A SONG IS CONCIEVED
It didn’t take long for our dinner conversation in July 2022 to find itself deep in the discussion of music, particularly of our own.
With a B.A. in music from Rowan University and several published songs and compositions to my credit, I had been getting creatively restless to write something new. My friend, Father Ed Namiotka, also a writer and composer with several works to his name, expressed the same as we enjoyed our meal at Pasta Pesto Restaurant in our childhood hometown of Wildwood, New Jersey. Although the middle of summer, we each shared our desire to compose a new Christmas piece that would tell the traditional Christmas narrative as never before.
At first, the idea of telling the Christmas story in a way that had never been done in the vast library of holiday carols and sacred hymns seemed daunting to me, if not impossible. But then, a glimmer of hope shined down on us – just like the Christmas star itself.
“You know,” Father Ed said, “we never hear much from Saint Joseph’s perspective. I mean, he was right there.”
Before our check came, it was agreed upon to collaborate on a new Christmas piece which would venerate St. Joseph and shine a light on his often-unrecognized role in the Christmas story.
Having collaborated with numerous writers and producers in the past, my final question to Father Ed as we left the restaurant was a practical one. Since he and I lived a considerable distance from each other and each had busy schedules, I inquired as to the best way we should collaborate. His vague answer was not the one I wanted at the time but would be a lesson to me that by being present to God in our creative efforts, all would work out.
“Let’s just stay in touch,” Father Ed said. “Come up with some ideas and I’ll let you know what I come up with. I’ll pray on it. If it’s God’s will for this song to happen, it will.”
So began the most unconventional collaboration I have ever been partnered in. For the first few weeks, we talked on the phone several times about St. Joseph. I struggled composing about a half-dozen musical phrases on which to build and set lyrics. Nothing I was composing appealed to me. Father Ed would text me links to many traditional prayers to Saint Joseph, none of which immediately inspired me creatively.
On a plane trip home from his Caribbean vacation, after weeks of being nagged by me for a lyric to set to music, Father Ed texted me six lines that would become the opening verse to “The Carpenter’s Son.” My music to his words came almost immediately upon reading them. The refrain, both melody and words, flowed from the verse instantly.
With a completed refrain and solid melody for the verse, all that was needed were lyrics for three more verses to tell Joseph’s story. After agreeing on what theme each verse should have, Father Ed would text me a line or two. I’d live a day or so with his lines and then would text him a line or two that would follow. Then two or three more lines from Father Ed and so on. At one point, Father Ed was in Europe on a pilgrimage with parishioners and texted me a line inspired while visiting a shrine to St. Joseph. Our ping-pong texting method of songwriting soon culminated in “The Carpenter’s Son.”
A CLOSET CATHOLIC
Father Ed and I had known each other since we were boys, having attended St. Ann elementary school and Wildwood Catholic High School and serving as altar boys in our parish church. Our respective families were quite friendly with each other and very active in our parish. The Namiotka and Raniszewski families also shared a cultural bond, both being of Polish decent.
Despite a strong Catholic upbringing, I had drifted from the Faith during my senior year in high school, in 1984. For the nearly 40 years that followed, I explored a variety of spiritual disciplines and philosophies. During many of those years, there were simply no spiritual pursuits at all.
I was a single father with sole custody of my son whom, despite my own spiritual conflicts and ideas, I raised as Catholic.
By the early 2000s, my son was in high school, devout to his Faith and aspiring to a career in law enforcement. With the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, and support from my son, I had begun my journey toward a sober life. Still, my hesitance toward putting a Higher Power before myself was preventing me from true growth and progress.
My son would often invite me to Mass. I would accompany him but not receive the Eucharist. Each time at Mass during Holy Communion, an inner voice would say, “If the reason you’re not receiving the Eucharist is because you truly understand that this is the Body of Christ, you should come back.”
I spoke to Father Ed about my conflicting desire and unwillingness to return to the Faith. To my unreadiness, Father Ed would tell me to be patient because he knew God was working on me. To my desire to return, Father Ed would simply say, “You’re only one confession away.”
Often, while talking with Father Ed, either at dinner or on the phone, I would share spiritual realizations and express the need to be closer to God. Father Ed’s go-to response to me was always, “You’re a closet Catholic.”
Through thorough step work with AA, I was making the strides I needed to surrender to my Higher Power. Along with admiring my son’s faith and hearing Father Ed’s words, “Closet Catholic” repeated over and over, I realized in 2023 that I wanted to come home.
THE JOURNEY HOME WITH JOSEPH
Working with Father Ed on “The Carpenter’s Son” became an unexpected source of spiritual nourishment on my journey home. More specifically, I began to know St. Joseph as the model for the man I wanted to be.
I learned of St. Joseph as a child from the Sisters of St. Joseph who taught Father Ed and me at St. Ann School. However, like many children who do not fully appreciate or understand the sacrifices of their parents, I was ignorant to the depth of Joseph’s love for Mary and Jesus.
There is a line in “The Carpenter’s Son” which sings, “Devoted life to son and wife, he vows in this humble place.” That line would have never come from me 40 years ago. As a father, I now understood the sacrifice St. Joseph made for his family. I understood the grace he was given to face harrowing circumstances.
While in the process of writing “The Carpenter’s Son,” I had breakfast with a dear friend of mine who is the pastor of Cape May Presbyterian Church. I was telling her about the song which led us to a discussion about Joseph. She told me that she had always wished scripture would have contained spoken words from Jospeh. I agreed with her. Surely even the fewest words attributed to him would have been fascinating. But in our conversation, I realized that as a father myself, I didn’t need words from Joseph to know him. Even in a third-person narrative, I see the decisions and choices that Joseph made for his family when faced with uncertainty and danger. Those brave and selfless choices tell me everything I need to know about who he was.
My return to the Faith and writing “The Carpenter’s Son” were working together hand-in-hand, bringing me closer to God. What began as simply asking St. Joseph to intercede for the success of our song, led me to a deeper relationship with him and more importantly, a deeper relationship with God through his intercession. I was also making efforts to model my daily life after Joseph’s strength and loyalty to God and family.
Through all this, I was truly surrendering to God’s will, which I had struggled with even through my AA step work. Father Ed had been right, God was working on me. All the proverbial pieces were coming together for the first time in my life.
A SONG IS BORN
When Father Ed and I finished writing “The Carpenter’s Son,” I recorded a demo of it with the help of some musicians with whom I had worked in the past. The demo helped give Father Ed and me an idea of what we wanted to polish and develop further. The demo also served to accompany the written score as we submitted the piece to liturgical publishers, without success.
During the months that followed, Father Ed and I took a more discerning look at the song, made a few little tweaks with the song’s structure and decided to return to the studio to record a fully produced single for public release.
I enlisted the help of my friend Jonathan Delgado to join as the song’s producer. Jonathan is the music director at Notre Dame De La Mer Parish in Wildwood and one of the finest musicians I know.
My friend, Susie Gannon Clark of Broadway Crew, a Broadway promotions company in Manhattan, had written and sent a bulletin to her theater contacts which announced my search for a male vocalist. Susie’s efforts resulted in several responses. Father Ed and I reviewed and narrowed down the resumes and audio submissions we received. We decided that Drew Seigla was the right voice to introduce “The Carpenter’s Son” to the world.
Drew was a Juilliard graduate with an impressive musical theater resume. Most notably, Drew had recently starred in Joel Grey’s all-Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof.
I booked studio time at SSR Recording Studio in Smithville, New Jersey, a studio which I had recorded in many times over the years. At the helm as engineer was my friend and studio proprietor, Bob Fowler. His wife, Kathy, a professional vocalist with a several recordings of her own, was excited to accompany Drew with background vocals.
Prior to our recording date, Jonathan and I had met to each share our final vision of the song and decide on the instruments and arrangement that would give it an unmistakable Christmas sound.
The recording of the song went wonderfully. Drew was the consummate professional, asking to listen to playbacks and making improvements with each of the more than one dozen recorded takes. I was absolutely impressed with the care he exhibited handling the lyrics. He truly came to the studio having done his homework on what the lyrics were attempting to convey.
I hadn’t discussed any of my own feelings about the song with Drew. I had sent him the written music and lyrics about a month prior and had left it at that. After four hours in the studio, I was caught off-guard by something Drew had said.
Bob Fowler played for us what we all felt was the final take of the song. We sat and listened to it as we had to a dozen or so other takes that day. When the song concluded, Jonathan said, “We’ve got it!”
“Yup,” I added, “that’s the keeper!”
Drew’s voice came through into the control room as he was still isolated behind the studio glass at his microphone.
“Can I ask something?” Drew said. “Can I just do it one more time? I feel that the line I’ve been working toward that sums up the meaning of the song is ‘Devoted life to son and wife, he vows in this humble place.’ I just want to get it right.”
I was speechless in that moment and well aware of God’s guiding hand with our song. Drew had been shaping the song around the very line that had allowed me to truly know St. Joseph. We all agreed to record it once more from the top. Drew nailed it! I was watching his face while he sang and could see his satisfaction when he delivered that line. I heard the difference myself and later shared with Drew that I, too, felt that line was the essence of the song.
THE FINAL JOURNEY
“The Carpenter’s Son” was released in 2024 as a single on all major platforms, including Spotify, AppleMusic and Pandora. Father Ed and I have agreed that all proceeds from streaming and downloads go directly to South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal.
A full choral arrangement of the song has also been written which is available for interested choirs. Efforts are also being made to resubmit the written arrangement to liturgical publishers.
As to what the future holds for “The Carpenter’s Son,” I can only think back to my late friend and production partner, George Mesterhazy. George always told me, “This song is your kid. You brought it into the world, you shaped it into the best it could be and now you’re setting it free to let it find its own life.”
I pray it does find its life and lead others to God’s glory. It certainly and unexpectedly helped me rediscover my own life.
