a few days before.
“Hello.”
“Hey Mr. David. This is Billy.”
“Hey Billy, how are you?”
“Great! I have a name for your song.”
“Really? What is it?”
“It’s Pray for Hope.”
I pause and smile. “Billy. I like that. Thank you, I will definitely keep that in mind.”
“You’re welcome. Bye!”
“Bye Billy.”
I rush to tell my family about Billy’s idea and as I am finishing the story my little lady, Lauren, says, “Dad, I think you should call it Cross Your Heart!” And there it is, “Cross Your Heart and Pray for Hope.” The childhood memory that inspired this tune would have placed my brother and I around the ages of four and eight years old. I find it funny that two children around these same ages would end up naming this tune.
This tune is not about politics. I guess you could say it is me attempting to process the oil spill. It is me as a four year old boy trying to understand why I can’t go play in the water. I pray this tune will, in some way, bring hope to anyone who is confused, hurting, or bewildered.
The Recording:
Here are a few versions of “Cross Your Heart and Pray for Hope.” Feel free to download this tune, give it to friends, pass it around, and post it online. If you do post it or distribute it make sure to link back to this site, and attribute David Hughes as the composer and Mithril as the artist in the recording. If you have questions about the license for this tune please follow the Creative Commons link below or feel free to email me at mail@therhythmcenter.com.
Original Version:
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Short Version:
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Cross Your Heart and Pray for Hope by David Hughes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Cross Your Heart and Pray for Hope Sheet Music
The Chicken Scratch Sheet Music:
A few people have expressed interest in the printed music. So here are the notes I scratched out on the way to the Mithril rehearsal to show my band mates. Feel free to print and use. Click the image to the right to download the full size jpeg.
UPDATE: Watch the Video
I sent out a request for photos so I could create a slide show of people enjoying the beaches around here, and WOW I received a big response! Click here to watch the video.
UPDATE: Hear the Children Sing the Tune with Mithril’s Recording
And here is yet another version of “Cross Your Heart and Pray for Hope”. This version features the singing of the two children who named the tune, my daughter Lauren Hughes and my friend Ben Harper’s son Billy. Click here to view the post that contains children’s version.
Thank you for the music and, especially, the sheet music.
Who is playing the harmonica? I like it.
Hey Richard, glad you are using the sheet music! I am actually playing a melodica. It is a small reed instrument like a harmonica.
[...] If you would like to download the audio file or read about how this tune was created then you may visit my first post about “Cross Your Heart and Pray for Hope.” [...]
Thank you David, This is so soothing in our crisis. Thank you for reminding us to cross our hearts and pray for hope….
Thank you for composing a song that speaks for all of us who have held the Gulf Coast, since childhood, close to our hearts. It certainly stands alone as an instrumental piece, but begs for lyrics.
David, this is so wonderful! Thank you for sharing the story.
good job.
P.S. David, I loved the photographs of you and John on the beach and the one of the fish you caught.
Thak you and Mithril for making the song available online to share with others.
David,
Thank you for composing this beautiful song. It communicates through music what cannot be expressed in words about what is happening in the Gulf and to an entire way of life along the Gulf Coast.
Hearing Mithril perform this at your recent concert at Laidlaw’s Performing Arts Center provided a quiet space in all of our souls. It was a musical respite from the shock, sadness and uncertainty that arrived in the wake of this BP oil spill.
The summer concert and Mithril’s heart-rending performance of this song was like an oil skimmer for our brains providing a glimpse again of the sugar-white beaches, and the rich blues and emerald green colors of the water. Mithril’s performance of your song laid out brightest orange ocean-level boom—a life raft for our spirits.
This song hits all the notes just right. In the beginning it has such a joyful, lilting tune reminiscent of children running in the waves, catching fish and playing on the beach.
In some ways, the middle of the tune reminds me of a spirited Cajun dance beneath a full silver moon somewhere along the bayou of Louisiana, or of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn rafting down the Mississippi River— the innocence of childhood and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world, the heartbeat of the culture of the Gulf Coast— all put to music.
The melody moves to a more wistful, somber note. It expresses the ineffable and inexpressible feelings of uncertainty and loss as the cataclysmic oil spill takes its toll.
The original version of the song captures the tragedy of the eleven lives lost. The sadness and the poignancy of this tragedy and its ongoing effects as it continues to unfold– yet there is a solid base line of hopefulness expressed throughout the entire tune, like the sound of waves that keep returning to the shore.
“Cross Your Heart and Pray For Hope,” captures the persevering spirit of those who live and work along the Gulf Coast. It is like the deep lament of fishermen who once plied these waters and saw its morning shimmer, now a glimmer in their memories, as their livelihood turns from fishing the seas to skimming the thick oil covering the waters we all love.
The song is such a fitting tribute. It taps into that love we all share for the sea. By listening to your song, even those who do not live along the Gulf Coast can be moved by the beauty of these waters and experience in their hearts this feeling we all share.
Thank you for sharing the behind-the-scenes process of naming the song. Your story and song vividly demonstrate just how tied we all are to these waters and how that love of the natural beauty of this world is passed down to each generation.
From your mother’s initial idea and e-mailed comments, “We have to keep praying and holding on to our faith through this. So many are truly suffering,” and your father’s words, “your memories are my memories,” your work on the composition of this simple and elegant song, Mithril’s live performances and recording, to Lauren’s and Billy’s ideas for the name of the song.
Thank you, David and Tasha, Lauren, Billy, Mithril, Stephanie and Lee, John and the entire Hughes family for bringing us hope and strengthening our faith in so many ways.
Thanks for the listen. The first 26 years of my life were spent in Pascagoula. Although I’ve lived in Texas for the last 26+ years, the Gulf, the river, and the islands were and always will be a part of me. Your song is beautiful and brought tears to my eyes.
A good and timely tune, Dave. (The beauty is always in the simplicity.)
And nicely played by the band.
David, What a beautiful, haunting song of hope. It is exactly what we need here on the gulf coast. We are native Mobilians, but spent 10 years in Gulf Shores, so it has always been dear to our hearts. We have seen Mithril at concerts both here and there and enjoyed them so much. We will be listening for some words although the melody is deeply touching. Thank you and Mithril.
Thank you all for the kind words! It brings me great joy to know this melody is touching people in a positive way. Hope is definitely what we need right now.
All of us need this hope. Thank you.
The music is beautiful, listened to it this afternoon, after returning home from church. Governor Barber, asked Churches of Mississippi,to have a day of prayer, concerning the oil spill. Thank you.
I live in Moss Point and write songs. I think the perfect name for this melody would be “Seashore Lullaby”. It’s a very haunting tune. If you would like to possibly collabarate on some words, give me a shout….Tommy…
I listened to your song for the first time today…amazing…you can tell it was written from a deep love for our beautiful bay and Gulf. I am posting on Facebook because it needs to be heard by everyone. Thank you for this gift!
Thank you so much for sharing this lovely song! It gives voice to the love and loss so many are now feeling from this tragedy. My Dad was from Mobile and wanted his midwest-born kids to love the Gulf as much as he did. Dauphin Island was our childhood paradise. Praying for hope — with your sweet comforting melody buoying up my spirits!
David, I grew up in Alabama and lived there for 27 years before I married and began my journey as an army wife. I have seen many beautiful places, but I always remember my time at the gulf. The beaches were nice and clean and the water emerald. The song touched my heart and reminded me of so many good times. Your music is magical and has touched so many. Thank you! I continue to pray for relief and hope. God bless everyone during this painful and trying time.
This wonderful, David. You’ve captured the melancholy and sadness so well. Very moving, and now on my facebook page for all to hear. Thanks for this tribute.
We need this expression of our sadness and grief at the destruction of our Gulf and its beaches, where so many of us had some of the best times of our lives.
David,
Thank you for your gift of song! Thank you for sharing your soul and heart. I am overwhelmed. Thank you! I am sure all who have heard this tune and will hear this tune experience your intentions for hope and prayers. Thank you!
Thanks David, that really does express the sadness of the heart over the loss we are suffering while watching so much of what we grew up with destroyed.
Gorgeous!!! I am not a Mobile native, but the song touches my heart nevertheless. I hope and pray that many, many people will hear it and appreciate it. You have done a wonderful thing.
David~ It’s great! I have chills listening to the song and reading about your memories! Love the fact that two children named it….and an awesome name it is! Keep up the good work! Love the pics of you and John as children too! It’s been a blessing to know you and your family for so long! You have always had a kind and caring spirit! ~Amber H.
What a great song, so beautiful. Born in Biloxi and raised in Mobile. This just hit home. Thanks so much.
Thank you so much for the download of such a beautiful tune. Can’t wait for all the music of Mithril’s summer concert to be put on CD. It was a wonderful concert as are they all. Thanks again!
David,
This song is heart felt and touching..I can hear the voices of so many people through this song. Ya know, its like little whispers of prayers that we HOPE will be heard. Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful, haunting piece of music. I can’t stop crying.
David I looked at this early this morning and I love what you did. After my grand-daughter,little lady was over today I wanted to sit and thank you for what you and Mithril did with the piece for the oil spill. Listening at the concert Saturday was great. David the music turned out perfect and what a way you received the title, 2 children that really care from their hearts. We have got to keep praying and holding on to our faith through this. So many are truly suffering. I thank our Lord Jesus for what He allowed you to write. Love, Mom
I love you, son. Your memories are my memories. Your hope is my hope! I love these waters, beaches and creatures. I love you.
This music sets the tone for a lazy summer day at the beach or the island – in the good ole days! I have similar memories of the gulf, the bay and Dauphin Island. It is an honor to know David and his family(especially his Dad)! I feel one day I will be able to point and say, “I know him! I knew him before he was famous!”
Thank you for a beautiful song. Even those of us who have never been to the Gulf are feeling pain.
I heard this “live” at the Saenger Saturday night and I am just as moved spiritually right now as I was then~ This evokes deep emotions of times remembered…I grew up on the beaches of Fairhope and the sadness of this devastation is beyond measure~I will share this beautiful song~ and I will keep “holding hope” for the future of this beautiful land we all call home~ Thank you David and “Mithril” for always being an inspiration.
such a haunting melody, yet somehow it lifts up my spirit. this song is a gift, thank you
thank you for this beautiful song and for writing this background story. i’m amazed. i know it will have a huge healing impact. God bless you all.
Your story and music are beautiful. I have been pushing back the horror of the situation and trying to avoid thinking about it, but your childhood story is so similiar to mine and my memories, that the flood gates opened. Thank you for showing me that I can grieve and have hope at the same time.
This expresses exactly, the sadness I feel, when I think about this environmental tragedy. Lovely work, Thank You.
Thanks so much for this! Ray B. sent it to me this morning. My roots are in S. Louisiana, and your gift to us is incredible. Your tune expresses so well the multiplicity of emotions surrounding this event. I pray it will assist in the healing we all need at this time, and in the considerations we need to give to where we go from here.
Mickey
David, what a great tune and arrangement. You did a wonderful job of capturing the emotion and hope we feel during these trying times. It was great to see this tune evolve and grow from Laidlaw to Saenger performances.
David, It’s a wonderful idea and song. I think we should all download it and play it at one of the slow sessions. I love it
Absolutely GORGEOUS! Thank you so much! Am posting now to my facebook pages and to my website later.
This is wonderful, plaintive and compassionate. Such a true reflection of the sadness and hopefulness of all of us who love our gulf coast