About My New Short Story 'When An Angel Cried'

By Scott Coner

Country Singer-Songwriter & Author

(Scott Coner will release the new short story "When An Angel Cried" at 1 p.m. CST Tuesday, Feb. 2, at www.ScottConer.com. The story is based on his heartfelt song and video about domestic abuse called "When The Angels Cry". In this blog article, he shares how this life-changing project came about. You can watch the video at https://youtu.be/SXUUgLl43TA )

         The characters in my song and short story on domestic abuse have been with me for a long time. Sometimes some of the people in my songs have a way of residing within me without anyone else knowing about them. They flash through my heart and mind without my beckoning them forward. They aren’t always welcome to be honest.

         I didn’t know for sure if I even wanted to record the song "When The Angels Cry", much less write the accompanying short story, "When An Angel Cried". I had carried the song with me for the better part of 20 years before I ever recorded it. It’s a dark theme, and I didn’t want people thinking I considered myself some kind of authority on the matter, because I’m not. Although like most of you, I do have some pretty strong opinions about the subject.

         My wife, Cyndi, has always been pretty descriptive when she tells a story. She doesn’t get in too big of a hurry and pays attention to details. In truth, she can tell me the story line about a movie she saw, and I usually don’t even feel like I need to see it any longer. So, when she told me about her own mother being abused after divorcing her biological father, it was like standing in the kitchen with all of the broken glass.  We hadn’t been married long at all when she brought all of those terrible details to life. I remember it was a weekday probably around 5:30 p.m. She was making dinner while I sat in the living room fiddling around with an Am chord. As I played, I thought about what it must have been like to be in her shoes. It didn’t seem fair to me that her young life had been altered in such a way -- that her loving, Christian home was turned upside down simply because of some terrible decisions by one person. But, it happens in millions of homes around the globe, and I suppose all we can do is try to break free from the chain of events and make a pact with ourselves to never be part of the problem.

         As I began writing the song, I wrote pretty much what Cyndi had told me. But, by the time I got to the bridge, a different character took over the story line. I didn't want my wife to re-live those experiences over and over again. So I decided to give the abused woman in the song more strength and common sense than Cyndi had been forced to witness first hand.   

         Cyndi put the video together herself last year. She told me where to stand, what to do, and where to look. She brought the actors into our home and shot their parts. She had scouted other locations, but it felt odd asking people if we could shoot a spousal abuse video in their home because it “just felt right”.

         By the time Cyndi edited the video, I had written most of the short story in my mind, and all I needed to do was write it down. I wanted to keep the story kind of barren the same way we had approached the recording of the song. Cyndi has ways of “classing” things up when she touches them. I have watched the video several times, and I always seem to see something else that she allowed to stay in a shot that’s significant in some way.

         I’m not in any way qualified to tell any woman what she should do if she finds herself in an abusive situation. But I believe I do have the right to say that everyone matters and no woman deserves to be treated badly. I have told this to my own daughters over and over again. I will never understand why anyone would stay in such a dark situation.

         I guess I just now realized all I can do is write about how I composed the song and wrote the short story. This is just one of those really heavy topics I don’t know how to approach... one of the many things that shouldn’t be in our society.

         Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.