Local ‘American Idol’ singer gives strong message with ‘Harbor’
Carly Moffa, a Williamstown native and former contestant on American Idol, released her newest song “Harbor”, a song deeper than its title leads. Dictionary.com defines harbor as “a part of a body of water along the shore deep enough for anchoring a ship and so situated with respect to coastal features, whether natural or artificial, as to provide protection from winds, waves and currents.”
Moffa’s song is not about nautical travel.
The song came to her after a lung disease awareness walk in Nashville where she was asked to perform. While at the walk, Moffa took notice of a couple that made her think of home. The husband was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer and his wife was there fighting for him.
“The way she was looking at him reminded me of how I look at my mom,” Moffa said. “The desire when someone you love is in pain, how much you want them to fight. She was loving and supportive like I am with my mom fighting Multiple Sclerosis.”
Once the walk was over, Moffa went home and put pen to paper out of necessity.
“When I went to write this I didn’t intend to write a song,” she described. “It came as a stream of consciousness. It was just kind of me talking to my mom. It was almost me talking to me.”
The song starts with the line “I’ll be your fortress, I’ll be your lighthouse.” To Moffa, that sentiment rings true.
“It’s very honest. The whole song is honest,”
A song that was originally written as a healing experience found its way into the hands of director Ray Mamrak who shared a common bond with Moffa — both have a parent suffering from MS. Mamrak then reached out to ask if Moffa would be interested in shooting a music video for the song.
“I didn’t know a music video was a possibility until he said that,” Moffa said. “This is my first music video for an original song.”
The song’s meaning is something that can hit home with anybody, not just those with loved ones suffering from MS. Two lyrics that speak to that are, “It’s no secret that me and God got things to discuss,” and “When these doctors hand out verdicts remember you got roots that they can’t see.”
“The song is me admitting my humanity that it’s OK to not be OK,” Moffa said. “I can be a warrior even though I’m not OK.”
The song insists that one shouldn’t give up no matter how insurmountable the obstacle might be.
“Every individual is different,” Moffa said. “When those things are happening, you have a fight in you that no one knows about.”
“Harbor” also serves as a reminder that people with disease aren’t going through their struggle alone — family members and loved ones are there fighting by their side as well.
“We shot it [the music video] in hopes other people will see it,” Moffa said. “The rawness, unfiltered-ness and the pain.”
The concept of a harbor is perfect for this song, it gives those fighting something to work toward. As Moffa says in the song, “I know the undertow is pulling you out but I’m not giving up. ‘Cuz you ain’t far from the harbor.”
“It gives the people who are fighting this a team. The saying ‘it takes a village’ is true for everything. It gives hope.”
“Harbor” is available on all streaming platforms; the music video will be released on Oct. 18.
