Watch Grapevine officer pay tribute to pandemic heroes with classic song in video post
There hasn’t been a whole lot to celebrate lately as the deadly coronavirus pandemic grips the country.
But that was exactly the point behind a video posted on social media by the Grapevine Police Department.
Officer William Lain sings and plays guitar on a country-styled version of the Louis Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World” in tribute to the heroes of the pandemic.
While Lain plaintively sings and plays the guitar, images of Grapevine, including shops on Main Street, Baylor, Scott & White Medical Center and parks, are shown. Grapevine has had 20 COVID-19 cases, including five patients who have recovered.
Lain, who grew up in Deer Park and has worked for the city for 23 years, has played live shows at Farina’s Winery on Main Street in Grapevine and Marty B’s in Bartonville before the pandemic. He sang the national anthem before a race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2017. For the past three weeks he has streamed live shows on Facebook.
“People seem to enjoy it,” said Lain, 48, who began playing guitar at age 8 and grew up listening to Garth Brooks and George Strait and idolizing the likes of Merle Haggard and George Jones. “We just have a good time. It gives them something to look forward to while they have to stay home.”
Grapevine police media manager Amanda McNew had the idea to post the video as a way to keep up morale and pay tribute to doctors, nurses and other essential workers during the pandemic. It was Officer Lain’s wife who suggested “What A Wonderful World.”
Lain, who is a motorcycle traffic patrol officer, has a 23-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter. When he finds the time, he sometimes writes original songs but usually relies on cover songs when he plays live. Now he has another standard to add to his setlist.
“I practiced it for a few days but I’d never played it anywhere else,” Lain said. “But I’m going to now just because it means something.”
