Laura’s song inspires P.E.I. band, comforts family she left behind

Joe Vanderweerd and his daughter Laura perform Come Walk With Me during a performance in Morell in March 2023. Laura was killed in a car accident nine months later. (Submitted by Trish Vanderweerd)

Trish Vanderweerd remembers when company of guests would come over and her husband Joe and teenage daughter Laura would pick up their guitars and play a special family song together.

Come walk with me The poem was based on a nature poem that Joe’s sister, Emma Walsh, had written on a Christmas card a year earlier. Laura loved it and set it to music.

One night, her father recorded her singing it.

“I remember thinking, ‘Why is he doing this?’” Trish Vanderweerd recalls. “But he was a proud dad and he still is. And we’re very grateful that he recorded a few other songs, and they’re just memories. We play them a lot and it’s comforting.”

Tragically, Laura Vanderweerd died in a two-vehicle collision in December at the age of 18. Three other youths and the driver of the other vehicle also died in the crash, which left the entire province shaken and families in mourning.

About six weeks later, Joe Vanderweerd contacted John B. Webster of the Fiddlers’ Sons of Prince Edward Island.

Webster had lost his teenage son in a farming accident 23 years ago, and at first he thought Vanderweerd might be seeking advice on how to cope with such a tragedy, he said. Main Street of Prince Edward IslandThis is Matt Rainnie in an interview.

Fiddlers’ Sons is comprised of (from left) John B. Webster, Eddie Quinn and Keelin Wedge. The group recently released a new CD with Laura’s Song. (Submitted by John B. Webster)

But Vanderweerd was unaware that they shared a similar grief.

He was there for another reason: to show her the video of Laura singing Come walk with meand ask if Fiddlers’ Sons would be willing to perform it at one of their concerts, or even record it on CD.

Webster was touched.

“Maybe it was partly the emotion of the moment, partly her wonderful voice – Laura had a just beautiful voice. And I said, ‘I’m definitely in.'”

“They did a great job”

The Fiddlers’ Sons renamed the song Laura’s song. With Eddy Quinn on vocals and some violins, the group played it on March 12 at the Kings Playhouse in Georgetown, with the Vanderweerds in attendance.

Trish Vanderweerd said it was a bittersweet moment: “I love hearing my daughter play it and sing it – you know, it’s a special thing – but they did a great job with that song.”

Vanderweerd said it was a challenge for some of his family members to share the song with the public, but they ultimately decided it was “the right thing to do.”

“It’s a song about nature and we, as a family, love spending time in nature. But our daughter can’t sing it anymore.”

The song is featured on Fiddlers’ Sons’ latest CD, Love does not divide.

Webster said they began writing songs for the CD in 2020, but the project was delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Laura’s song gave them the motivation to move forward and complete the project.

“Music made me move forward”

Webster said he could somewhat understand how the Vanderweerds felt.

When his son Alex died at the age of 16, Webster took a year off and “just disappeared.” During this time, he wrote a song for Alex called The eagles are flyingwhich gave him the inspiration to start playing again.

“Music has helped me through the tough days, I can tell you that. So I hope that our little contribution here, that we can make to the Vanderweerd family… will have an impact on their lives and help them through this.”

Fiddlers’ Sons plays Thursday nights at Hillcrest United Church in Montague through the end of September.