Me with Ella and her Papa (Don).
This past week, I finally got to meet Ella in person. I feel like I’ve known her since she was a little girl. I know that when she was a baby, her grandpa was the only one who could hold her. I also know he used to sneak her some M&M’s when mom wasn’t looking. It seems to me from the stories I’ve heard that she was pretty much Grandpa’s little sidekick. She helped him mow the grass, and fix things around the house, climbing ladders and doing all sorts of fun things under his watchful eye. He even helped her get her first car, with a wager of sorts on a bowling game. I know these things from an essay Ella wrote in high school. The assignment was to write an essay about an epiphany in her life. She titled the essay “Love Now, Fear Later,” and wrote about the experience of almost losing her beloved Papa through multiple serious illnesses. In the essay, she shared some of her favorite memories of her Papa. How did I get a copy of this essay you might ask? Her grandmother of course.
Ella’s grandmother Dena, asked me to read the essay, and I agreed. She wanted to know if I could put it into a song or poem. I wasn’t sure I could deliver, but as soon as I read it, all my doubts vanished. The experiences Ella shared were so beautiful and with her descriptive language, I could immediately picture the scenes in my mind. I asked Dena if it was okay if I could play with the words, embellishing and rearranging them into the form of a song. She agreed, and the song Papa’s Girl was born.
On Saturday, we played a house concert in Oklahoma for some dear friends of ours. This was the third time we have played for their family and friends, and in the past, we have always had their grandkids up to sing a few songs with us. This time, when I asked 7-year-old Bentley what song she wanted to sing, she replied, “Papa’s Girl." I was stunned and deeply moved by her reply. She wanted to sing one of my songs. I could tell she was a little nervous when we started the song, but as I sang, I could hear her softly singing with me. When we got to the end of the chorus, I backed away from the microphone, as she sang the last line by herself. Later that night, I watched her dance with her grandpa. She too, was a “papa’s girl.”
When I write a song and let it fly out into the world, I usually don’t get the opportunity to witness how it touches someone. These two young girls gifted me with a tiny glimpse into the life of a song.
In my experience, my childhood memories are the ones that have stayed with me—through all the years lived in between. Those growing-up years have a permanent place in my memory. I know about the importance of living in the present moment, but it seems to carry a lot more weight when I think about the little ones. They will carry the little moments with them through their entire lives—the M&M’s, the time they sang with the band, and all the times they were seen and heard. Whether it’s a grandfather and a granddaughter, or a couple I met at one of our happy hour shows, love grows on and on and on and connects all of us with invisible threads of love.
Papa’s Girl Written by Ella McMillin & Trisha Leone Sandora He placed some M&Ms in her tiny hand A secret shared between the two of them He was the only one who could pick her up A bond they had from the very start She put bows in his hair while he patiently sat He smiled as she put jewelry around his neck She’s Papa’s girl And she makes his world More beautiful every day She’s known him all her life And when it gets hard to see the light He knows just how to make it right She’s one lucky girl She’s a Papa’s girl With her hands on the wheel, she sat on his lap Feeling so grown up, as they mowed the grass And when she split the pins with a bowling ball He said if she got the spare, he’d help her get a car That day a promise became a little girl’s dream And it came true, the day she turned sixteen She’s Papa’s girl And she makes his world More beautiful every day She’s known him all her life When it gets hard to see the light He knows just how to make it right She’s one lucky girl She’s a Papa’s girl Life is unpredictable, we never know how long we have Time slips away before we notice it has passed So in a song, she’ll let him know that she remembers Every moment, every memory, and every M&M She’s Papa’s girl And she makes his world More beautiful every day She’s known him all her life When it gets hard to see the light He knows just how to make it right She’s one lucky girl Yeah, she’s a lucky girl She’s a Papa’s girl
Watch the lyric video on YouTube Papa’s Girl
or listen to the song below