Call me Freedom: How letters from Ukrainian refugees inspired Jerry Heil's song

Jerry Heil: While writing this track, I learnt that the word will, which has become the second name of Ukraine, is feminine in many languages! Think about it: it's so symbolic! That's why the track is called "CALL ME FREEDOM".

Collaboration with French writer Aurélie Bros

Jerry Heil's collaboration with Aurélie began in Berlin when the writer offered asylum to Jerry and other Ukrainian women after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Deeply impressed by the stories of the Ukrainian women, Aurelie decided to create a book in which these women would talk about their experiences. Among them is Gerry Hale.

On the 11th of September, Jerry Heil released a new track, "Call Me Volya" or "CALL ME FREEDOM," in collaboration with French writer Aurélie, the author of the book (AS A ROCK OF LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. LETTERS FROM UKRAINE TO THE FREE WORLD)

The book is a collection of letters from Ukrainian women describing their experiences during the Russian invasion. The book was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on 11 September 2023. The Ukrainian version will be published before the end of 2023. The author's deep connection inspired the collection of these letters with Ukrainian journalists and the stories they told. Socportal previously published an exclusive interview with Aurelie about how the compilation was assembled.

A bridge between music and literature

Jerry Heil's main contribution to this project is the song "CALL ME FREEDOM", created to support the release of Aurelie's book. This unusual marketing move combining music and literature is rarely used but has enormous potential. Jerry believes this approach will only increase interest in Ukrainian culture and history.

The video for the song features excerpts from the letters included in Aurelie's book. These letters are the voices of Ukrainian women, their experiences, fears and hopes in times of war.

Imagine your country is invaded. What would you do?

Flee abroad? Leave your relatives behind? Or stay with them in the war? Maybe even go to the front and fight?

Answers to these questions were given by 38 Ukrainian women in very personal, moving letters for the book: "Like a ray of Light in The Darkness. Letters from Ukraine to The Free World"

"Today, Russia is not fighting against Ukraine. It is fighting against the entire civilised world", - Olha

"I don’t want us to build our future under the noise of air raid sirens", - Sofia

"When it got dark, I saw a glow in the sky. There were rockets", - Maryana

"The wheat fields have been set on fire by missile strikes and the harvest cannot be harvested", - Iryna

"Sometimes I feel guilty for leaving my family behind in a country where there is war", - Maria

"We feel that we are in a reality show right now. The world is watching us. And we are competing in the game of “who got hit the hardest in this war?" - Olha

"Our unity - this is not a slogan from television! Our unity is in our genes and has been passed down to us from our grandparents", - Jerry

"I don't understand why Putin started the war. He is an idiot", - Ira

"My biggest dream is that the war will end, that all Ukrainians will be alive, healthy and happy!", - Sofia

"When all our colleagues were more or less safe, we launched an operation to rescue the animals", - Olha

"At the beginning of March, new shells hit Mariupol, leaving the city without water, gas, electricity, light and grid connection", - Kristina

"It was hell ... There was hardly anything to eat, soup was cooked over the fire from the water drained from the radiators", - Anastasia

Socportal spoke to Jerry Heil about her involvement in the book's life - creating the song "Call Me Freedom" to support the book's release.

Tell us about the song "Call Me Freedom" and its connection to the book. How did the collaboration with Aurelie come about, and what can listeners expect from the song?

Aurélie and I met at the beginning of the Full-scale Invasion. She gave me shelter, and before and after that, she hosted several other Ukrainian women in her flat in Berlin.

It turned out that Aurélie was a French writer who had previously taught at Harvard. I told her about my fears about moving to the US to study at Berkeley, and she reassured me with stories of the magical autumn in Boston since she had taught at Harvard.

At that time, inspired by the stories of Ukrainian women who had been forced to flee under various circumstances since the war began, Aurelie began work on a book. It contains stories written by these women and girls themselves (mine is among them; however, it is perhaps the most personal of all the memoirs).

But my primary participation in the life of the book, which contains dozens of stories of unbroken women about whom the whole world will now know because the book will be published by the most famous German publishing house and translated into many languages, is the track that I created at the request of the author to support the publication of the book.

Such a promotional move - to combine a book with music - is rarely used, but it has a significant effect. I believe it will happen. I think that the support from Europe and the whole world will not only not decrease but will increase as we fall in love with Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian people who create it.

While writing this track, I learnt that the word Freedom, which has become the second name of Ukraine, is feminine in many languages! Think about it: it is so symbolic!