Recovering Charles

Love Me if You Can

Love Me if You Can
written by Cherie Call
©2008 Mendonhouse Music (ASCAP)
performed by Paul Jacobsen
produced by Scott Wiley

visit www.cheriecall.com and www.pauljacobsen.com



Note from singer/songwriter Cherie Call:

I was already a huge fan of Jason Wright's books when I met him for the first time at an airport on a layover to a convention where we were both scheduled to be presenters. So much of a fan that I had to make a conscious effort to not act nerdy and describe how I cried like a little baby when I read the Christmas Jars, even though I'm not really a big crier.

You know the drill. I was pretty sure he heard that sort of thing every day. So, I smiled, shook his hand, introduced myself and tried to casually say that I thought his books were pretty cool. As we became acquainted, he mentioned in passing that his latest book had a character in it named Charles who was supposed to write a song. Jason just needed a real songwriter to help with a song that could go with the book. The more I heard about the story, I just knew that I needed to write this song. Jason's vivid descriptions of the relationships in this book really hit home for me in such a personal way.

I knew there might be any number of famous and talented songwriters and artists he could choose from for this project, but after the convention was over, I really felt inspired to write. I sat down with the free Marriott notepad and pen at the hotel room desk, and I started writing the song, "Love Me if You Can".

Even though this song is written from the point of view of a fictional character, as I wrote, I thought about the times in my own life when I wished I could close up a gap or patch up a complicated situation between myself and someone I loved. I hate to admit that it wasn't very hard for me to imagine what someone in that situation would want to say.

The next day on the plane ride home I wrote some more. A couple of days later I recorded a rough demo in my basement and e-mailed the mp3 to Jason. I was thrilled to hear that Jason liked the song, and over the next several weeks I got to know Charles even better as e-mails came to my inbox with more excerpts of Jason's great story. I did my best to really make this Charles' song.

It seemed obvious that when it came time to record, the singer should be a guy. I knew right away that Paul Jacobsen was the perfect voice for this song. Paul is a gifted songwriter himself, and I was thrilled that he'd lend his cool sounding vocal cords to this tune. The whole writing and recording process was just genuinely fun.

I know it sounds cliché, but in a way I kind of feel like I was just the scribe for a song that belongs to so many other people, both fictional and real. I hope when you hear it you can hear Charles, a little bit of his son, Luke, and maybe even a little of yourself in there.

I know you'll love Recovering Charles, if you haven't already discovered it, read it, and loved it. I hope that hearing this song can add a new dimension to the story and bring to life the scribbled words, notes, and chords you see at the end of the book.

And maybe you can write a second verse of your own.