Byrd from West Virginia

Senator Robert Byrd was a respected man in my parent's home. My mom was raised in the mountains of West Virginia and had always felt that Byrd was a man of integrity, passion and honesty. My uncle Tom (Dad's sister Ellen's husband) worked for the Senator in the 70's and 80's.

When my friends in the band I See Hawks in L.A. wrote a song about Senator Byrd, I was totally enchanted. Hawks songs are always amazingly literate and true, but this one was even more special. I wanted to share it with my mom.

Mom and I have passed in and out of closeness over the years, the past decade had been one more of distance than connection. When I heard this song and read the lyrics I knew that she'd love it. It became a link between us, a way to show her that I knew her heart and cared about what she believed in. It was an important link, one of our last.

She thanked the Hawks for their "lovely song" and read the lyrics lovingly transcribed for her by my friend Randall. She listened to it often. After she died in December, the Hawks helped "sing her back home" at their next show at Cole's in downtown L.A.

Senator Byrd has written a biography titled Robert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields Another book is We Stand Passively Mute, which is a collection of his speeches. Here is one of his speeches.

Senator Byrd is a controversial figure in the United States Senate. His tale is one of passion and progression. I think you'll find him fascinating.