I am playing this song tonight in honour of a man most of us know only as Padre Steve, one of only two ‘men of the cloth’, along with John Pavlovitz, that I both respect, and admire.  Padre Steve has served in both the Army and the Navy as a Chaplain, has seen active combat, and returned from the Middle East with PTSD, but still … he kept on.  Now, after a nearly 40-year career in the military, Padre Steve is retiring, and as you might expect, is experiencing some angst, some sadness, as memories flood in, as he wonders … what next?

I don’t know the Padre well, but I can tell you what I do know … he is a good man, a man of conscience, a man who would give his life to save another.  And if my word isn’t good enough … Padre has pups that love him!  That’s all I needed to know, for dogs are much more discerning than humans and if a dog loves you … then in my book you are good people!

This one’s for you, Padre.  Wherever you go from here, I ask only that you be at peace, that you take time for you, time to read, to walk in the forest, to … heck, take up painting or write a book!  Just be happy, my friend — you’ve earned it.

In 2001, Carey performed the song at the “Tribute To Heroes” telethon for the victims of the terrorist attacks in the US., and it was included on a benefit album, God Bless America, which helped the Twin Towers Fund.

This song was originally written, unsolicited, for the Dustin Hoffman movie of the same name, but the producers of the movie ultimately chose Luther Vandross’ Heart Of A Hero. According to Walter Afanasieff,  who wrote the music …

He was recording the Music Box album with Carey at the time, and during a break he, “was sitting at the piano and told Mariah about this movie. Within two hours, we had this incredible seed for this song, ‘Hero.’  It was never meant for Mariah to sing. In her mind, we were writing a song for Gloria Estefan for this movie. And we went into an area that Mariah didn’t really go into – in her words, it was a little bit too schmaltzy or too pop ballady or too old-fashioned as far as melody and lyrics.”

Hero was the subject of two copyright plagiarism cases; one by a former limo driver, Christopher Selletti and the other by Rhonda Dimmer, filed in 1993 and 1996.  Neither party’s suit was successful, but since Carey has been involved in similar suits over other songs, one wonders.

She insists on being photographed only from her right side, and during a 2000 tour, she insisted on a rider to the contract that Cristal champagne and bendy straws would be provided backstage at her concerts.

All that aside, though … I just like the song, and think she sings it beautifully, so without further ado …

Hero
Mariah Carey

There’s a hero
If you look inside your heart
You don’t have to be afraid
Of what you are
There’s an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will melt away

And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you’ll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

It’s a long road
When you face the world alone
No one reaches out a hand
For you to hold
You can find love
If you search within yourself
And that emptiness you felt
Will disappear

And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you’ll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you, oh, oh

Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don’t let anyone
Tear them away, hey yeah
Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time you’ll find the way

And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you’ll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
That a hero lies in you
Mmm, that a hero lies in you

Songwriters: Mariah Carey / Walter Afanasieff
Hero lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group