Country singer Merv Tremblay is set to release his second single this year in just a few weeks and will be donating all proceeds to cancer research.
Wish You Were Here was penned about three years ago after a friend died from cancer, said Tremblay, who is playing the song now to support another friend who is terminally ill with cancer.
"The song is very close to me … Friendships come in many different ways and sizes and sometimes you're hit very hard with them."
The Mission musician has been in the business for more than 30 years and says this song is about someone who has lost someone they love, he explained. This person is sitting alone by a fire trying to keep warm because nothing in the world makes that person happy anymore.
"You just wish you had that person back with you again," Tremblay explained.
Tremblay played the song for the first time at a pub in Maple Ridge three years ago and described it as "powerful."
"Everyone who's heard it says it's a tear-jerker," he added.
Wish You Were Here and Tremblay's current single Dance With You will be included in his new album, scheduled to be finished this summer.
Dance With You has been playing on the radio for the past three months.
"We're making good strides."
Tremblay was born in Calgary and picked up his first guitar at age 14. He moved to Mission in the mid-1990s after visiting the area for a concert.
Tremblay is the stage manager for this year's Rockin' River Music Festival and the producer for entertainment during Mission Fest.
Tremblay and his band play every Sunday at Captain's Cabin in Mission from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Tremblay's newly released songs, along with last year's single She's So Sweet, will be available on a mini CD, scheduled to be released in two weeks, through iTunes and at Captain's Cabin.
For more information about Tremblay, visit www.mervtremblay.com.