NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Like many other teenagers, Braden Collins struggled with feelings of isolation during the pandemic.

“Just being inside and when Covid started, it was tough for me to be able to obviously get out, which is what everyone had trouble with,” said Collins. “And so I decided that I’d write a song about it.” 

What You Need To Know

  • Braden Collins wrote a song, "These Four Walls" about his struggles with isolation during the pandemic
  • He’s a student with The Berkshires’ Academy for Advanced Musical Studies
  • BAAMS director Richard Boulger worked with Collins on the song and to produce a music video
  • The music video premiered at the school’s winter concert earlier in December

The high school senior had never written a song before, but it didn’t stop him from trying.

“I just sat down one day and I started playing, started messing around with different chords,” said Collins. “And then eventually I came up with a D minor, and I really liked it. I kept on playing around with different chords around it, and then eventually I came up with the intro, and then it just went along from there.”

Collins is a student with The Berkshires’ Academy for Advanced Musical Studies after school program, and once a week, he met virtually with executive director Richard Boulger to work on the song.

Together, with the help of other students and faculty, the two produced a music video to go with it.

“We did a lot of communication via Zoom and texting,” said Boulger. “‘How do you like this, what do you think about that?’, and also the same thing with the faculty. So this was sort of really forcing us to raise our game, if you will.”

The finished music video, titled "These Four Walls," premiered at the school’s winter concert earlier this month. Braden is proud of the song, and hopes it will help others who are dealing with similar struggles.

“I hope that they’re able to listen to my song and for some of them to realize that they’re not the only one who’s gone through it that way. Because I feel like there’s lots and lots of people who feel like they’re the only one that feels like that, but they’re not.”

The full music video can be viewed below: