Milford High School students write a song to make their classmates think

MILFORD, MA — A group of Milford High School students recently completed a song as part of a collaborative effort to combat mental health issues among young people. The song, “What Makes You Well?”, will be released in the fall at the start of the new school year.

Here’s more from the National Museum of Mental Health Project, Inc., which helped the students write the song:

How do I look? Do I like myself or do I know who I am? Does anyone like me? Am I alone? These questions
weigh on the minds of many young people. In contrast, a group of students at Milford High School have thrown a fascinating new question into the room: What makes you well? It’s a question the students ask musically and then answer with emotion, philosophy, authenticity and sometimes a wry smile in a new song they wrote and recorded called “What Makes You Well?”

“What Makes You Well?” is a four-minute song written and recorded at Milford High School.
School in May and June as part of a program called “Community Songwriting on Campus.”
The song will be released when school starts again in the fall.

“What Makes You Well?” is the result of an innovative collaboration between Milford High School
Students, teachers, leaders and the Director of Social and Emotional Learning for Milford Public
Schools; the Same Thing Project in Rhode Island; and the National Museum in Milford
of the Mental Health Project. Musicians and non-musicians alike worked on the song, whose
The roots go back to a chance encounter at Garden Pizza in Milford.

In the middle of winter I felt fragmented,
The sky was grey, another lonely day,
Stay in my bed, bury my head, I’m fine

The Surgeon General warns of an isolation epidemic. A goal of Mental Health Awareness
Club (MHA) at MHS is to bring students to the topic of wellness in a creative way. As above
Texts speak, loneliness is real, but can be overcome. MHA is run by students and was founded by
MHS transfer student and future senior Eve Gergis. MHA is advised by teacher and MHS alumna
Jenna Smith and Lisa Kingkade, Milford’s director of social-emotional learning.

“What Makes You Well?” uses a new music genre called community songwriting,
where musicians and non-musicians work together in a moderated workshop to create a new song –
one word, one verse and one note at a time. The song was written and recorded over the course of four one-hour sessions during FLEX time at MHS, amidst the hustle and bustle of typical
School days. A recording session was interrupted by a fire drill. Even MHS students who felt uncomfortable suggesting lyrics for the song or singing it were able to watch them share the creative energy, good feelings and fun of creating new music.

Experience a beautiful, peaceful and pure moment.
Don’t worry about tomorrow or how the day will end.

Other lyrics from “What Makes You Well?” can be interpreted by the listener as wisdom that applies to everyone, regardless of age. The Same Thing Project and founder Mark Cutler are inspired by the idea that we all want the same thing on some level.

“What Makes You Well?” is a catchy, hooky song produced by Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame member Cutler in an Americana/roots style that is sometimes nasal but always full of energy. Earlier in his career, Cutler fronted a band that won the legendary WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble, had their music played on MTV, and opened for a Bob Dylan tour. Same Thing Project hosts weekly (free) community songwriting sessions in Pawtucket that are open to the public. Each week, you’ll meet musicians, newcomers, people with developmental disabilities, and the occasional face you recognize from a Hollywood movie.

How can your heart recognize what is ringing like a bell in your head?
You are not alone in this great unknown.

Paul Piwko (82), a graduate of Milford High School, co-developer of the National Museum of Mental Health Project, describes the approach underlying Community Songwriting on Campus: “Where creativity thrives, learning, fun, community and mental health usually benefit.” The National Museum of Mental Health Project developed Community Songwriting on Campus in conjunction with the Same Thing Project. Local colleges that have hosted workshops and written songs include Clark University, WPI and Johnson & Wales University. However, “What Makes You Well?” is the first community songwriting collaboration of its kind at the high school level.

Earlier this spring, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen co-wrote an editorial with the National Museum of Mental Health Project calling on the Grammy Awards to add a category for community-made music. “What Makes You Well?” is part of this new genre of music in which people who believe they have no musical talent form a community by bringing raw voices together to speak, laugh, create and make meaningful music. In this genre, the voices recorded are sometimes tentative and tender, but often smiling, hopeful and pure.

The National Museum of Mental Health Project, a non-profit museum, has its eye on MetroWest and
Worcester County — a region the museum’s researchers have dubbed America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor — is slated to be the future site of a test museum and exhibit development center, but the museum’s development model relies heavily on programs like Community Songwriting on Campus that reach out into the community.

What is good for you?
What makes you feel good? (repeat three more times)

At the end of “What makes you healthy?” this question is asked five times. Fellow students are asked:
and all listeners – to pause, listen and reflect with a mixture of fun and seriousness. Look out for the release of “What Makes You Well?” later this year.

MHS student songwriters on “What Makes You Well?” include: Danica Crim, Owen Enright, Lauren Flanagan, Eve Gergis (President and Founder of MHA), Mia Greeley, Katherine Liatsos, Matthew Lioce, Lily Rivera, Molly Stoker, Kaylynn Strafello, Giovanna Weiner, and Evelyn Yaroshefski.