Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

A musical tribute to the class of 2020



DELANO, MN – Delano High School math teacher Carly Linden remembers what it was like to be a senior and graduate from DHS.

“My senior year was such a highlight,” Linden said. “It was a really good memory . . . You’ve been going to school since preschool and it’s all kind of ending in a happy and joyous way and teachers are happy for you.”

Those types of memories are not happening for the class of 2020.

“Students had to miss out on a bunch of highlights and memories they don’t get to have,” Linden said.

One day, while she was driving and listening to the radio, she heard the song “Memories” by Maroon 5, and it just clicked.

“I was singing along to this song on the radio and I was like, ‘Man, I feel like this applies to our seniors,” Linden said.

She knew some of the lyrics would need to be rewritten, so she turned to the school’s resident music maven, Joe Lawrence, who has written many songs and created a number of videos.

He knew this video would be more serious than most of his previous productions, as he typically specializes in joking around and “making fun of things,” he said.

“I’m sort of the Weird Al of Delano,” Lawrence said with a laugh.

So, he rewrote some lines to say things like “But these halls bring back all the memories off everything we’ve been through” and “Now, these fields are strangely empty, but we’re lighting up the dark.”

He played it on his guitar, while Linden sang with choir teacher Eric Conway, who even added some beatboxing.

“I did backup stuff to add a little more texture,” Conway said.

Linden seemed to think he was selling himself short.

“He harmonized on the spot without any practice beforehand,” she said.

Lawrence admitted that he had to jump in and sign at certain moments, as well.

“I’m in there, too, but you don’t hear me,” he said. “I’m in there a few times when you forgot lyrics. It’s to fix places where the lyrics I wrote were too clunky to sing. I had to fix it because it was a bad lyric.”

The video features photos and videos of the senior class, blurbs from staff members, and pictures of signs supporting the seniors.

“I walked around to staff and said, ‘I’m making a video,’” Lawrence said. “I wanted them to lip sync.”

Many staff members used their time to honor and send messages to seniors in their own way.

“We wanted them to know how we feel about them and that we miss them,” Lawrence said. “We thought that might be a good way to get it across.”

In true Joe Lawrence fashion, he had to throw in some lighthearted moments and bloopers at the end.

“I can’t help but put in a couple silly things and outtakes,” Lawrence said.

Conway was pleased with how it came together.

“Joe worked his magic on finishing the video and editing the sound to make it a really good product,” he said. “ . . . It’s one of the coolest projects to be a part of and do something for this group of kids who don’t get all these experiences.”

“It feels really bad to not be around to high five, hug, and make fun of them, send them on their way, and crash their senior parties,” Lawrence said.

Linden wishes the staff could do more.

“No matter what we do, it’s not enough,” she said. “At least we tried to do something.”

It has been well received, with 2,000 views on the video on the district Facebook page within a day.

“I’ve had emails from seniors telling me it made them cry,” Linden said.

Lawrence added that the tears are warranted.

“You gotta feel your feels,” he said. “Don’t be Minnesotan about this. Cry away.”

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