Joscelyne Strong Copyright ©2020, 2022, 2024 Alphasongs LLC (ASCAP), all rights reserved, Music and Lyrics by Matthew L. Kearns Chorus Joscelyne, your eyes, Your spirit never dies, Few that fight so strong, I pray you stay here long. Verse 1 It has been several years since I saw you every week, Your life filled with changes back then when we would speak, Refrain Life takes turns at times; you never know… ​ Interlude We stayed connected online, looking from afar, In your world, you found love, became her star and her love. Refrain Life takes turns at times; you never know… ​ Verse 2 Lovely times! You found a lover, your new connection with Marie, so lov'ly! You had such special karma. It was wonderful! Lovely, a cosmic harmony, so lov'ly! ​ Chorus Joscelyne, your eyes, Your spirit never dies, Few that fight so strong, I pray you stay here long. ​ Verse 3 Life takes turns, your life hair-pinned. Now, your cells burn from within. You feel chagrinned. This war wages on, there beneath your skin, Refrain Life takes turns at times; you never know… ​ Interlude You’ve had many battles, all the time.  Now it’s time to win one for your life. On the other side of victory, you will be embrac'd with love and glee. ​ Refrain Life takes turns at times; you never know… ​ Verse 4 As your suffr'ing fades away, perhaps you and I could sing together someday. And as your suff'ring fades away, perhaps together we will sing someday. Chorus Joscelyne, your eyes, Your spirit never dies, Few that fight so strong, I pray you stay here long. Repeat Chorus ​   Notes Several years back, a woman from the Midwest joined a choral society I was in. She was starting her new career with one of the big tech companies as an HR professional. She was so fun and spirited. We liked each other from the start. This song is for my friend, Joscelyne Gray. More recently, Joscelyne has been a pillar of strength in her battle with ovarian cancer. Despite numerous treatments and many difficult outcomes, her spirit never dies. At the time this song is being finished, Joscelyne is still battling, and even writing novels through it all. I was so inspired by her spirit that I composed this song to build hope for her healing. Her strength through this gauntlet of her life’s journey has been special and inspiring. Joscelyne Strong is structured in a unique way for a song; the verses and interludes tell Joscelyne’s story, and the refrains and chorus are my own subjective reflections.  The chorus is a personal message from me that musically frames the structure of the song, occurring in the beginning after an introduction, in the middle, and repeated twice at the end. Joscelyne always had the most beautiful eyes with very warm and caring eye contact; hence, the opening lyric of the chorus, “Joscelyne, your eyes, your spirit never dies.” ​ Following the first two appearances of the chorus, the verses describe chapters of Joscelyne’s story. A repeating refrain with the thought, “Life takes turns; you never know…”, is a personal pause to reflect on her experience. Between the refrains, the first line of each interlude reflects on the prior verse, while the second line previews the next verse. ​ The verses feature the alto voice on the melody. In the interludes, the melody appears in the mezzo-soprano, with an active soprano descant on top of the melody. The song concludes by repeating the chorus to emphasize my lasting memory of Joscelyne, her eyes, and her spirit, which will never die. Enjoy this song of hope for Joscelyne Gray. Update I’m sad to note here that just before New Year’s Day 2021, Joscelyne passed from us. I’m sure she was in the best possible frame of mind and as the song says, “her spirit never dies.” Joscelyne leaves an amazing community of friends and family who cherish her memory. This song pays tribute to Joscelyne, her partner Marie, her family and friends, and the amazing community who loved her so dearly. Matthew L Kearns 01/05/2021   Performance Notes This piece is scored for a small-to-medium vocal ensemble. For more creativity, improvisational beat-boxing can enhance rhythms even more. Have fun with it In the bass line, you see the rhythmic syllables “dm” and “dmm”. Both syllables close to the “m” right away. “dm” should be short, almost staccato. “dmm” is a close to a hum with duration. Audio tracks generated with Cantamus software