
an american story
Fighting fascism one generation at a time
Dedicated to mothers and fathers everywhere, loving and longing for their children.
And to our brave sons and daughters, who should not have to suffer this way.
“I was thinking of many things while writing this song. All the stories of mothers fighting to keep their children alive.
My wishes for my son. To keep him safe. To keep him close.
A profound sense of the precariousness of it all. How close we dance to the edge every day. And it’s not always a dance.
More like hand to hand combat. With no armor and no back up.”
Though my team and I are not journalists or historians, we have tried our best to remain true and accurate throughout this post.”- Ellen Kaye
immigration
part i

“As Trump rushes to deport migrants, many worry children’s rights are being violated
A growing number of cases – including a 2-year-old kept in U.S. custody after her mother was deported to Venezuela – reignites fears of child separation policies.”
Read the full article here:
Read more of this story here:
The Washington Post – By Silvia Foster-Frau



immigration
part ii
Immigration
“Here are the U.S. citizens caught in Trump’s immigration crackdown” By María Luisa Paúl
Over a dozen U.S. citizens have been swept up in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, according to interviews, court records and news reports.
Updated May 3, 2025
Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez — Florida
Photo Credit: Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez is reunited with his mother after he was released from Leon County Jail in Florida. (Thomas Kennedy/AP)
On April 16, Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a 20-year-old citizen, was detained by Florida Highway Patrol during a traffic stop near the Georgia-Florida line, The Post reported. Despite presenting his birth certificate and Social Security card, he was arrested under Florida Senate Bill 4-C — a law targeting unauthorized immigrants in the state, which had been temporarily blocked by a federal court.
Lopez-Gomez, who primarily speaks Tzotzil — a Mayan dialect — was held in Leon County Jail for over 24 hours due to an ICE detainer, even after a judge verified his citizenship and dismissed the charges against him.
McLaughlin said Lopez-Gomez told officers he was in the country illegally: “Immediately after learning the individual was a United States citizen, he was released.”
Read the full article here:
Here are the U.S. citizens caught in Trump’s immigration crackdown by Maria Luisa Paul
and read more about this story here:
Man detained in Florida on immigration hold despite being citizen by Vivian Ho
and here:
U.S. citizen arrested in Florida under blocked immigration law by C.A, Bridges




AJC NEWS
He was held by police for over 30 hours despite being a U.S. citizen
Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen born in Georgia, was arrested by Florida police in mid-April after being labeled an “unauthorized alien” while traveling to Florida for a construction job. He was held in jail for more than 30 hours because of an ICE detainer, even after his mom proved his citizenship in court. AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan spoke with Juan Carlos and his mother about the trauma of the arrest, the racial profiling they believe played a role, and the impact it’s had on their family and community. As they are still processing the arrest, mother and son have yet to cross the state line and return to Florida for work. Lopez-Gomez’s attorney, Mutaqee Akbar, said his client’s attempt to declare citizenship and provide documentation to the officer is exactly what he should have done during the encounter. Akbar also said he is discussing a possible wrongful arrest lawsuit. Credits: AJC | @LlanosJackie / X | @tomaskenn / X | Silvia Alba / WTXL
Sleeping Shadows Lullaby
our song that draws inspiration from stories like these
SLEEPING SHADOWS LULLABY
Listen
Live Performances & Inteviews Sleeping Shadows
Sleeping Shadows Lullaby Playlist

4:10

6:31

3:39
An Interview with Ellen
Sleeping Shadows Lullaby Playlist

2:21

0:51

0:53

2:45
Full transcript of interview with Ellen below
“Lulling your baby to sleep with your sing song words and melody.
But your deepest wishes and fears break through.”-Ellen Kaye
I wrote Sleeping Shadows Lullaby to tell the story of what it feels to be a young mother in a dangerous, chaotic world with your baby strapped to your chest or on your back with lips on your neck.
And you’re doing everything you can to protect it and to tell that the world isn’t as bad as it seems and to be reassuring and to sing and to whisper and to lull the child to sleep and also to look out into the world and say, you know, here are the beautiful stars. Here’s this beautiful planet that we’re living on and your whole life is in front of you. But in the song, the young mother is also on the run. So it’s that struggle of trying to keep the baby quiet so that, you know, the enemy, the predator, the hunter can’t hear you and yet to remain strong and fierce and optimistic that you’re going to get the heck out of this really bad situation, whether it’s a forest, a jungle, a city street.
So to a better and safer world, that’s what I’m trying to write about.
2nd Answer:
Sleeping Shadows Lullaby is the last song in chapter three and it’s part of the Seeker Song Trilogy. It’s from the point of view of a mother from any time, from any time since the beginning of time.
From the neanderthals to humans and it’s about being on the run, whether it’s in a forest or a jungle or in a city with your baby in your arms. Being chased and trying to lull the baby to sleep and hoping that you can make the child feel safe in an unsafe world.
I want listeners to love the young mother and her child and to think that if they were there they would do everything they could to protect them. And if they are a young mother and feel that the world is an impossible place, that this song gives them hope, you know, that there are ways out of terrible situations and there are people who will help you get out of them.
And mostly to kind of foster a feeling of love and sympathy for people that are in trouble and need us.
“I dreamed that we were far away and gone
on wings of birds, we flew at dawn
I dreamed I kept you safe and sound from harm
We left this earth and we were gone.”
I think that’s kind of the heart of the tune. And it’s the dream, the dream that every parent has. And I think more than parents, I think it’s the dream that everybody has for the people they love. That they can protect them, they can set them free and they can take such good care of them that they will never ever be in want for anything.
Definitely my own experience as a mother is central to the tune. And I had my son Ian in a difficult time in my life and he was the most amazing gift to me. But there were circumstances that definitely were challenging.
So, I’m thinking of that when I was writing the song and I’ve always remained very aware of how hard it is to be a mother. In the beginning, in the middle, in the end. It’s just a difficult path. It’s one I highly recommend, but what it takes to do it and you just never ever know if you’ve ever felt that you’ve mastered it. And you always wish that you could have done some things differently. But mostly I think the longing to protect your child is elusive and somewhat delusional. So you’re kind of fighting that idea in yourself. And because you want to remain optimistic and you want to be strong for your children.
So I think all of that weaves in and out of “Sleeping Shadows Lullaby.”
2nd Answer:
I think the precariousness of existence and in particular the most vulnerable. But also I do believe that most people on this planet will be extremely vulnerable at some point.
Whether they see it coming or not and I’m looking to kind of dive into that about how on the edge everything really is and how fraught and what a daily fight it is just to put one foot in front of the other. So that’s I’d say that that was one of the deeper things that’s roiling underneath what I was writing about.
The Story
Sleeping Shadows Lullaby
” How it feels to have your heart filled to the brim with love and dread for your child.“-Ellen Kaye
With “The Unknown” and “Sleeping Shadows Lullaby” I’m trying to convey what it feels like to be the other, to be on the run, to be out in the cold, far away from friends, from those who love you. To be unprotected. Alone. And in this case, with a small child on your back fighting off your natural and unnatural predators.
Lulling your baby to sleep with your sing song words and melody. But your deepest wishes and fears break through. The lullaby is what is on your lips to keep your child quiet in dangerous places. But your thoughts and longings break through, soaring above the hushed whisperings, asking the universe to give you a goddamn break.
To be lost in another time, in another person’s story. To remember what it feels like to have everything on the line. How it feels to have your heart filled to the brim with love and dread for your child. To refuse to accept your destiny.
I was thinking of many things while writing this song. All the stories of mothers fighting to keep their children alive. My wishes for my son. To keep him safe. To keep him close.
A profound sense of the precariousness of it all. How close we dance to the edge every day. And it’s not always a dance. More like hand to hand combat. With no armor and no back up

listen to the old bones odyssey original songs below
The songs Old Bones Odyssey and These Walls Are Alive are the main themes of our entire project. They are inspired by the people that fill our stories.