B次元官网网址淚f you were in JohnB次元官网网址檚 shoes, would you have gone to France to fight, taken his job too?B次元官网网址�

A lyric from a rap song written and sung by 16-year-old Charlie Farquharson looking back on the life of John Henry Anderson, who served with the 7th Battalion Canadian Infantry. Anderson was part of the attack at Vimy Ridge and died between April 8 and 10, 1917, just shy of his 25th birthday, according to The Canadian Letters and Images Project.

Charlie was in Grade 10 when he was tasked by his social studies teacher at Brookswood Secondary to research and present on a Canadian World War veteran. Most students, Charlie said, created a PowerPoint presentation, but he decided to take his work in a different direction in an effort to really convey to the young generation the privileges Canadians now experience thanks to the sacrifices of those who fought for our freedoms.

The result, a powerful and captivating rap song humanizing the war in an effort to bring a distant historical event back into the forefront for young people.

B次元官网网址淚 decided to do it mainly because I get the feeling that some kids when it comes to World War and Remembrance Day, they just think, B次元官网网址極h, some people died.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 it,B次元官网网址� he said.

CharlieB次元官网网址檚 goal with his creative work was to convey the significance of Remembrance Day and help youth connect with the gravity of the historical event that moves further into the past each year.

B次元官网网址淚t has been so longB次元官网网址� but still, itB次元官网网址檚 still an important thing to remember, reconcile and understand because itB次元官网网址檚 something that many people lost their lives for,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淚 focus on a lot of the negative effects of war [in the song], because most of the effects of war are negative. And I tried to use strong adjectives to try to really plant that seed.B次元官网网址�

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Charlie uses imaginary in his writing to help the listener grasp the magnitude of the war. One line in particular, B次元官网网址渓ong rows of pot holesB次元官网网址� helps depict the vast plain of trenches that remained in the aftermath as a tragic reminder of what had occurred.

B次元官网网址淭he only thing we can really think of is B次元官网网址� we look at them, we think of the graves, we think of the people that have died. Nothing positive really comes out of it,B次元官网网址� he said.

The rap chronicles the sacrifices of Anderson, when he enlisted, his death and how the news of his death travelled back to his family in British Columbia.

B次元官网网址淚 tried to put a lot of dedication into it, because I knew it was something important,B次元官网网址� Charlie said.

He estimates the entirely of the work, writing and recording, took him roughly three hours.

But writing and recording music is nothing new for the Brookswood teenager, he calls it a hobby.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a hobby of mine growing up, whether itB次元官网网址檚 just listening to music or making my own with my buddies,B次元官网网址� he said.

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Now in Grade 11 at Brookswood Secondary, Charlie hopes his song continues to resonate with young people and help them understand the significance of Remembrance Day.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 more common with older people to have relatives, who have fought in the war, for them to connect,B次元官网网址� said Charlie. B次元官网网址淚 think it would be a good idea to find a different way to connect to the youth. Now what that idea is, IB次元官网网址檓 not entirely sureB次元官网网址� I feel like some kids, maybe just donB次元官网网址檛 understand it as much as others.B次元官网网址�