Music helps raise spirits, awareness in the tornado’s aftermath

In times of loss and sadness, music can lift the spirits, bring people together, and offer a little salve for a troubled soul. Two moments recently shared, of people seeking refuge in a sweet refrain, have served as a soundtrack for many as they move forward after the Dec. 10 tornado.

Jordan Baize found his piano still standing when he returned home the next day. Trying to help friends and family find what could be salvaged of the Bremen home he shared with his two young children, he said he walked in circles, unable to focus on the job at hand.

“I was pretty unproductive,” Baize said. “I sat down at the piano and thought, this is probably too damaged to play, but I’d like to play it once more before we leave.”

As Baize picked his way along the sticking keys, he played a gospel tune by the Gaither family called “There’s Something About That Name”. His sister, Whitney Brown, was packing things in his bedroom when she heard the music, and hit record. The video follows the music to a room lined with books and home to a grand piano, but missing roof and walls. Baize is unaware and plays the tune with slow intention.

Songwriter Jay McElwain is a first-responder who wrote a tribute called “Bremen Strong”. (Photo/Submitted)

“Music is great, but when you couple it with the power of faith, I think that’s when it really speaks to me, and so Christian music is especially important to me,” Baize said. “It calms me, centers me.”

For Jay McElwain, experiencing the early response to the tornado sent him to reckon with what he saw in song. A special deputy of the Muhlenberg County Sheriff’s Office, McElwain was called to help in the immediate aftermath of the EF4 tornado.

“Later on, as I processed things, I got to thinking about the destruction, not just there but the entire path that the tornado took,” McElwain said. “I’ve been writing songs for 30 years, and it just began to formulate in my mind. I sat down one afternoon and put it to song.”

The chorus of “Bremen Strong” says, “We may be knocked down, but not for long, Bremen strong.”

McElwain said he’s had a few people approach him on patrol in Bremen and tell how much it meant to them. The old country songs he loves so much are full of heartache and grief and people can find connections that go to the heart and soul, he said.

“It might be a happy song, it might be a sad song, but you know at some point, somebody sat down and put those lyrics down, and that was someone’s feelings coming from someone’s heart,” McElwain said. “I think you can connect with another person who is in a similar situation.”

These musical moments have made a connection with millions in the weeks since the storm’s destruction.

McElwain’s video has been viewed thousands of times, and the video of Baize playing piano in the aftermath of the tornado has traveled around the world.

Baize has been featured on national and cable news, and his story has spread around the world, picked up by foreign news outlets as well. He even shared the stage with gospel singer Jason Crabb at the Grand Ole Opry, performing the song again, a week after the storm.

While going viral wasn’t something Baize had intended, it has brought awareness to the community’s tornado victims. When speaking to the press, he has two intentions. “One, is to point to the power of faith and what it means in my life, and two, is to make sure that Muhlenberg County stays on the minds of people all around the world,” Baize said.

A fundraising effort made by Crabb has raised $120,000 and Baize said he hopes some will be spent on constructing storm shelters throughout the county. “I think it will bring a lot of peace of mind to the community, and my goodness, what more do we need right now?”

When McElwain debuted “Bremen Strong” on his social media account, he called for the community to come together for the Bremen area. He said that while he was a Hughes-Kirk Tiger, “today we are not Tigers or Cardinals, or Nighthawks or Blackhawks, or Spartans or Golden Tide,” referring to the high schools formerly scattered across Muhlenberg County. “We are all Golden Eagles.”