2009 Conference Theme Becomes Inspiring Song
How David Naylor Composed “The View from Here”
In interview with David Nielson
May 2009
David Naylor was born in Murray, Utah and grew up in South Jordan and Coalville before serving a mission in Frankfurt, Germany. He was always interested in music, singing as soon as he could speak. When David was 5, the family got a piano which cemented his lifelong musical interest despite failing a Boy Scout music merit badge and a composition class at BYU.
David studied organ under Tabernacle Organist, Clay Christiansen, who was choirmaster at St. Mark's Cathedral at the time. He studied voice from Jackie Riddle-Jackson at Southern Utah University on his way to earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education in 1987. He is a former member of the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
He currently writes children's operas for Utah Festival Opera in Logan.
In this interview, 2009 Conference Chair David Nielson asks David how he came up with the idea for his new song, “The View from Here”
What did you first think when you heard the name we'd selected, “The View from Here”?
I liked the title from the very first mention. Of course, my idea of what was meant by the title was a bit different from yours, but still it was the perfect creative spark for writing the song.
How did the idea that eventually became this song come to you?
I usually have to make a song personal before I can write it and feel good about it, so I based it on my own thoughts and experiences along my road to authenticity. Most of us know too well the conflicts we felt growing up LDS, always feeling at odds with the establishment, never quite fitting in. In order to truly appreciate the view from where we are, we need to be at peace with who we are and have the strength to live authentically, whatever that may mean.
What personal experiences did you draw on in writing this?
In the mid-90s, before coming to terms with the gay thing, I did everything I could think of to prove I was worthy of God's love. I couldn't get past the idea that God had destroyed two entire cities filled with people JUST LIKE ME. I thought that God must somehow hate me too because of this gay thing inside me! So I went out of my way to be uber-faithful. I know it's silly, but I made all kinds of promises with God. I studied, I prayed, I fasted, I did my home teaching, I attended the temple, in fact my time singing with the Tabernacle Choir was the result of one of those promises. Finally, one night, in an effort to find some solace, I read that infamous chapter in Spencer W. Kimball's “Miracle of Forgiveness” and I was overcome with new wave of shame and revulsion. I did not want to go on. I would just be better off dead! So I knelt by my bed that night and begged God to take my life. I don't know how long I knelt there, but by the time I was finished praying, I was convinced that God would take me during the night. So, I cleaned the house, wrote good-bye letters, wore PJs (so no one would find me in my underwear) and even left the front door open so nobody would have to break down the door when they came in to find me dead.
When I woke up the next morning, I was still here. What a huge disappointment that was! But a good thing came from all the drama. I learned that God is not going to change me so I'd better start coming to terms with being gay! So when I was trying to come up with lyrics for the song, all I had to do was re-live that crazy, drama-filled night and plenty of ideas zoomed into my head!
Tell us a little about your musical background.
I started playing piano when I was 5. I had a few lessons from my mom, but the first real lessons I had were organ lessons in high school from Clay Christiansen. Then in college I took private piano lessons (required for music majors) and spent the entire time breaking bad habits.
When I was a senior in high school, I missed the bus for a field trip to the prison one day, so with nothing better to do, I got an urge to compose. I wrote my first song called “Misty Yesterdays” and inflicted it on anybody who would sit still long enough to endure it! The song was so sickening sweet that I cringe just thinking about it now! I'm sure it's the cause of my adult-onset diabetes!
I kept writing for ward choirs and other groups until, in 1992, I finally got the nerve to send something in to Jackman Music and they have published everything I've sent them since. Oh, and I graduated from Southern Utah with a degree in Music Education in 1987.
I especially love the line, “The view from here is colored like a rainbow.” How did you come up with that? What do you see when you think about that line?
I'm glad you like it. I was afraid it was too cliché and about changed it several times! There was a time when I was so focused on NOT being gay that everything around me —family, friends, events, accomplishments— went completely unnoticed! Everything was essentially black and white. When I finally made the decision to accept myself unconditionally, everything changed. The rainbow, as it turns out, is the perfect metaphor —cliché or not — so I kept the line.
