Musician Writes Song for Girl Killed at Sandy Hook School

Victor Johnson is a musician, father of a 5-year-old, and music teacher at an arts-oriented preschool.

He has been following the story of Ana Marquez-Greene for the past two years and has been reading and sharing the posts her mother makes on the Remembering Ana Marquez-Greene Facebook page.

Recently, he wrote the song Rain Makes the Flowers Grow in her honor.

One verse of the song goes:

“Your saxophone a gentle celebration

Of the beauty that we knew

It cries out in ecstasy and sorrow

Shades of violet and blue

I can feel her dancing

She moves as the music begins

I hear her whisper softly

That love always wins”

Johnson said that the studio version of the song will have saxophone and other instruments, but below is a vocal and guitar performance of the song.

Though he has no connection to Newtown, or Connecticut even, Johnson felt a connection.

“I guess, being a musician myself, and having a toddler, perhaps that is one reason I felt a strong connection,” he said. “What also made an impact on me was how much love I could feel from the things her mother, Nelba, would say. It was heartbreaking but so powerful and always ending with love wins.”

Johnson says that when Ana’s father, Jazz saxophonist Jimmy Greene, released his Beautiful Life CD, he picked one up right away.

“It didn’t occur to me that almost half a year later, it would inspire the song I wrote,” he said.

In addition to the song he wrote for Ana, Johnson has written several songs that have come out of deep empathy for people who have been lost in incredibly heartbreaking events. He is now working on turning these songs into a CD that will be titled Beautiful Things. He is hoping for a fall release.

He said that he would like to make more people aware of the Ana Grace Project, and he intends on making a donation to the organization once he gets everything off the ground.

“These are songs of healing, and inspired by the natural beauty of things in the world, even in the darkest places, and even out of the most tragic circumstances,” he said. “ I am thrilled beyond belief to be able to share them with people, not just because I love the songs, but because they are a reflection of the beauty of the people who inspired them.”