By JOSEPH KELLARD
"It was horrible and so unbelievable. It seemed surreal," said Marie Sambolin, a choral music teacher at Hegarty.
For Sambolin, the terrorist attacks, the massive destruction and loss of lives was a reality that set in the following morning. When she arrived at school, she reflected on the atrocities and started playing the callimba (i.e., a thumb piano), the melody and lyrics began to form.
"The song just came right into my head and I wrote out a raw version of it in about 20 minutes," said Sambolin, who has taught music at Hegarty for 17 years and performs professionally at private and corporate parties for Solid Gold Music.
"It's not the first song I've ever written, but the events of September 11 were too unique for me not to write a song about them."
Since then, her composition, "Stand as One," has been pressed into a CD, and she's performed it on a special Channel 55 news segment. She also performed the single at Hegarty's winter concert, and at a fund raiser for the World Trade Center Fund.
"This song was my way of dealing with what had happened. I truly feel in my heart that 'Stand As One' can help people who were affected by this tragedy, the world situation and personal losses. I truly wish that we, as a nation, can unite and stand as one," she said.
The four-and-half minute song commences with slow, solemn piano notes and it builds, filled by keyboards, bass, drums and violins, into overlapping harmonies performed by Sambolin and her husband, Ken. She describes "Stand as One" as a 'We Are The World'-type song."
The CD was cut in the Sambolins' home studio on a four track recorder and a computer. Ken engineered it, Hegarty music teacher Diane Horn created the graphics for the CD cover, and the couple pressed about 50 singles that were distributed to promote the song, which landed Sambolin her performance on Channel 55.
"Although I wrote the song after the Twin Tower attacks, it has more to do with what is going on in the world situation right now," she said referring to the war on terrorism.
Her next step is to get "Stand as One" published so it can be played on radio. "My goal is to get the song played and have it help heal people. That's all I'm looking to do.
Stand As One
When I woke up this morning I looked at my son and I smiled
Then I remembered it wasn't a dream it was real
Cries of broken hearts, you can hear them everywhere
Cries of broken hearts, you can feel them in the air
(Chorus)
We will be alright
We will all unite
We will stand as one
Until our fright is done
Mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and friends
Have lost someone special, someone they'd never see again
Cries of broken hearts, you can hear them everywhere
Cries of broken hearts, you can feel them in the air
