Behind the Scenes & Between the Trees with Ryan James Kirkland

February 26, 2010
 

Today we are talking to Ryan James Kirkland, songwriter and member of Between The Trees.  Ryan joined the Letters to God team when his manager David McKenna approached him about writing a song for the movie.  As you have all experienced music in a movie before, you know it is key to complete the experience.

We were looking for a song that older brother Ben would sing to Tyler at a significant point in their journey.  Ryan says that as soon as he heard the story, “I called my fiancé Monika and told her. We both immediately got to work.  Excited to be a part of such an inspiring story.”

The song “You Give Me Hope” is written from two perspectives.  Ryan describes it for us, “The first [perspective], being the obvious relationship between the brothers at that point in the movie. We felt like the older brother, Ben, would be inspired by his younger brother’s strength. And would almost look up to him. The second [perspective] was the relationship between the main character, Tyler, and God. We wrote the chorus’ from that perspective because we felt more people could relate to it. Only in God do we find absolute unconditional love. Through God we find the ability to hope in what seems like hopeless situations. If we give ourselves the chance to have faith like a child, we can see God’s will in it all.”

You give me hope

In spite of everything 

You show me love 

Even with so much pain

Ryan spent some time with us on the set during filming, “Just being on set was cool enough. There was one day however when I got to sing the song to everyone before shooting. That was a really cool experience.”  

In closing we asked Ryan about being a part of Letters to God, “Monika and I both feel extremely blessed to have been apart of this inspiring story. And even more so that we could have a part in the music. Music, for Monika and I is so important. It changes everything. It can take us to other worlds and at the same time bring you the comfort of home. To be selected to be a part of this movie the way we have is just truly a blessing.” 

We are excited to share all of the music from the movie.  The Letters to God soundtrack will be released on March 30.  Today, you can download free, Ryan and Monika’s song. “You Give Me Hope.”  Click here & enter this code, 6ktjyPT4.