“It was in Kabul on September 10, 2019, that I read Issue #60 of THE RED HAND FILES, two days after my younger brother passed away,” CORDOLA recalls. “The words resonated deeply in my soul and it struck me how even in loss, grief and the harsh agonies of the world, we can create a sacred chamber in the heart to keep our loved ones. Then the music appeared and attached itself to the words in a kind of holy embrace.

“When I played it for the girls, they were deeply moved. It was as if the words and melody expressed the heavy longing in their souls. Upon singing the end refrain, they were transported to a moment beyond the horror and the sleeping dream where the world and she are BREATHLESS / BEAUTIFUL.”

It was through a friend of NICK CAVE’s, journalist LARRY “RATSO” SLOMAN, that the singer became aware of the song. “The song had been sent to RATSO by LANNY CORDOLA, and I was so moved by what LANNY had done that I wrote to him to say how beautiful I thought it was,” NICK CAVE said in a statement. “There began an email exchange with LANNY, and over the course of the next few weeks I learned about his music program in Kabul and how it came about — the story behind the MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS / GIRL WITH A GUITAR is a tragic one but also one of great hope.”

After hearing how CORDOLA set music to “BREATHLESS / BEAUTIFUL” and worked the song out with the girls, NICK expressed a desire to be more involved. “I offered to duet with LANNY, singing to the song’s wonderful guitar melody played so beautifully by the girls. I am honored that LANNY and the MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS / GIRL WITH A GUITAR have chosen to use my poem in this way. What they do speaks volumes as to what music can give, but also what can be taken away.”

Recorded remotely with NICK CAVE, bassist WILLIAM DAGSHER, and drummer KRIS MYERS (UMPHREY’S MCGEE), CORDOLA finished the tracks and shot the video with the MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS in Afghanistan before heading over to Islamabad, Pakistan, to finalize mixing and mastering.

On August 15, 2021, CORDOLA managed to catch the last commercial flight out of Kabul — without knowing what was in store as he had already booked the fare to Pakistan to renew his visa. Later that same day, the Taliban seized control of the country, ending all education and music-making pursuits for the MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS. In an instant, their world transformed from one filled with hope and dreams to one of precarious, extreme danger.

CORDOLA immediately went right to work, relentlessly chasing every possibility he could to get his students and their families out of Afghanistan. After nine months of dealing with rescue agencies, special operation teams, self-styled mercenaries, layers of bureaucracy and tons of red tape, he was able to provide safe passage for the girls and their families out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan. It was a perilous journey from Kabul to Islamabad.

Like its neighbor, Pakistan is in the grips of social unrest, political upheaval, and economic instability. There’s also widespread discrimination against Afghan refugees, including those who have been arbitrarily arrested, detained and deported. While they’ve been able to resume their musical endeavors to a certain extent and avoid the rule of the Taliban, THE MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS are still refugees who need a place to settle down and call home.

“From war-torn, poverty-stricken to refugees in a country on the brink of collapse and civil war. A nuclear-armed country, no less,” CORDOLA says. “I felt releasing this exquisite soul hymn would allow us to be in contact with the immaculate songline that has bonded us so profoundly these past several years. The purity of their voices brings me to that sacred place and time as they began their journey into song and sound.”