A collective of Nashville songwriters penned a song for and inspired by Help-Portrait that’s available as a free download from Noisetrade. “I See You” was a collaboration between songwriters Andy Davis, Jason Ingram, Chad Cates and Paul Mabury. We recently talked with Davis about how the song came to be and what their hope for it is.

Where did the idea for the song come from?
Jeremy asked me if I’d be interested in writing a song for Help-Portrait – I thought it would be cool to get a lot of people involved, so it turned into a group effort with Paul, Jason, Chad and I.

When we got together we just started talking about what makes Help-Portrait so special…..what it does for people.  There are tons of reasons why it’s an amazing concept, but we kinda settled on this one idea that everyone wants to be noticed – to be seen – to validate their existence as humans. Getting your picture taken makes you feel important. 

[Help-Portrait] not only provides people with something they can hang on their wall – it gives them proof that they are worthy of having their picture taken – that they are not forgotten, and that their existence on earth is significant, just like someone who gets their picture taken all the time by professional photographers. The basic message of Help-Portrait, we felt, was to find people who may feel forgotten and invisible, and say to them, “I See You.” So we wrote that song.

What was the process like in writing it, then recording it?
Recording was a bit of a challenge since we all were heavily involved in other projects at the time, but we managed to pass protools files around and get it finished and mixed.  Everyone added a little bit here and there til it was done.

What do you hope people take away from hearing it?
Hopefully it will enhance the experience that people get when they view the behind-the-scenes videos from the various Help-Portrait shoots . ..really we just wanted to write a song that conveyed the emotional weight of what Help-Portrait creates for people.  It’s a pretty intense and emotional song, yet has a beauty and uplifting hope about it.

What are your favorite tools for your trade?
Some gear I play and use are as follows:
Protools LE
Shure Microphones
Gibson acoustic guitars
Universal Audio mic pre’s

Lyrics to “I See You”
Verse 1
you were the last in line
thought you never existed
you were the lost in time
they never called your name
if there’s a light to find, a ladder to climb
it’s nowhere to be found
if you just close your eyes
you might disappear
ooh ooh ooh

Verse 2
yeah it’s a fight sometimes
to leave where we’ve been hiding
maybe we’re all the same
just need to be found
to the blood in our veins, the lines on our face
to a story that isn’t over
what we don’t celebrate
we all lose in the end

Chorus
ooh
youuuuuu you are here
there’s a light shining on,,,,shining on you….
youuuuuu  are here….
i see you, i see you

Bridge
You were the last in line
I know it’s a fight sometime
You were the lost in time
I know it’s a fight sometimes
I see you
Ooh Ooh Ooh
They never called your name
Ooh
Yeah

Chorus
youuuuuu you are here
there’s a light shining on….shining on you….
youuuuuu  are here….
i see you, i see you

Chorus Repeat

You can download the song now at Noisetrade.