My Name is Joe

A "Body of Work," no. 17 -- A Song from a Scam

Hi. Sorry for the double send! ☺️ Welcome to “A Body of Work.” It’s the occasional Tuesday space here on “Living in a Body” where I dig deep into Hal history and pull out a musical gem. Be sure to click the Soundcloud or YouTube links below to hear the song “My Name is Joe.” I hope you’ll enjoy and share this post with a friend. Thank you!

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It was the Spring of 2021 and I was basking in the excitement of my newfound glory on TikTok. Suddenly, the world was discovering my music. Thanks to the “for you” page, I was reaching audiences all around the world. My music career was transforming before my eyes.

When this invitation appeared in my Instagram inbox, I figured it was one of the benefits of being famous. I was honored that some random person had discovered my music and wanted me to write a song for his four year old son.

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I’ve always been a little nervous to accept commissions. You never know what’s gonna happen with the creative process. It’s so mysterious and unreliable. But I’ve done some of my best work under the pressure of a deadline, so I decided to jump in and go for it.

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I had just been playing around with a new chord progression that I loved. Having gotten tired of all my old standard progressions, this one arrived at a perfect time. I sat down at the piano and went right to work. The whole time I was writing the song I was picturing the love between the mom and the dad and their son. I was truly inspired.

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I’ll never forget how satisfied I was when I came up with the chorus. I felt like it was one of the greatest choruses that I had ever written. “My mom and dad will love me forever. ‘Cause we’re family and we’re all in this together.” It was perfect.

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I put together a beautiful little packet of files to send off to the dad. I couldn’t wait to hear how much they loved the song. I was really feeling connected to this family. With a glimmer in my eye, I sent the files off through WeTransfer.

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This seemed strange. I couldn’t understand why there was an “account manager” getting involved in our little $300 transaction. And there was no mention of how great the song was!

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I can’t remember exactly when I starting becoming suspicious but I think it was right before I asked for him to send a photo. My brain was so stuck on the story of the mom and the dad and little Joe that I wasn’t willing to accept that this was anything but real.

The dad sent me this picture.

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And then the vision of the family started breaking down. I’d never heard of a scam like this and I couldn’t imagine that someone would go to such length. I think it was the following message made me realize that there was no mom, no dad and no Joe. My heart was broken.

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Still hoping for one last possibility of it being real, I let him know that there was no hurry for the payment.

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It was all a hoax. It was a scam. In the end, I got a beautiful song out of it. Someday, I’d love to find a four year old name Joe that could use this perfect little song, but until then, it’s all yours. Enjoy.

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My Name is Joe

My name is Joe. I’m turning four years old
My favorite color’s green and Flash is my hero
Soccer is my game. Luka Modric is my man,
He’s the “Real Madrid” of the world

My mom and dad will love me forever
’cause we’re family and we’re all in this together
The love inside this home is a treasure
And if you watch me then you’ll surely see me grow.
It’s my birthday and my name is Joe.
I’m turning four years old.

Me and my best friend Dexter are cuddlin’ with mom.
We’re her favorite little guys. We’re the glimmer in her eyes.
And my dad’s so proud of me the way I’m turning out.
He sees the tiger in my heart and my soul.

My mom and dad will love me forever
cause we’re family and we’re all in this together
The love inside this home is a treasure
And if you watch me then you’ll surely see me grow
It’s my birthday and my name is Joe.
I’m turning four years old.

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