Freedom Student, Friends Write Song For Fallen Classmate To Help Family

By Matt Wiley

If you were to search “Harris” or even “Taylor Emery” in the iTunes Store on a computer, numerous results for both song names and artists would appear. However, one result would be a song actually named “Harris,” written and produced right here in New Tampa, to honor Freedom High graduate Jordan Harris, who passed away after a long battle with brain cancer in October at the age of 18.

To help offset the cost of medical and funeral bills, two of Jordan’s friends got together with a local music producer and produced a song that recently went up on the popular online music store, the proceeds from which will go directly to the Harris family.

“This song means a lot to me,” says 16-year-old Taylor Emery, the Freedom High girls basketball star who wrote it. “It’s the way I released all of my built up emotions I was feeling from his death. I listen to it whenever I need motivation because (Jordan) taught us to never give up, regardless of the situation at hand.”

Emery met Harris when the two entered Freedom together as freshmen. Together with her friend and Countryside High student Kellie Gaston, 16, who provided backing vocals, and Bloomingdale High student Kyle Snelgrove, 17, who produced the song, the three collaborated to produce a four-minute hip-hop song about Harris and the battle that ultimately took his life.

“The challenge was writing it,” Emery says. “It took about seven days from start to finish.”

Emery says that she didn’t want to actually include the word “cancer” in the song, so she took another route, by including a more subliminal message.

“Intruded by this enemy / and I don’t know why,” Emery says in one line of the song (see complete lyrics, right).

Emery says that her message is that cancer is horrible and that a cure needs to be found to prevent more tragedies like the loss of her friend.

Snelgrove says that he was able to put “Harris” together using sound mixers and a computer program in his bedroom.

“Putting together the song was hard,” Snelgrove says. “Especially since I don’t know the feeling of losing a loved one. But, I could tell that Taylor and Kellie were so deep with the song as I was recording them.”

Snelgrove hopes the song will help the mourning process of those who knew Harris. Emery says that they won’t know how much money the song has raised until January.

“Jordan may be gone / but I’ll never forget how he inspired me,” Emery says in the song. “He’s watching over us now, what a great thing to bear.”

 

‘Harris,’ By Taylor Emery

Chorus: Why, why’d you have to leave? So early you see. I was hoping we would make it through together. Fight through any weather. Wind, rain, sun, whatever. I can’t let you go

 Verse 1: Too early to say goodbye. Intruded by this enemy and I don’t know why. Unable to grasp this unbelievable news. Not quite being able to refuse. 18 years old, he shouldn’t have died. Just a kid living stride after stride. Attacked by this invisible enemy that has no morals, a never ending war. Soldiers stayed loyal. But it wasn’t enough and now our hearts are cuffed. Individualized by our minds, but united by our sorrow. We expect to see him tomorrow. Sodomized by our brain’s vision of what could be. Not accepting the truth, idealizing a falsehood of what should be. Jordan may be gone, but I’ll never forget. I’ll never forget how he inspired me.

 Verse 2: We flock together to mourn his death. Crying over his last breath. Crying over his friendliness. Refusing to accept his nonexistent presence. Reacting at his struggles and not responding ideal. Not keeping our emotions concealed. We wear it on our sleeve because we miss him. We thought his will to win was stronger than the enemy, but the enemy prevailed and continued to sail. While we stood here confused and kept asking why, needing to cry. The good die young and I don’t understand, undermining the ability to be grand. Killing off our future, not prepared to halt. We think on what could’ve been, putting ourselves at fault. Feeling a heavy burden day in and day out ’cause of Jordan. No doubt.

 Verse 3: We look back on the past and think of that kid. What he said and what he did to lift our happiness above our scale. He was the light in our eyes leading to his happiness spread. The goal of striding across that stage, succeeded and celebrated. Main goal checked off the never ending list of life. An angel left us today. A being refuting our tears and exemplifying our faith. He left us and went to heaven. Floating up with no regrets and despair in our hearts. He wants no pain or struggle from us, just happiness and memories. Loving the past and blinded by our future, a future he never knew. He’s watching over us now, what a great thing to bear.

Rest in peace, JHarr. — Taylor Emery