How deep can a hurt go? You don't have to ask Eric Clapton or Max Barnes.

Eric's touching song "Tears In Heaven," written after the death of his four-year-old son, caused me to think back to a song I wrote three years ago about a three-year-old girl who lost her struggle for life. My hurt wasn't as close to home as his, but at the time I needed to write it and I felt better for it. I still get a chill when I listen to it or perform it. It's one of those things some do not understand. The pain is understood but not the writing of it. Call it some kind of lasting tribute or maybe a venting of pain, but a writer understands because he or she is compelled to put those feelings on paper.

Money is a small comfort for a hurt as big as Max Barnes felt when he co-wrote "Chiseled in Stone" after losing his son. He would have done it for free. He stroked heart strings he had never felt before. His small consolation was sharing that feeling. We, the listening audience, who many times have felt pain, can remember a lost friend or loved one and share a moment of tribute and feel better for it.