York musician writes song to help victims, families affected by Orlando shooting
By J.C. Lee
on June 21, 2016 at 6:20 AM, updated June 21, 2016 at 11:56 AM
Brandon Parsons was nervous when he got back to work
The 32-year-old York musician performs at the dueling piano bar Howl at the Moon in Baltimore. Parsons knew it could get noisy, but he still jumped at every loud sound. He was scared. It was his first shift after 49 people were shot and killed June 12 at an Orlando nightclub.
“It’s a scary thought that gay people don’t have a lot of outlets to feel safe,” said Parsons, who is also gay. “I feel that they were somewhere they could let their guard down and have a good time … and this happening is such a huge blow to the community.”
Parsons said he gave to relief groups after the shooting, but he still needed to work through the event himself.
“Forty-Nine Times”
Words and music by
Brandon Parsons
Copyright 2016
Vs.1
When the night has fallen
And our smiles quickly fade
When the love we held so close
Was instantly torn away
When the lights are flashing
And the tears begin to fall
When we wait for all the sounds
To finally go away from us all
Pre-Chorus
But in the blink of an eye
Our hearts slowly died
As we felt our pulse
49 times
Chorus:
We will never hide, we will never run
Stand strong and always fight
Break free and always love
Don’t lose sight of who we are
We will never break, we will never die
We were made for more than just tonight
Takes more than just a gun
More than you to tear us down
So let your colors fly free
We Are Forever strong
We are forever
Vs.2
When your dreams were quickly shattered
When you were not prepared to fight
When you were safe inside the shadows
And you were dancing through the night
When every moment feels like hours
And all the shots rang out again
When our lives are held for ransom
As he holds it in his hands
Pre-Chorus
And in the blink of an eye
Our hearts slowly died
As we felt our pulse
49 times
Chorus:
We will never hide, we will never run
Stand strong and always fight
Break free and always love
Don’t lose sight of who we are
We will never break, we will never die
We were made for more than just tonight
Takes more than just a gun
More than you to tear us down
So let your colors fly free
We are forever strong
Orlando
We are, we are, Orlando
We are Orlando strong
So in the blink of an eye
Our hearts slowly died
As we felt our pulse
49
49 times
God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there
He is young
He’s afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed.
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.
He’s like the son I might have known
If God had granted me a son.
~~Remembering the 49 lives lost in the Orlando shooting~~
~~Published on Jun 19, 2016~~
Last week as I sat alone to order lunch, an instrumental version of ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Misérables began to play in the restaurant.
Immediately, I thought about the 49 lives lost in the Orlando shooting. I searched for the lyrics and tears began flow.
Especially when I read ‘He is young, He’s afraid, Let him rest, Heaven blessed.’ as the music continued to play.
But, I wiped my tears and had my lunch. Later, I told Elisa what had happened. She said you have to edit a video with that music and the pictures of the victims.
Here’s the video I edited remembering the 49 victims in last weekends Orlando shooting. (The music is from the Glee version of ‘Bring Him Home’)
VideoByBacon
~~Orlando Shooting: The faces of the 49 victims~~
~~Published on Jun 14, 2016~~
Here are the names and faces of the 49 people killed in the Orlando LGBT nightclub shooting.
It Is What It Is 