Episode 5 - Ready to be Loved (for Topher)

I Wrote this Song for You

We all seek to be loved, to be accepted, to belong. Straddling multiple subgroups within the culture, Topher describes himself as "Too white to be black, too black to be gay, and too gay to be Christian". He's suffered bullying and discrimination in silence... and now he's beginning to speak out.

Ready to be Loved is written and performed by Wells Hanley and is sung by Darius de Haas. The song was inspired by this video of Topher and Constance.

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Thank you to family and friends for your support in the long journey that created this podcast. Your hearts are woven into every episode.

A special thanks to you, Jude Treder-Wolff for introducing me to the NYC storytelling community and for our many adventures together in pairing story and song.

A very special thanks to you, Courtney Page Ferrell for bolstering my confidence before I believed in this idea, for realizing "it's a podcast!", and for continuing to cheer me on tirelessly.

The deepest and most cathartic thank you to you, Elizabeth Smartt for partnering with me to birth this creative vision. For spending countless hours sculpting my idea into something clear and concise down to the logo, website, and even the format of each episode. You are a godsend of a creative collaborator and I am eternally grateful to you for bringing this podcast into the world with me.

Thank You Patreon supporters for helping me produce this episode! Patreon Gold (Passionate): Paula Atwood, Moira Danis, Thomasina LaGuardia, Molly Perkinson, Linda Wells, Gordon Winn, Sharon Wyse, William Zybach. Patreon Silver (Inspired): Royce and Rosalie Blowe, Ariela Bonucci, Tanara Bowie, Alison Deadman, Hayes Hanley, Karen Hanley, Joseph Lee, Linda DiPaolo Love, Stephanie Mastri, Randall Pharr, Elizabeth Rice, Sallie Thalhimer, Robert Williamson.

Ready to be Loved Music and Lyrics by Wells Hanley ©2021

I became in a blaze of light

I landed here after a long, long flight

And now I'm ready to be loved

I am ready to be loved

I went the way of the American child

I played the game, when I was sad, I smiled

But now I'm ready to be loved

I am ready to be loved

When the rain goes,

there ought to be a rainbow somewhere

After the pain I've known,

I want to believe you could begin to care

And that's a heavy hope to bear.

I've felt so frightened that I've made myself small,

I've said I was sorry when I was not sorry at all,

And I am ready to be loved

I am ready to be loved

I've been bossed and double crossed, and I've been tossed around

I've been stood up, and I've been let down,

And now I'm ready to rise above,

I am ready to be loved.

I have pretended

that I was not offended by your jokes on me

When the laughter had ended,

I searched your eyes, but found no empathy

and that's a lonely way to be.

Here I stand before you now

I've been mistreated, I've been beaten down,

And now I'm ready to be loved

I am ready to be loved

Oh, I am ready to be loved,

I am ready to be loved.