A Black Diamond singer/songwriter has been singing the blues while stuck at home.
With inspiration from the COVID-19 pandemic, Doc Mehl penned his newest song, The COVID-19 Blues, putting a light-hearted spin on the worldwide crisis.
“There isn’t a lot of humour in these times so I thought I’d at least try to put a smile on people’s faces,” Mehl said. “We need a song to carry us through somehow. I guess the blues is a good starting place for how we’re all feeling.”
The former pediatrician tapped into his medical background to find words to rhyme with virus.
“As I started the first verse I had a lot of doctor-related words like tonsillitis and appendicitis,” he said. “All of those words found a way into the song and are a pretty close rhyme with virus.”
As a songwriter, Mehl said he has a natural tendency to gain inspiration from current events.
He began writing songs and playing music in the western genre – cowboy music and cowboy poetry – 18 years ago. He frequents cowboy poetry events and gatherings across western Canada and the western United States, alongside partner and award-winning cowboy poet Doris Daley.
Used to recording his songs in studios, the pandemic forced Mehl to explore a whole new world of recording and promotion as he recorded the song in his living room and made YouTube his platform.
“I put it on YouTube and sent it around to some Facebook contacts,” he said. “YouTube has been a very interesting format for musicians to put a new song out. We don’t need all the elements of the recording studio for a song to have legs and to get people to see it.”
The response to The COVID-19 Blues has been positive, with many listeners grateful to have something to smile about, Mehl said.
The song addresses one aspect of the crisis that Mehl finds intriguing.
“We’re fighting this virus by fashioning an epic retreat,” he said. “We’re all isolated in our homes and it’s our only way of fighting back. Sheltering is our only offensive weapon.”
The COVID-19 Blues can be viewed here. Learn more about Doc Mehl at his website.
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