Alice Springs singer/ songwriter and mother of four boys, Katie Harder offers a vulnerable and moving collection of songs with her recent EP ‘Beloved’.
The release features four tender and honest tracks about raising a family, the passing of her father and life in the centre of Australia.
Katie shares the history and context behind each song.
'Jesse'
This song was written while listening to my third son, Jesse, goo-ing and gah-ing in his bed one day. As I sat their listening and strumming these cords I was thinking about all I want for him in his life; the best really, as all parents do.How I'm scared for the bullshit that some people will feed him, how I hope he will gain enough wisdom from being in our family to navigate this. How no matter what happens, I will love him and always be his mum.
How I hope he learns what true love is. How I hope he finds a faith of his own to help him navigate life. Most of all that he 'learns to live FREE'.
This song of my own was inspired by another song called 'Jesse' written by Mia Dyson in which that Jesse is birthed and taken away from the mother immediately after birth and given up for adoption. She spends her life wondering about what has happened to this baby.
I wanted to offer the view from my own personal experience of what life might be like if this hadn't happened.
'Countrymen'
'Countrymen' was inspired by an interview I heard on the local ABC radio with Warren H Williams who I’m good friends with, where he was talking about a new album he was writing and he was going to call it 'Countrymen'.He then went on to talk about what that word meant and I fell in love with its meaning. He explained that it was an all-inclusive word used by his people to describe everyone on the land: male and female. I liked how it brought everyone together.
So I set myself the task to write a track for Warren. This was really the first time I had set myself a task like this; writing a song in a particular genre and for someone else. I really enjoyed it.
It started off talking about the old stockmen on the land of which I also describe my Dad, who though not a stockmen was a keen horse rider and breeder and I often felt he was most comfortable up on a horse.
The second verse is about the caring, nurturing women of the land who are so happy and content in this role, bringing up the next generation. The chorus brings them together as one people who just long to be home.
I did play it to Warren and then it sat on the shelf for a while, until I introduced it to my band who instantly loved it and gave it new life and here it is today.
'Beloved'
This is one of my favourite tracks and also loved by my band. This was inspired after I had read a book called 'Sex God' (by Rob Bell) where he is talking about relationship and intimacy and uses text from the book of the bible 'Song Of Songs' to describe this.I was encouraged and inspired in my own relationship to write a song that talked about the need to give rather than get. So much we are told by the media and movies is about what can I get from this relationship and I believe the problems we have in marriage often revolve around these ideas.
I thought: ‘What if this was turned on its head and songs were written that encouraged people to prioritise giving rather then getting. Imagine what would change in relationships and society as a whole.' I even tried it in my own relationship and the difference was amazing.
I guess this song has ended up as an encouragement for couples (but all relationships really) to ‘give’ more.
'Shining For You'
I wrote this song in the shower having just dropped my first born at his first day of school. It's a pretty massive moment and shift in a family when your first kid goes to school.Suddenly there are all of these things that are out of your control: The people, the environment, the content that is taught. There is so much that you need to let go of and succumb to, and hope you've done enough in these first five years for them to be able to cope.
This song expresses those uncertainties, but is also saying no matter what happens I’ll still be here when you get home, so go for it. Embrace this life and do your best.
