Dedicated | Ian Campbell

When I was living in Denver, I was the president of the Rotary Club of Denver. It was a really great experience and a big honor to be the leader of the oldest Rotary club in Denver and the 31st Rotary club in the world.

After my term was up, we moved to Vermont, so I obviously wasn’t as active in the club as I would have been otherwise, but I finished out my term as Immediate Past President, providing institutional knowledge, advice, sitting on the board, etc. sitting in on Zoom meetings and attending in person whenever I was in town.

My final obligation to the club was to organize my successor’s Change of Leadership ceremony where she passed the torch over to her successor and celebrated the year the she had as the president of the club.

Unfortunately, because of some issues with weather and a pretty tight timeline I was working with because of some touring that I was doing, I wasn’t able to be there in person. When I finally admitted that, I was sitting outside of a venue I’d just played in Burlington, VT and reluctantly made the calls I needed to make to ensure that the ceremony would still be successful, then I went to a hotel and wrote “Dedicated,” which I think perfectly describes anyone who takes on the role of president of a service organization, particularly this friend of mine.

I rushed back to my studio the next morning and recorded a demo of the song and sent it along to be played at the party that night, even though I wasn’t going to be there, and when I started putting together songs for my next album, I knew that this was going to be one of them.

Dedicated Lyrics

Verse
You didn’t know what you were getting into
No one really does
But you picked up that mantle and carried it so far
And now your work is done

Verse
Through all the slings and arrows
you did it all your way
You never lost your faith, you just kept pushing through
And now you’ve earned a break

Pre-Chorus
Don’t forget to back look with a smile and a nod
to everything you
learned along the way

Chorus
They say a sacred life
Is about giving your all to others
And this paradise
might fall right out of your hands
But no matter what the cost
You can always find the value
You might walk away
feeling a little bit faded
but that’s just because you’re
dedicated

Verse
You didn’t know what you were getting into
But you’d never know to see it from our side
This welcome rest comes so well deserved
The pressure’s off and it’s been a great ride

Pre-Chorus
Don’t forget to back look with a smile and a nod
to everything you
learned along the way

Bridge
Now I know there were times
It would’ve been easy to give up
Trust me, I’ve felt them all too
But you get to look back now
After all that you’ve done
And think of all it gave you