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CNN Sunday Morning
Songs of Solace
Aired August 03, 2003 - 07:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The days and nights for U.S. troops in Iraq can seem to drag on and on and on. But what do they have to look forward to after their tour of duty is done?
CNN'S Harris Whitbeck tells us about one singing soldier's musical dreams.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Gourley is on guard on a rooftop in Tikrit, thousands of miles away from his home in Greensboro, North Carolina. Long, lonely walk shifts overlooking the Tigris River as it cuts through the hot desert.
They give him a lot of time to think. And he thinks of what soldiers at war have thought of throughout the ages.
PAUL GOURLEY, U.S. ARMY: Home. Mostly home and my family.
WHITBECK: Paul became a soldier out of necessity. He wanted to go to college, but didn't have the money. What he does have is a talent for music.
GOURLEY: Good morning, beautiful, how was your night? Mine was wonderful with you by my side.
WHITBECK: Writing and singing country songs, the source of solace in lonely times. And fighting a war in a faraway land has become a source of inspiration for his music.
GOURLEY: Being out here and being away from it, you really learn what you've got. And being without it really puts things in perspective.
WHITBECK: Paul wrote one song about his at times difficult relationship with his wife, the relationship strained by months of deployment.
GOURLEY: Recently I've been seeing something wrong. And it's been going way too long.
WHITBECK: Heartache, making due in hard times. That is what country music is all about. This singer soldier says being at war has made his music better. And after it's over and he gets back home, he plans on trying to make it as a singer. GOURLEY: Been making plans to move to Nashville to see if I can push my way into something there, you know. My family and most of my friends and everything support me a lot and as much as they can. And my mom actually wanted to save up money to send me to a studio and get a demo made.
WHITBECK: Making it big, as much of a challenge as fighting a war.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Tikrit, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 3, 2003 - 07:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The days and nights for U.S. troops in Iraq can seem to drag on and on and on. But what do they have to look forward to after their tour of duty is done?
CNN'S Harris Whitbeck tells us about one singing soldier's musical dreams.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Gourley is on guard on a rooftop in Tikrit, thousands of miles away from his home in Greensboro, North Carolina. Long, lonely walk shifts overlooking the Tigris River as it cuts through the hot desert.
They give him a lot of time to think. And he thinks of what soldiers at war have thought of throughout the ages.
PAUL GOURLEY, U.S. ARMY: Home. Mostly home and my family.
WHITBECK: Paul became a soldier out of necessity. He wanted to go to college, but didn't have the money. What he does have is a talent for music.
GOURLEY: Good morning, beautiful, how was your night? Mine was wonderful with you by my side.
WHITBECK: Writing and singing country songs, the source of solace in lonely times. And fighting a war in a faraway land has become a source of inspiration for his music.
GOURLEY: Being out here and being away from it, you really learn what you've got. And being without it really puts things in perspective.
WHITBECK: Paul wrote one song about his at times difficult relationship with his wife, the relationship strained by months of deployment.
GOURLEY: Recently I've been seeing something wrong. And it's been going way too long.
WHITBECK: Heartache, making due in hard times. That is what country music is all about. This singer soldier says being at war has made his music better. And after it's over and he gets back home, he plans on trying to make it as a singer. GOURLEY: Been making plans to move to Nashville to see if I can push my way into something there, you know. My family and most of my friends and everything support me a lot and as much as they can. And my mom actually wanted to save up money to send me to a studio and get a demo made.
WHITBECK: Making it big, as much of a challenge as fighting a war.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Tikrit, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
