Pre-Meal by Will Guidara

Happy Wednesday!

I have some fun news: I wrote a song.

It’s called “That Table,” and it celebrates something important to me: the magic that can happen when people gather around a table.

I want to tell you how this song came to be, because the way it came to life feels just as meaningful as the message behind it.

My friend Aaron Raitiere, a Grammy-winning songwriter and someone I’ve known since college, is about to launch a podcast called You Wrote a Song with Aaron Raitiere. The concept is brilliant. The first 15 minutes are a simple conversation; you talk while Aaron jots down notes. Then he turns the mic and says, “You said this, this, and this. Which one do you want to write a song about?”

In the 45 minutes that follow, the two of you make a song on the spot.

Aaron believes everyone is creative; they just need the right invitation. His gift is drawing that creativity out, even from people who’d never dream of calling themselves songwriters.

In our session, we wrote “That Table,” about the table we all grew up sitting around. How, while many things in our lives changed over the years, that table — and everything it meant — never did.

I played it for my friend Zach Williams, lead singer of my favorite band, The Lone Bellow. A week later, he blew my mind by asking if the band could record it.

So here is That Table, written by me and Aaron Raitiere, and recorded by The Lone Bellow.

I hope you enjoy the song. More importantly, I hope it reminds you how joyful it can be to connect.

In a world moving faster than ever, where distraction is the norm and division defines the moment, the table remains one of the few places where we can still come together. It’s where ideas are born, relationships deepen, and memories are made. It’s a place to tell stories, and to hear them. And it can be a place where we challenge one another with love and respect, and connect across differences.

In my opinion, we could all use a whole lot more of that right now.

Have a good service,

Will