HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you've served in the military, you know some of these songs by heart: The Army Goes Marching Along, Anchors Aweigh, Wild Blue Yonder.
They are the official songs of each U.S. Military branch and they become timeless reminders of service. So who would write our country's newest military march? How about an MTSU songwriting professor that specializes in country music.
While every songwriter hopes for a song that takes you sky high, Jamie Teachener never expected his newest creation would go even beyond that.
"I was contacted by a lot of folks saying, 'hey, you should write the song,' 'hey. you should think about coming up with something,'" said Teachener.
Those folks, of course, were commanders of the nation's newest military branch, Space Force.
"I started reading a lot of white papers and a lot of history just to make sure I knew enough about space not to miss anything," he said.
Jamie would be competing to do something no musician has done since the Air Force was created in 1947: create a new yet timeless official military march.
"I had to write something that moved me, and it was nice that I had worn the uniform because I knew how I felt when I sang the Air Force song," said Teachener.
So he drew inspiration from what he saw as a traveling Air Force musician.
"They’re keeping an eye on the globe to make sure we’re safe, and I saw that happen — so, I wanted that to be somewhere, said Teachener. "I felt like it should be incorporated in the song some way."
It took three years, but Space Force eventually chose Jamie's words and melody and arranged it into something that could stand the test of time.
The Lyrics read:
We're the mighty watchful eye, guardians beyond the blue.
The invisible front line, war fighters brave and true.
Boldly reaching into space, there’s no limit to our sky.
Standing guard both night and day, we're the Space Force from on high.
"It would be amazing if somebody looks back and says, 'oh yeah, that guy wrote it,' but whether they do or not, it really — it’s hard to explain the feeling because I love our military so much. I love music so much, so, just the fact those two paths crossed," said Teachener.
The official name of the Space Force's official song is "Semper Supra" which means "Always Above" in Latin. It officially debuted last week in Washington D.C. in front of a crowd of Space Force Guardians.
Watch a video of the song here.
