Some stories stay with you.
Not because they’re dramatic or extraordinary, but because, for a brief moment, something happens that no one in the room can explain—and no one ever forgets.
That moment came during a SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat at Boulder Crest Foundation in Virginia earlier this year.
Daniel and Carrie Morgan arrived carrying something many families know all too well: the grief of losing their son, Morgan.
Like every retreat participant, they spent the weekend sharing stories, listening to others, and trusting a professional songwriter to help transform deeply personal experiences into music. When it came time to write their song, they sat down with songwriter Stevenson Everett.
As they talked, Daniel and Carrie shared a tradition that had become deeply meaningful to them.
Whenever a cardinal appeared, they chose to see it as a reminder from Morgan—a quiet way of saying he was okay.
Then something remarkable happened.
While they were telling Stevenson about the cardinals, one appeared outside the room. It tapped against the window and lingered nearby.
“Stevenson saw it and we all got chills,” Daniel later recalled.
Whether coincidence or something more, no one in the room needed to explain it.
They simply kept writing.
The result became “Hey Morgan,” a song that gives voice to the love parents continue carrying after unimaginable loss.
One verse imagines Morgan reassuring his mother:
When I see a cardinal say hello, then fly away
I swear that it’s you saying, “Hey Mom, I’m okay.”
There’s a lot of life that you’ve got left to live,
There’s a lot of love that you’ve got left to give.
Another reflects a father’s promise to keep moving forward, carrying both grief and gratitude together.
By Sunday afternoon, the retreat gathered for its traditional final concert. Participants shared the songs they had written throughout the weekend.
When “Hey Morgan” was performed, the room grew quiet.
Before the final chorus, tissues were already making their way from person to person.
The song had become something bigger than one family’s story.
It became everyone’s.
Reflecting afterward, Daniel wrote:
“The whole experience was amazing. Every person with SongwritingWith:Soldiers was incredibly talented, but above all, compassionate. They listened closely to our stories and turned them into something beautiful.”
He ended with words that continue to encourage our team.
“That is the power of song. It is a weekend my wife and I will never forget… I want to tell SongwritingWith:Soldiers, thank you for your service. Even though they may never know it, I’m sure they have saved lives with the work they do.”
At SongwritingWith:Soldiers, we often say that songs have a way of holding things words alone cannot.
Sometimes they preserve a memory.
Sometimes they create understanding.
Sometimes they remind us that love doesn’t end, even when someone is no longer with us.
For Daniel and Carrie, Hey Morgan is all of those things.
We’re honored they trusted us with their story.
HEY MORGAN
Hey Morgan, I read your letter
I’ll never be the same, but I’m getting better
Hey Morgan, just thinking about you
Don’t know who I am yet without you
But when I see a cardinal say hello, then fly away
I swear that its you saying “Hey Mom, I’m okay”
There’s a lot of life that you’ve got left to live
There’s a lot of love that you’ve got left to give
Hey Morgan, I know you knew
When I married your mom, I married you too
Hey Morgan, I’m sure you can tell
There’s times that I struggle, but now I struggle well
And when I see a cardinal say hello, then fly away
I swear that its you saying “Hey Dad, I’m okay”
There’s a lot of life that you’ve got left to live
There’s a lot of love that you’ve got left to give
Hey Morgan
Hey Morgan
Hey Morgan, we take a piece of you
Everywhere we go, in everything we do
Hey Morgan, we wanted more
I know we’ll meet again on the northern shore, but till then
When we I see a cardinal say hello, then fly away
We know that it’s you saying “Hey yall, I’m okay”
And there’s a lot of life that you’ve got left to live
There’s a lot of love you both got left to give
Hey Morgan
Hey Morgan
Hey Morgan, I read your letter
By: Daniel Morgan / Carrie Morgan / Stevenson Everett
© 2026 SongwritingWithSoldiers Music (ASCAP) / Mawmaw’s Songs, ASCAP
Recent Comments