The
Making of The Fortress Stone
In the spring of 2006, Barb Stowell called me with the idea to do a
song about the Constitution. She already had Jordan Bluth picked out and
ready to sing the solo. We met as a committee in a conference room at town
hall and spent hours late into the night trying to distill the vastness of
the Constitution down to into ultra concise poetry. It was a great
exercise in asking, "What is the core essence of this document?"
Bill Norton has a huge depth of Constitutional knowledge as do others on
the committee. So there was no shortage of insights or understanding. We
kept trying to write a book, then got it down to an essay, but to get it
down to poetry was a great challenge.
I went home and took a shot at it. After several attempts, I felt like
I was making progress but still had a long way to go. The committee would
come to my studio every couple of weeks to listen to my ideas and discuss.
Barb and Bill would come over every few days and we would scour the
dictionary and thesaurus over extended and spunky debates. When I was
quite young, my father took me to a series of Constitution classes taught
by Cleon Skousen. Those classes made a huge impression on me and that
fingerprint is definitely present in this song. Other members of the
committee have similar experiences with Skousen and other Constitution
scholars. This made for lively, but also inspiring dialog as to the
purpose and meaning of this document that ultimately was the refining fire
of this message.
Part of what made this task so elusive is that we had some pretty lofty
goals for what we wanted to achieve with this song. We wanted to create an
anthem of such quality and nobility that it could stand up side by side
with our nations existing canon of patriotic music. We also realized that
of all our great patriotic music, there isn't a nationally recognized song
that is written specifically about the origin, meaning, and purpose of the
Constitution. We wanted a piece of music that was dignified enough in
style, and had enough depth in the message that it could take that spot in
our national conscience and last for generations to come.
In order to do that, we sought to have enough depth, metaphor, poetry,
and layers in the message that people would continue to find new meaning
in it even after hearing it for years. How do you create a metaphor about
the Constitution as beautiful and enduring as "Amber Waves of
Grain"? Phrases like "sword and pen" are intended to create
tangible imagery for the founder's actions and sacrifice that created the
Constitution. I spent a lot of time considering what kind of physical
metaphor symbolizes the Constitution itself. That goes back to the
original question, "What is the core essence of this document?"
Back in our first meeting at town hall, after hours of discussion, we
concluded that above all, it is not a giver of rights, rather, it is a
protector of rights divinely granted to all humanity. The image I came up
with was that of a Fortress, a firm and enduring protector, rising up from
a well of ancient ink providing shelter against the tyrants who would dim
the light of freedom's flame. But, it is much more than just paper and
ink. Just as a fortress is only as strong as the stones that make its
walls, the Constitution is only as alive and strong as We the individual
people who live it and safeguard it. A key goal from early on was to not
only honor our forefathers who gave this to us, but to consider our role
in preserving the Fortress for generations to come. There is a symbiotic
duality between us and the Constitution that I tried to convey with the
metaphor of a Fortress. The Fortress of paper and ink protects us. But,
the paper and ink are nothing with out us living by it. A Fortress is
really thousands and thousands of individual stones stacked thick and
high. We as individuals are the stones. United together, We the stones are
the Fortress. We are the protectors and we are the protected.
After multiple attempts, months of time, and no complete results, I was
driving home alone from San Diego in June of 2006. As I drove, all the
words began to come together. I had a digital recorder with me. So, I'd
say a thought or a phrase into the recorder. Then, after I'd worked out a
verse or chorus, I'd pull over and type it on my cell phone. By the end of
that trip, I had three verses and a chorus written out completely on my
cell phone that I emailed back to myself.
I knew this needed to be an orchestral piece because I believe that is
the only style of music with enough majesty to convey the dignity of the
subject material. And, the music had to live up to that majesty as well.
The music needed the sacred reverence of a hymn, with the grand majesty of
an anthem. The project stalled for several months looking for a way to
achieve that reverent majesty both in the writing of the music and in the
production of the recording. We hoped to premiere at the 2006 Constitution
Week Fair, but agonizingly missed it after several false starts. After
that, the project went dormant for a while. I didn't forget about it, but
stopped thinking about it for a while. Then in December 2006 I was at
Disney World and saw the "Hall of Presidents". I've never seen
that before and was surprised at how moved I was by it. Here was a visual
history of the legacy left by the Constitution. These weren't kings or men
of royal birthright. They were common men elected for a season with power
to be passed peacefully on to the next. Sure they had flaws and some had
many. But they had fought wars and tyranny and for over two centuries were
some of the foundation stones, a few were even cornerstones that held up
our Constitutional Fortress. I remember being distinctly impressed with
the dignity and nobility of the presidential office and by extension, the
institution that is our government. As ragged as it can seem at times, its
framework remains elegant. A few minutes later I was standing in line at
Thunder Mountain and a tune started coming to me based on the words I'd
written that previous summer. "Since time began the greed of man has
sought to bind his brother's hand." I wrote the note names on my cell
phone and when I got back to the hotel, I opened my music notation
software on my laptop and started writing before I forgot how it went.
That was enough to get the ball rolling. When I got back home to my piano,
I was able to finish the music to the verses and chorus based on that
original idea. It isn't much exaggeration to say that to some degree, I
wrote this song on a cell phone. The lyrics on Interstate 8 and the music
at Thunder Mountain. Ironically, the solution to the majestic orchestra
eventually ended up being right under my nose. In the fall of 2006, Jordan
recorded his debut solo album with a gorgeous orchestral production. I
called Jordan immediately for contact information. Arranger Lisle Moore
and Producer Judd Maher connected immediately and exactly with my vision
of reverent majesty. But, I had to finish the song first.
I often hear people say now that each time they listen to this song,
they hear something new that they didn't catch before. That was very much
a desired result from early on. I didn't want it to be just a fluffy
"feel good" song. I wanted something that would teach, inspire,
and call people to action. By March of 2007, I had a verse and chorus that
I felt did this, but still there was something missing. I also needed to
balance the teaching and depth with an emotionally compelling message that
people could embrace immediately at the first hearing. I realized that I
was missing the emotional and stirring climax that would bring people to
their feet and send chills up their back. In my light night dialogs with
Barb and Bill about the song, we came to call that the "Barb
Factor". The education component was the "Bill Factor", but
we needed both. So, in the spring of 2007, I added "Hear the
call...Sing the song of Freedom... Liberty flows in the blood and the
soul, of We the people sheltered by the Fortress Stone." Then I
started digging around in my piano for something that matched musically.
Looking back, that is now the defining message of the song. I remember
being in the studio with Jordan after the orchestra and choir were all
done. We got to that last chorus and I said half to be funny, but half
because I really felt the power of this message, "Jordan, now when
you sing this, I want you to raise your fist!" We all kind of laughed
at my tongue in cheek melodrama. But, on the other hand, that is really
what we are saying. I don't mean that we raise our fist in anger. I mean,
we should all raise our fist in resolve, allegiance, commitment, and
action to hold up the very Fortress that protects us. There are forces
that would destroy it and the freedom it defends if we don't raise up
something of ourselves to be part of the very fabric, the stone by stone
structure of the Fortress.
This has been the most challenging, yet rewarding piece of music I've
ever attempted. It took over a year from Barb's first phone call to
Jordan's amazing final high C. In between was countless hours of struggle
to extract the essence of one of the greatest documents of human history
into music and lyric. I had the privilege of writing it. But the vision to
create it was made for me by Barb Stowell and Bill Norton. I fed off
Bill's deep understanding of the document, Barb's passion to have people
celebrate it, and both of their drive to help people love and live it. The
three of us spent countless late nights agonizing over how to get this
song to reach those lofty goals. Did we make it? It is hard to say now,
and only time will tell. But, we tried, and the experience was an absolute
life highlight for me. I believe completely in the message of this song. I
have a deep love for our nation and its Constitution. I love Gilbert
Constitution Week because it is a place for me to take my kids and give
them a small piece of what I was given when I was young, an exposure,
understanding, and a love for the thing that keeps us free. Hopefully this
Anthem to the Constitution will add some depth and fire to that experience
for mine and many other families for years to come.
Jason Barney
September 4, 2007
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