Roger Street Friedman left home at 18 with one goal in mind– to start a career in music. When he hit his mid-twenties, however, he gave up the industry to pursue other interests, and it took him almost thirty years to circle back to his first love. In 2007, with the loss of his parents and his wife’s first pregnancy, Friedman once again began to work on his music. At the beginning of 2014, he began writing and performing in Brooklyn and released his album The Waiting Sky. He has been featured on USA Today, CMT, American Songwriter and Relix, and has been on Americana and Roots Radio Stations. To top it off, he’s opened for Los Lobos and The Blind Boys of Alabama, and is in the Top 20 on The Roots Music Report.

“You Are Not Alone” is a beautiful and heartwrenching track about Roger Street Friedman’s last night with his father before he passed away. Friedman’s heartfelt lyrics emphasize the hopefulness his father had, knowing that those he loved were beside him. The music video for the track is anime styled animation using both 2D and 3D techniques. In the video, Friedman and his family surround his father’s hospital bed, while flashbacks show Friedman as a child. The emotionally charged video is a touching tribute to how important Friedman’s father was to him. About the song, Friedman has said, “We knew he was close to the end, and at one point his temperature started to rise and his face developed this kind of angelic glow. I wanted him to know that we were there with him, and in my heart I felt, or at least I hoped, that he did know.” Halfway through the video, you see Roger reach out for his father’s hand, and his father seems to recognize him; the chorus of “you are not alone,” soars as the video zooms in on the father’s face. The video handles a serious subject matter in a tasteful way.

It’s devastating to write a song about the passing of a parent, but Roger’s lyrics and melody made the song uplifting. In “You Are Not Alone,” Friedman creates a sense of hopefulness in this beautiful ode to his father. Watch the video below.