Description
Shattered Parts tells the story of war from the perspective of those who never went to the battlefield but still live with its consequences. It is about the wives, husbands, partners and families who welcome their veterans home, only to discover that sometimes the person who returns is carrying pieces of a war that nobody else can see.
Coming home should be the end of the journey. For some veterans and their families, it is only the beginning of another battle.
The uniform comes off, the kit gets packed away and life is expected to return to normal. But normal may no longer exist. Memories follow them home. Sleepless nights, anger, silence, withdrawal, guilt and emotions that are difficult to explain can become part of everyday family life. The people who love them are left trying to understand what happened and how they can help.
Shattered Parts is about those loved ones trying to put the pieces back together.
They learn when to speak and when to remain silent. They recognise the nights when sleep will not come and the days when something is wrong even though nothing has been said. They absorb frustration they do not always understand, provide reassurance when words seem useless and repeatedly remind the person they love that they are no longer facing everything alone.
But the song also recognises something that can easily be forgotten. Supporting someone who is struggling carries a cost of its own.
The partners and families of veterans can endure fear, exhaustion, frustration and helplessness while trying to hold their family together. They may find themselves mourning the person who originally left while desperately trying to understand the person who came home. They become carers, confidants, protectors and anchors, often while dealing quietly with their own emotional struggle.
There are no medals for those battles.
Shattered Parts does not portray loved ones as somehow capable of fixing everything. Some wounds require professional help, time and enormous personal effort from the veteran themselves. Instead, the song recognises the extraordinary role families and partners can play in standing beside someone while they begin rebuilding their life.
Sometimes love means holding someone together while they learn how to hold themselves together again.
This song is dedicated to the people waiting at home, to those who have sat through the difficult nights, endured the silence, celebrated the smallest steps forward and refused to give up when the person they loved was struggling to find their way back.
War does not always end when someone comes home.
Sometimes its consequences walk through the front door with them.
And when that happens, it is often the people who love them most who quietly begin helping to rebuild the Shattered Parts.
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