N.S. musician explores heartfelt conversation with late grandfather in new song

Singer-songwriter Ian Janes pulls at the heartstrings with a tribute to his late grandfather who battled dementia.

More than a decade ago, Ian Janes’ grandfather didn’t recognize him. His grandfather had been dealing with dementia and wasn’t very lucid, but Janes decided to strike up a conversation, one that turned out to be surprisingly heartfelt.

“He proceeded to speak to me about a person,” Janes said. “I wasn’t really sure who it was at first, but then it revealed itself that he was talking about me, his grandson.”

Janes, a Nova Scotia singer-songwriter, put pen to paper and transformed the experience into a new song called “Someone Else,” which is out now.

“He was bragging to this perceived stranger about how proud he was of his grandson,” Janes said. “He had never spoken that candidly, telling me how he felt. It was really beautiful.

“I joked with a couple people that it could have gone the other way. It’s a good thing he didn’t say bad things about me.”

Janes has performed the song live a few times and several people have approached him after shows to tell him how it reminded them of a lost family member.

Janes’ grandfather passed away in 2012.

“(The song is) a reminder that maybe you might want to tell someone how you feel about them while you can,” he said.

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