The Makin Waves Song of the Week is “For Me and You,” the new single from Princeton-based singer-songwriter Helen O’Shea. ART BY JESSE CARUSO & HELEN O’SHEA
For her latest single, Princeton-based Irish-American singer-songwriter Helen O’Shea has composed an anti-suicide anthem.
“For Me and You” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.
As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “For Me and You” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Nov. 8 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin and Mixcloud.
"To set the stage, one of my biggest dreams and goals in life is to eliminate the horrible ‘S’ word and all of its terrible repercussions on families across the world,” Helen said. “Just like terminal cancer, I can tell you from personal experience that there is such a thing as terminal depression. This is the correct term for the outdated and harmful ‘S’ word.
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“It takes way too many lives, way too young,” she continued. “As in terminal cancer, this terminal depression is a result of undiagnosed, untreated, intractable or incurable depression. As a medical professional working in the field of childbirth, I am sad to share that after my lovely first child was born, I suffered from severe postpartum depression that went undiagnosed for almost a year and which led to me creating a clearly thought-out self-harm plan simply because my broken brain absolutely convinced me that both my husband and my newborn child would be so much better off without me in the terrible state that I was in.”
“Luckily for me, I was diagnosed and treated just in the nick of time. But it took more than three years of treatment for me to recover. Once my brain was healthy again -- yes, it is possible -- I was absolutely horrified at the messed up mindset that I had lived with on a daily basis at the worst and deepest part of my depression.
“Since then, I have been driven to find a way to get the message out that there is absolutely no selfishness involved in ‘terminal depression,’ just the most awful misery from the pain everywhere in the body and mind and the insidious, unrelenting suffering that cannot possibly be imagined unless it is experienced firsthand, as well as the overwhelming urge to stop the people you love around you from suffering themselves because of you and your awful state of mind and all the additional misery that is piled on with that. There is absolutely nothing that the loved ones who are left behind in shock, disbelief and suffering undeserved guilt could have done because when that unrelenting drowning suffering becomes way too overwhelming, there is only the thought of alleviating the intractable pain for everyone concerned, ending in the worst possible outcome, a misguided act of love. That critically important piece of knowledge about how the broken brain takes over everything, that I was blessed enough both personally and professionally to bring back from the brink, just might bless those loved ones left behind in confusion, horror and misplaced guilt with just a tiny bit of comfort. That is why I finally gathered my courage, strength and humility to write and share ‘For Me And You.’”
Helen wrote the song with Grammy-winning producer Marc Swersky, who played bass on the track. Joining them at Dug Deep Productions in Asbury Park are Brielle Brown on background vocals, guitarist Andrew Carrillo, pianist- keyboardist Matt Wade, and drummer-percussionist Santo Rizzolo. They were recorded by Jack Daley (Spin Doctors), who owns the studio; mixed by Seth Von Paulus and mastered by Leon Zervos.
A voting member of the Recording Academy, Helen volunteers as a Grammy U Mentor for younger artists. The multiple-award winner performed in September at the Indie Music Channel Awards in Los Angeles. She was awarded three trophies: Best Americana Songwriter for "Please Be Kind,”Best Folk Song for "Every Mother's Prayer,” and Best Female Americana Artist for "Moments,” all of which appear on her 2023 LP, “Sturdy Souls.”
Upcoming performances with her band, Helen O'Shea & Friends, include Nov. 21 at a Gala Fundraiser for Good Grief in Princeton; Nov. 23, Rainbow Moon Festival, Morrisville, PA, and Feb. 1, Diva Lounge, New Hope. She also will play Dec. 4 at The Headliner in Neptune in O'Shea & Marzano, an acoustic duo with Paul Marzano.
New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.
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