Teen surprised by popularity of song he wrote for friend

TRURO, N.S. — When Jakob Terry saw a friend struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts, he reached out through music.

He wrote Song for a Friend and posted it to YouTube.

“My friend was in a bad spot, with self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and I wanted to help,” said the 15-year-old Bible Hill, N.S., resident. “My friend had a really good reaction to the song.

“I got a lot of positive comments from other people, too. I couldn’t believe it; I didn’t expect many people to listen to it.”

At the beginning of the video, Jakob talks a bit about his friend, who came to him for help

“I just didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I’ve been helping them for months now and it’s really scary. Self-harm and suicidal thoughts. It’s just a lot, it’s a lot to handle coming from somebody you care about, so I decided to write a song about it because I need to get all of my emotions out on paper and I had to express it the only way I know how.”

He said although the song deals with depression, it’s not a dark song. Music plays a big part in Jakob’s life and he often expresses himself through writing music and singing. He started with a fiddle.

“I got my first musical instrument when I was five, but I remember begging for one before that,” he said. “I’ve been playing 10 years now and it’s near and dear to my heart.

Music means so much to me and it’s helped me a lot. It’s great when I can use it to help other people.”

Beth Terry, Jakob’s mother, hadn’t heard the song before it was posted online.

“He’s constantly in the music room and one evening when Chris and I can home he mentioned that he’d made a little video and put it on YouTube,” she said. “He was very nonchalant and vague.

“He’ll usually sing songs written by others, but not usually his own compositions, so this was very important to him. I’m very pleased that my kids are very empathetic and mindful.”

Jakob said although the song was inspired by a specific friend, he looks at it as a song for everybody.

“Share this with as many people as you can,” he says at the end of the video. “If you’ve got a friend — anybody you know that’s going through something like this, like my friend’s going through, sometimes it’s just the smallest things that help.”

The positive reaction to the song prompted Jakob to do a recording at First United Church. That version will be online soon. The original can be seen on YouTube at https://www.youtube .com/watch?v=aN2D_M2BJ5Y