Poignant country ballad honors those who served on Veterans Day
Songwriters: Dan Smalley, Drew Parker, Sandra DeVault, Steven Padilla
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (November 10, 2024) – In collaboration with veteran Sandra DeVault,
singer Porter Martin, and songwriters Dan Smalley, Drew Parker, and Steven Padilla, Lovable
Losers Music today unveils “Let It Fly.” Released in honor of Veterans Day, the song and its
accompanying music video pay homage to those who made the greatest sacrifice for our
freedom.
Eight years in the making, the idea behind “Let It Fly” initially came to fruition in the summer of
2016 following continued unrest and turmoil. The Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida,
and the Nice truck attack were two events that weighed heavy on DeVault’s heart.
“I was walking into the building and the flag was flying at half-staff again,” Air Force veteran
and retired Department of Defense employee DeVault explains. “It felt like every time I walked
into the building that summer, the flag was lowered to indicate some kind of tragedy had
occurred somewhere in the world. I love to see that great big flag billowing way up high and I
thought to myself, ‘I wish they’d just let it fly.’”
DeVault says that moment inspired lyrics at a songwriting retreat in Nashville, Tennessee, in
November 2017. Paired with singer-songwriter Steven Padilla at BMI, DeVault recalls throwing
out titles and ideas for what would eventually become the concept of “Let It Fly.” After three
hours, the pair had a verse and a chorus, but that’s as far as they got. The following year, Padilla
took the song to fellow songwriters Dan Smalley and Drew Parker and the trio finished the song.
DeVault says she was “blown away” when she heard the completed version of the song. “People
comment over and over about how moved they are by the song–it elicits some pretty emotional
responses,” she says.
Porter Martin’s emotional vocals bring the song’s memorable lyrics and vivid picture of war to
the forefront. Meanwhile, the music video, filmed at Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery,
features rows of gravestones and an American flag waving high in the background.
For the ones we’ve lost
And everyone who paid the cost
While “Let It Fly” details what the American flag means to DeVault, the song’s bigger message
is respecting men and women of service. On this Veterans Day, “Let It Fly” does just that.
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About Sandra DeVault:
Air Force veteran and retired Dept. of Defense employee Sandra DeVault is no stranger to
songwriting, or service, for that matter. DeVault, who was in the Air Force for five years and
served as a Russian Cryptologic Linguist, has a long family history of military service. Both
grandfathers served during WWII, and her uncle was killed in a helicopter crash on the flight
deck of the USS Guadalcanal at Portsmouth, Virginia. The songwriter’s father also is an Air
Force veteran who served as an Oklahoma Veterans Hospital Administrator and eventually
became Director of Veterans Affairs for Oklahoma. DeVault’s husband, Scott, is a retired Air
Force MSgt.
Sandra DeVault Short Bio:
Air Force veteran and retired Department of Defense employee Sandra DeVault is no stranger to
songwriting, or service, for that matter.
DeVault co-wrote a song inspired, in part, by the American flag and her time at a Dept. of
Defense facility. “Let It Fly,” available today, is a poignant country ballad paying homage to
those who sacrificed for our freedom.
Eight years in the making, the song initially came together during the summer of 2016. “I was
walking into the building and the flag was flying at half-staff again,” DeVault explains. “It felt
like every time I walked into the building that summer, the flag was lowered to indicate some
kind of tragedy had occurred somewhere in the world. I love to see that great big flag billowing
way up high and I thought to myself, ‘I wish they’d just let it fly.’”
That moment inspired lyrics at a songwriting retreat in Nashville, Tennessee, in November 2017.
Paired with songwriter Steven Padilla at BMI, DeVault recalls throwing out titles and ideas for
what would eventually become the concept of “Let It Fly.”
“When I mentioned ‘Let It Fly’ and started telling the story behind it, he quickly locked on to it,”
she recalls. “After about three hours we had a verse and a chorus, but that’s as far as we got.”
Lacking a second verse and bridge, DeVault welcomed Padilla’s suggestion in early 2018 to
leverage his industry contacts to finish the song. He teamed with songwriters Dan Smalley and
Drew Parker, taking the bones of his creation with DeVault. The veteran says she was “blown
away” when she heard the completed version of “Let It Fly.”
More than eight years after inspiration struck DeVault, “Let It Fly” is available in its entirety,
fittingly in time for Veterans Day. Porter Martin sings the stirring final version as his emotional
vocals paint the vivid picture of war and the sacrifice so many have made:
For the ones we’ve lost
And everyone who paid the cost.
