Daan Dawg

This week's song is about Janusz Korczak, an extraordinary hero from the Holocaust.

He was a Polish-Jewish educator and children's author who ran an orphanage in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation. He spent his life fighting for children's rights before that was even a recognised concept.

In August 1942, the Nazis ordered his 192 orphans deported to Treblinka. Korczak was offered escape. Influential people tried to save him personally. He refused every time.

He walked with his children to the deportation square, calm and dignified, holding a child's hand. He boarded the train with them. He was never seen again.

I didn't want to write about heroism. I wanted to write about a man who simply could not have done otherwise.

That's what this song is built around.

6 days ago | [YT] | 0

Daan Dawg

Hi friends!

I finally have an update from the other side of my Whipple surgery: the operation was a success, and the cancer was removed. I've been home for a few weeks now.

I am now recovering from this enormous operation and preparing for the final part of my treatment: the last rounds of chemotherapy and immunotherapy (starting in October). The fight is not over yet, but I have won the main battle.

Before my surgery, I worked hard to create a large catalogue of finished songs so this channel could continue while I was in hospital and during the first part of my recovery. That buffer is now almost finished, which means I will soon be working on new songs again.

Thank you for your patience while I was away from my studio, for continuing to listen and comment while the scheduled uploads kept appearing, and especially for all the support you have shown me throughout these past months.

It feels very good to be back! ❤️

1 week ago | [YT] | 19

Daan Dawg

NEW SONG ABOUT THE ISLAMIC WORLD!

A category largely underrepresented on my channel, so we need to change that. The Islamic world has a very rich culture of stories, and I can't wait to share them with you. There is now a new playlist: ISLAMIC WORLD, and it will be filled with stories from historical figures, mythology, and One Thousand and One Nights (I grew up with those stories, and some are still among my favorites). Suggestions are always welcome!

Today's song goes back to the 16th century when Suleiman the Magnificent ruled the Ottoman Empire at the height of its power. Kings feared him, armies marched beneath his banners, and entire kingdoms fell before the expanding might of the Ottoman world. In Europe, his name became synonymous with conquest, wealth, and unstoppable imperial power.

But history rarely speaks about the man behind the throne.

“When The Cannons Fade” explores an aging Sultan Suleiman haunted by paranoia inside his own palace walls, the loss of those closest to him, and the execution of his own son Şehzade Mustafa. Surrounded by gold, power, and absolute authority, he slowly begins to question what the empire truly cost him.

This song focuses not on the triumphant conqueror remembered by history books, but on a ruler who gained half the world while losing peace within himself.

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Daan Dawg

NEW HISTORICAL ROCK SONG - OLYMPIAS - MOTHER OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Olympias is one of the most feared women of the ancient world.

Mother of Alexander the Great, wife of King Philip II, linked to snake rituals, blood feuds, and whispers of assassination, she became a figure history could never fully separate from myth.

This song does not frame her as a fantasy queen or theatrical villain. It approaches her as a woman worn down by years of betrayal, palace politics, and ruthless survival, someone willing to destroy entire bloodlines so her son could inherit the world.

Musically, I wanted this one to feel raw and human instead of “ancient epic.” Gritty modern rock, exhausted emotion, and harsh monochrome visuals rather than polished historical spectacle.

Olympias was terrifying precisely because her love for Alexander was real.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Daan Dawg

NEW DARK FAIRYTALE SONG


The Evil Queen was never angry because of beauty alone.

The mirror told her something far worse: she was being replaced.

This song retells the story of Snow White from the perspective of the Evil Queen herself, not as a cartoon villain, but as a ruler watching her kingdom slowly turn away from her. Every smile becomes a threat. Every glance toward the princess feels like betrayal. And the poisoned apple becomes a desperate attempt to stop time.

A dark psychological portrait built around obsession, fear, power, and the terror of becoming invisible.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Daan Dawg

NEW SONG INSPIRED BY PSALM 130

“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.”

Psalm 130, also known as De Profundis, has echoed through centuries of grief, war, plague, funerals and desperate prayer. For this retelling, I kept large parts of the original psalm intact and framed it within the atmosphere of medieval Europe during years of suffering and uncertainty.

Musically, however, I chose a very different path. Instead of Gregorian chant, this became a soulful gospel-inspired lament with choir backing vocals. The emotions inside Psalm 130 still feel painfully human today: exhaustion, guilt, longing for mercy, and the hope that morning will eventually come after the darkest night.

One of the oldest cries in scripture, carried by many voices across time.

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Daan Dawg

I AM BACK HOME AFTER SURGERY! NEW SONG TO CELEBRATE!



You Carried Me Home is one of the most personal songs I have ever written.

Months ago, while preparing for major pancreatic cancer surgery, I wrote two songs.

The first was Carry Me, released at the exact moment my surgery began. It was written for the hours when I would have to let go of control and trust others to carry me through the most frightening part of this journey. You can find it on my channel page in the 3 playlists MY FIGHT AGAINST PANCREATIC CANCER, FIGHTING AND SURVIVING CANCER or MENTAL HEALTH.


This song was written at the same time.


Not for the operation itself.


For the moment I hoped would come afterwards.


The moment I would be home again.


Not healed.


Not finished.


Not at the end of the road.


Just home.


Today, that moment has arrived. It was such a relief to press PUBLISH.


There will be a third and final song to close this chapter in my life. The day my oncologist will tell there is No Evidence of Disease (N.E.D.)! That won't happen till at least March of 2027. Stay with me and carry me again!

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

Daan Dawg

THIS SONG GOES LIVE WHEN MY WHIPPLE SURGERY STARTS - MY FIGHT AGAINST PANCREATIC CANCER

“Carry Me” premieres at the exact moment my Whipple surgery begins. While this video plays, I will be under anesthesia during the biggest operation of my life.

I did not want to make a cancer anthem, a pity song, or a battle cry. That never felt honest to me. This song became about something much harder for me personally: letting other people carry me for a while.

Over the past months, many people have carried parts of this road beside me. Family. Friends. My medical team. My CrossFit community. And all of you here on this channel.

The bald head in these visuals is real too. At some point during chemotherapy I stopped hiding it for the comfort of other people. This is me now. Still here. Still standing.

If you are listening while waiting with me today: thank you.

I will not be able to read your messages until the next day or so, depending how I recover.

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Daan Dawg

NEW SONG IN MANX GAELIC (SUBTITLED)

They say the sea around the Isle of Man remembers every soul it takes.


The Cabbyl Ushtey waited along the shore in the shape mankind trusted most: a horse standing beside the tide. But once a rider climbed onto its back, their hands could no longer let go.


This song tells the legend from the creature’s own perspective: an ancient force of black water, storm, and drowning waves calling mortals into the deep.

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Daan Dawg

CHANNEL ANNOUNCEMENT

Very soon I will undergo a Whipple operation, a major and extremely complex surgery used in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In the past months I've been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation to hopefully reduce the tumor for a better result of the operation. It is a major operation with a long recovery process (8-10 weeks), and if everything goes well without complications, I will likely remain in the hospital for at least a week.

Because of that, I prepared a large upload buffer ahead of time so the channel keeps moving while I am away and in recovery. One of those songs is “Carry Me,” which will premiere at the exact moment my surgery begins.

I wrote “Carry Me” because this journey forced me to face something I have always struggled with: allowing other people to carry part of the weight for me. The song is not about cancer itself, nor about battle or defeat. It is about trust, vulnerability, and the people who remain beside you when your life is temporarily no longer in your own hands. It is meant for the people who will be waiting anxiously while I'm in the operating room.

For a while, the uploads will continue automatically, but there is one small sign that will tell you I am truly back in my studio again: the pinned comments will return. I can only add those manually after a song has already been published.

Thank you all for carrying part of this road beside me.

1 month ago | [YT] | 19