Join Calgary-based blues/Americana/rock artist Ollee Owens as she takes you on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of a caregiver in her version of Bob Dylan’s “Lord Protect My Child.” Those holding responsibility for a vulnerable dependent know the yearning to see them safe from harm. As a mother of three daughters, one of whom has special needs, thoughts of protection and security strike deep for Ollee.

The dynamic arrangement of “Lord Protect My Child” leads with familiar tones – laying a somber foundation for an earnest delivery of angst genuinely sensed. As worry turns to hope, organ and choir unite to form a new footing to support the soaring voicing of the guitar and saxophone spurring onward the hallowed invocation. Recorded to mirror a live performance, closing one’s eyes while listening will transport you to a place away from your concern…to experience renewed faith in greater forces to undertake for those thinly held in one’s care.

We are emotional creatures. One of my goals as an artist is to create and record music that captures various elements of the human experience, holding space for all manner of emotions associated with our lives. Any song I write or choose to record will always have this element within it. – Ollee Owens

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

I’ve performed this song in my live shows for years now – and have always found others impacted by my unique arrangement of this Bob Dylan classic. As a mother of three daughters, one of whom has a cognitive delay resulting in life-long vulnerability, this song resonates deeply for me. Whenever I sing it live, I visualize each of my daughters at different points in the song and sing from a place of genuine care and concern for each.

I wanted to visualize this song to increase its’ impact for the listener.  In creating a small window into my private life – my hope was to bring-to-life the authentic nature of my feelings attached to this song.

1. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)

We had a few storylines on the table when we started – but none really grabbed onto our long-term imaginations. In the end, we adopted a very simple concept depicting a day in my life where family and artistry converge. You will see a thread depicting my personal time alone and then with my family – and then a thread depicting a rehearsal with band members. At points the threads converge – just like the song does for me in that it straddles both of my worlds: It is something I perform and, at the same time, the nature of it is lived out in my private life. Though incredibly emotional and expressive throughout, the whole ordeal is sandwiched between me being depicted alone with a full range of emotions being felt as I think about my girls.

I also wanted to immortalize this moment in time – a time when all three of my daughters have perched themselves at the “edge of the nest” in their own development. Having them altogether for this video shoot was memorable and having them altogether in this video forever has given me a living photo album which captures wonderfully this precious moment in time.  

1. What was the process of making this video?

Most of my other music videos have been shot in a variety of spacious and scenic locations – from the Foothills and Badlands of Alberta, Canada to the Valley of Fire State Park and the city of Las Vegas in Nevada, USA. We chose to shoot this video in a quirky little studio space in Edmonton, Alberta. We did this to compress the surroundings and draw the viewer closer in – providing an opportunity to observe subtle shades of meaning and expression. 

The process in making this video was straight forward and simple – we simply set aside an afternoon where I ran through the song several times on the big pink chair by myself and then altogether with the band afterwards. All the coming and going of the band and my family were taken as everyone came and went from the shoot. The interactions captured between all were a result of us just doing what we normally do when getting together to rehearse for a show. It was truly just a depiction of an afternoon in my life doing what I do…except with a few moments of punctuated angst being captured!