Song ‘I’ll Be There’ written from man’s experience in Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — “Sometimes the smallest flicker of hope can do a lot in a dark place,” singer-songwriter Clifford Ray Walker Jr. said.

Walker works at Arrington Funeral Directors as an apprentice and sees it as a ministry, but that’s not the only way he’s helping people.

He moved to Jackson in 2006 when he was 12 years old. His parents were becoming the pastors of Calvary Church.

“I wanted to get back to the basics of what made me Cliff,” Walker said.

In 2016, he began writing his song “I’ll Be There.”

Walker then decided he wanted to revive the bus ministry at Calvary Church, which gives kids a ride to different events.

Walker says getting to work with the bus ministry and getting to know inner-city kids was a big influence for the song.

“They just kind of stole my heart, so these melodies began to form in my mind,” Walker said.

Then when it came time for the music video, he wanted the setting to reflect the feeling in the song.

“I wanted people to see a side of Jackson that isn’t pretty, because that’s where the real-life stuff is,” Walker said.

He wanted to leave the graffiti and overgrown plants in the shots in hopes of making a bigger impact.

“I believe we shouldn’t walk around with blinders on, because your neighbor needs kindness,” Walker said.

Walker says his goal with the song isn’t to be famous.

“When we came out with this song, I said if one person can be affected in a positive way, everything was worth it,” Walker said.

So far, the song has been played and the video seen more than 20,000 times on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify and iTunes.