The Lone Bellow Find Strength Through Grief at Nashville Covenant School Tribute 'Victory Garden'

A year ago, six people were killed in a mass shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. The tragedy sent grief and shock to the community as it mourned the loss of three young students and three faculty members. In honor of the anniversary, Lone Bellow pays tribute to the victims with “Victory Garden,” a new song that celebrates the strength of Tennessee's resilient community.

“After March 27th, many of us in the Nashville community felt powerless in our grief. We felt devastated and outraged and the inevitable pain we felt that this tragedy and the loss of six precious lives could have been avoided,” the band said in a statement. “Since then, we've been looking for ways, no matter how small, to engage in the daily acts of caring for our community, investing and cultivating beauty even when things seem hopeless. We cling to hope, for the sake of a better, safer future for our children.”

Proceeds from the “Victory Garden” will go to the local non-profit organization Voices for a Safer Tennessee, formed in the days following the Covenant School shooting in an effort to draw attention to the urgent need for effective gun control legislation.

“This song was our simple act of wartime gardening, and we were incredibly moved when our community, so many of those directly affected by the Covenant tragedy, came together to help us sing it,” continued Lone Bellow. “We will continue to strive to be a song for those who cannot speak and honor the memory of those we have lost. The cries of our children will not soon be forgotten, each one a flower in our Victory Garden.”

The title of the song also comes from international history, particularly the times when citizens were encouraged to grow gardens during the world wars to combat food shortages. “Communities came together and these wartime gardens were planted wherever food could be grown: backyards, city rooftops, windows, public parks, vacant lots,” the group wrote. “In London, a garden was planted in the crater left by a bomb near Westminster Cathedral. On the signs of death, new life is sown.”

In their own way, so did Lone Bellow. “Sometimes writing a song is like planting a garden,” they added. “Small act of hope with creative seeds that will grow providing comfort and strength through overwhelming sadness.”