Lucky Lucky You...
Meet our friend Shauna Drayson-Hayward, the inspiration behind our song "Lucky Lucky You."
Shauna's acceptance of others, her willingness to do whatever she can to bring warmth to a situation, and her ability to laugh through the darkest of storms make her a phenomenal woman. I originally met Shauna as a co-worker, then as a dear friend.
When I met Shauna she was engaged to Richie Hayward, the drummer from Little Feat. Truth be told, at that time, I'd never heard of the band, but over the past few years have come to appreciate that Little Feat is a huge deal to a lot of folks and embraced by fans from all over the world. Richie and Shauna were married and the honesty of their relationship is a true and touching romance of the most sincere kind.
As I've gotten to know Shauna, I've come to love an incredibly compassionate woman, who is devoted to her family, not above serving food to the homeless in our local park on weekends (a time when most of us put leisure activities on high priority). She provides her kids with an experience that lets them learn to care about society as a whole, and not just the comfortable fringes. As a family, they are an incredible unit and they affectionately call their time together "jumping into a pile of Haywards".
Richie was diagnosed with liver cancer last year and underwent chemotherapy treatment. While the tumors did respond to treatment, the healthy liver cells were also affected, which meant Richie would need a liver transplant. Due to a lack of health insurance they have a pay as you go plan while Richie waits for his landed immigrant status here in Canada. Many friends and fans in different communities have been involved with fundraisers to help with these costs, but the dollar figure for transplants with pay as you go health care is a million dollar figure.
Shauna keeps the Little Feat world up to date on a website called "Carepages.com". If you type in RichieHayward, and choose the one with the Little Feat reference, you'll receive regular updates too and can leave positive get well wishes. Her inspirations and insights are a warm hug as she shares their journey and the anecdotes of day to day with the Haywards. Shauna is working to support their family, starting a new business that provides a companion service for seniors.
Update: Sadly, Richie passed away on August 12th due to complications of a previously undiagnosed lung condition. Shauna's devotion to him through those last days just reaffirmed all of the qualities that continue to inspire us. It takes a special kind of courage to keep your arms and your heart so open when all of your instincts are trying to avoid the pain of loss. If you've met a really compassionate person, you know how truly humbling it feels to be there, where love is so strong, and all you can do is quietly marvel. Even through tears, she makes her friends smile with every conversation. We feel so very blessed by her friendship.
A few days before Richie was admitted to hospital, Shauna and Richie had come out to a local community event where we were performing this song. I'm glad that they both had the opportunity to hear the finished version. Richie offered a hug, and his approval of all of the sentiments in it. "Lucky You, that is a great song."
Here are the lyrics to Lucky Lucky You:
She’s not afraid of deep water
She’s not afraid to jump right in
She’s not afraid to love you
Troubles and all, mmm, troubles and all.
Lucky lucky you got a woman like that on your side
Lucky lucky you got a woman like that on your side
She’s not afraid of the dark
She’s got love in her heart
She’ll be there to hold the light
Until you find your way through the cold dark night
Lucky lucky you, you got a woman like that on your side.
Lucky lucky you, you got a woman like that on your side.
We all get tired and lonely sometimes
Even angels get the blues
When you ask her what would rock her world
She says it’s you…
She’s not afraid to laugh in the rain
She knows the sun is gonna shine again
Her arms will hold you through your fears
Show you the rainbows in your tears
Lucky lucky you, you got a woman like that on your side.
Lucky lucky you, you got a mama like that on your side
Lucky lucky you, you got a sister like that on your side.
Lucky lucky you, lucky lucky you