Song Premiere: Wendy Colonna, “Shelter and Be Kind” (Live)

The Song: “Shelter and Be Kind”
The Artist: Wendy Colonna, an Austin-based singer-songwriter who released her fifth album, Nectar, last year.
Songwriter Says: “‘Shelter And Be Kind’ was inspired by my own and different folks’ stories about their parents and grandparents and their own kids. I think there’s something really special about those relationships for all parties. I only have one living grandparent left and I’ve been reflecting on this for several years now as my others have passed on.

“It seems to me that wisdom often skips a generation because nobody wants to listen to their parents, but when grandparents get the ‘second chance’ to share what they’ve learned, grandkids take it to heart. It may be because the wisdom is often served with a piece of candy otherwise forbidden by parents, but either way, it’s powerful. Another piece of the magic is that sometimes folks can forgive their parents for their shortcomings when they see them with their own kids. There’s a lot of pain, but also a lot of beauty that comes from sitting with the legacy of where we come from. Yeah, it’s imperfect, but it’s ours.”