The Ennis Sisters honour WW I fallen in video for I Will Sing You Home
Premiere of new video produced by CBC NL in partnership with The Rooms and Lucky Productions
A Newfoundland and Labrador musical family has captured the heartbreak and tragedy of losing a loved one to war in a new video.
The Rooms premiered its new video for The Ennis Sisters' song I Will Sing You Home, accompanied by the Shalloway Choir Thursday in St. John's, as part of the museum's newly launched Remember Them campaign.
- Behind the scenes of The Rooms WW I short film
- WW I exhibit at The Rooms gets $3.25-M donation from Fortis
It was shot and edited by CBC Newfoundland and Labrador in partnership with The Rooms and Lucky Productions.
The video moves between scenes of The Ennis Sisters and Shalloway performing on the banks of Quidi Vidi Lake, contrasted with dark scenes of a mother finding out her son has been killed in action during The Great War.
The Rooms CEO Dean Brinton said the difference in tone between the two scenes makes for an emotional experience.
"They're part of it and they're just brilliant. The video is hard to watch at times in that it is so beautiful and it is so emotive and the more you watch it the more you want to watch it," he said.
"The characters come alive, the music gets in your head and you can't get it out of there, it's fantastic."
Tears could be seen streaming down the faces of some of those who watched the premiere of the video on Wednesday at The Rooms..
I Will Sing You Home was written by Ennis sisters Maureen, Karen and Teresa.
The Juno-winning sisters said the idea for the song came from a very emotional experience in their own lives.
"This song was written back in 2008 after we lost our cousin quite tragically. He was only 26 years old and he took his own life," said Maureen.
"When this happened with Steve it was quite a shock to our family and through that winter, moving through that kind of grief, I really had no idea how to do it."
"So my writing partner Mark Murphy suggested that we sit down and write a song and so the song came out of a very necessary point in my life of trying to heal through the grief."