“Military Kid Song” spreads joy in Sasebo

SASEBO – “Military Kid Song” was written by a DoDEA educator to celebrate the unique experiences of military-connected students.

In 2017, Mr. Ryan Davis, who at that time served as a music teacher at Yokota West Elementary School, was leading a musical program for the Month of the Military Child.

“As I was preparing for the event, I couldn’t find a song about military kids living overseas,” Davis said. “With my music background in a composing class during college, I felt confident I could put together a song to fill the need.”

In order to truly capture the experiences of military kids, Davis spoke with his students, his own children – who were military-connected students – and his own memories as a military-connected student at Ramstein High School.

This year, Mr. Davis announced his retirement from Darby Elementary School, where he serves as the art teacher. While colleagues and parents congratulated him, they also wanted to know – was there a recording of the “Military Kid Song?”

There wasn’t – until know.

Davis located a studio in Sasebo, reached out to the owner, and a special cultural exchange opportunity followed. The owner, who also teaches music, not only agreed to allow Davis and DoDEA students to record using his space – he also asked if his music could play instruments on the recording.

It took three recording sessions to pull together, with DoDEA students ranging in age from 4-13 years recording vocals in studio on the third and final session. Afterward, DoDEA students were able to meet the Japanese student musicians who had recorded the instrumentals.

“The goal of the recording is to provide a song for the overseas military community, so they have a song written specifically about them in future Month of the Military Child events,” Davis said.

The “Military Kid Song” lyrics and score are linked below for educator use. A lyric video is also available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aigOKOP7fhc.