Three graduating seniors write, record song of encouragement for classmates

Pictured left to right: Avery Harper, who sings lead on ‘It’s Gonna Be Okay,’ also wrote the music and accompanied herself on piano, Ethan Cahoon wrote the lyrics to ‘It’s Gonna Be Okay’ to give hope to the Class of 2020, whose senior year memories have been unmade by a global pandemic, and Arielle Winn provided harmony for ‘It’s Gonna Be Okay,’ learning the part during the 15-minute ride to the church where the song was recorded on Sunday.

Three members of the Class of 2020 at South Lenoir High School have teamed up to write and record a song that speaks to seniors everywhere who are seeing long-awaited last-year traditions roiled by a global pandemic.

Instead of bemoaning the consequences of coronavirus, though, the song assures this year’s graduates that – as its title says – “It’s Gonna Be Okay.”

Ethan Cahoon wrote the lyrics. “I kept seeing stuff on Facebook and Instagram about how senior year was over and we’d missed out on everything,” he said. “I felt there should be a song to encourage the seniors – to say it’s not over, it’s just a different ending.”

He wrote the words over two days last week and, conceding he’s a better writer than musician, reached out to friend, classmate and accomplished vocalist and pianist Avery Harper for help with the melody. She had the music finished within a few hours.

“It was just amazing, reading the lyrics, and I let my mom read it and she was about to cry,” said Avery, whose talent has taken her to vocal competition at the FFA National Conference the past two years.

After hearing Avery’s original version – like the lyrics, the song itself traveled between these socially distanced collaborators as digital files – Ethan suggested adding a harmony part to the chorus. Avery turned to friend and classmate Arielle Winn, with whom she first sang in middle school chorus.

On Sunday afternoon, Avery and Arielle headed back to church to record “It’s Gonna Be Okay.” Arielle learned the harmony part during the 15-minute ride.

“I listened to it about two times in the car and then we got to the church and rehearsed it once and did a recording of it,” Arielle said. In two takes, four days after Ethan conceived the idea, the song he calls a “senior tribute” was ready for the Class of 2020, for all past graduates who can imagine what missing out must feel like and, Ethan thinks, for everyone dealing with the pandemic.

“The song is more about high school seniors, but I think it could apply to college seniors, and I feel the overall message that it’s going to be okay could apply to everyone in the world,” he said. “That one line is something everyone can hear and take hope and encouragement from that.”

“It’s Gonna Be Okay” has found a wide audience. Since debuting on You Tube on Monday and finding its way to multiple other social media outlets, the song has been heard and shared thousands of times. It got airplay Tuesday on WRNS.

“It was weird hearing myself on the radio,” Avery said. “It was weird but cool at the same time.”

The song invokes dashed dreams of a traditional graduation, a spring sport season scraped, a prom that never was and keepsake memories that will never be made – sad remnants of a year that, as the chorus relates, is “wild and out of sorts.”

But it also reminds seniors that “graduation is only a stepping stone / a chance to see how much we’ve grown.” It’s the next line that sticks with Avery.

“The line that says ‘in just a few months we’ll be on our own’ really means a lot to me,” she said. “I’ll be going to N.C. State in the next few months and I’m kind of nervous and kind of sad. I’m excited too, but that line puts into perspective that this is real and this is about to happen.”

As one of about 130 graduating seniors statewide selected as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, Avery will pursue plans at N.C. State to become a high school math teacher. Because she’s completed a number of college-level classes through Lenoir Community College while at South Lenoir, she’ll go to Raleigh as a second-semester sophomore.

Arielle, with a year of college classes to her credit, plans to wrap up an associate degree at LCC next school year. She expects to get involved with the theater program there and contemplates a career that keeps her connected to music.

Ethan, who’ll leave South Lenoir with both a diploma and associate of arts degree from LCC, is headed to East Carolina University to pursue a degree in business with an eye toward law school. “I want to be a corporate lawyer,” he said. “I have always had this dream of being a song writer, so what I’m thinking is maybe I could be a lawyer for a record company and be a lyricist on the side.”

To a degree unique to the Class of 2020, the future looks brighter than the recent past. But amid all the memories clouded by coronavirus, three seniors from South Lenoir High made a memory as enduring as a solid rhyme. They made a song that captured the times while it captured hearts.

“I didn’t think it would blow up like this, but I wanted it to,” Arielle said. “It’s a perfect song for a time like this.”

Ethan holds out hope that “kids will have their families see them walk across a stage and see them complete a chapter in their lives.” But whatever happens, he will follow the advice he offered in song. He won’t despair.

“This might not be a normal senior year,” he said, “but it is our senior year.”