There are some songs that are just a lot of fun and then there are songs that really say something important. Texas singer/songwriter Amelia Presley’s song “Harm Nobody Else” would definitely fall in the latter category.
Presley was a machinery technician in the United States Coast Guard and she has performed at CMA Music Festival and on the Grand Ole Opry. With her new song, Presley is bravely opening up about something that she kept hidden for 25 years. She was physically abused by her step-mother for most of her childhood, from the time she was a three-year-old until the time she was about 15 years old.
Presley said “Harm Nobody Else” was written in 10 to 20 minutes, describing the write as quick and easy. “That’s kind of how I write. If the song isn’t written in like 30 minutes, then I probably won’t ever finish it If I don’t capture that feeling that I’m feeling right then, I just can’t come back to it and get anything honest that I like,” she said.
According to Presley, she didn’t intend to tell anyone that it was about her when she was writing the song. “It became uncomfortable when I started actually telling the story behind it and telling that it was my story,” she said. “I don’t think it will ever stop being uncomfortable, but I think it’s really important to keep talking about it anyway.”
She said that she has been really amazed and shocked at how many people have gone through something similar, but that has kind of has driven her even more. “I am learning that this is a really common thing, but it doesn’t really seem like it’s that common because people don’t really talk about it,” she said. “For me, I hid it for most of my life because I was trying to protect her and it also made me feel really vulnerable.”
Presley decided pretty quickly to record the song because she thought it was important for people to hear it and hear someone talk about their story openly. She realized the weight that the song that the song was going to hold and she felt like she had to do it all the way. “I felt like and I feel like this is the most important song that I will ever put out there for myself,” Presley said.
She also created a music video for the song and her daughter plays her as a child in the video. Presley explained why she thought it was important to make the video. “For some people, words don’t click,” she said. “They hear a catchy song and the words don’t hit home or they don’t completely understand them. With the music video, I made sure I really said everything with what you see on the screen. I felt it was important for people to really know the entire truth.”
For more information on Amelia Presley, visit www.ameliapresleymusic.com.