By Rebecca Barnes, Publisher, Prince William Living
Today, Sept. 25, marks National Daughters Day, a moment to celebrate the special bond between parents and daughters. For one Woodbridge father, that bond has inspired something extraordinary—a song nine years in the making.
A Song From the Heart
Jon, a longtime Woodbridge resident and country songwriter who writes under the name Witlove, has just released a new single titled 45 Minutes. The deeply personal track pays tribute to the first moments he held his daughter the morning she was born.
The song closes with a powerful detail: a recording of his daughter’s heartbeat captured during her sonogram, just hours before her birth. Jon held onto that recording for nearly a decade, waiting for the right song to hold it. “It was a sound I knew I’d never hear again,” he explained. “When I wrote 45 Minutes, I knew this was it.”
Sharing the Song for the First Time
Jon surprised his now nine-year-old daughter with the song just ahead of National Daughters Day. “Her whole face lit up with excitement,” he said. “For a 9-year-old who usually talks straight through anything we watch, she was unusually quiet as the video played. She took in every lyric and laughed at some of the photos, but underneath it all, she was clearly moved.”
Her reaction? “This is my new favorite song. It’s my favorite out of all the songs I’ve ever heard!” she told him. Jon replied, “That’s good, because it’s yours. Forever.”
A Lifelong Songwriter, A New Chapter
Though Jon has been writing lyrics and ideas for more than 20 years, his songs stayed private for most of that time. Without plans to perform himself, he often tucked his work away in notebooks. Six months ago, he decided to take his songwriting seriously, using new technology to produce and release his work under the name Witlove.
The name, he says, reflects his mission: blending wit and love into storytelling that connects on a human level. 45 Minutes is part of his debut album, On My Mind, which also includes tributes to his wife and father, alongside songs exploring themes of resilience, nostalgia, and redemption.
What Comes Next
While Jon doesn’t yet have live performances planned, he hopes to collaborate with singers who can bring his words to life. For now, his energy is focused on sharing the music itself.
“Whether drawn from lived moments or imagined stories, my songs are all grounded in human emotion,” he said. “My goal is to write honestly—and to create songs that will matter to someone, somewhere.”
Listen to 45 Minutes
The lyric video for 45 Minutes premiered at midnight on Sept. 24, timed perfectly for National Daughters Day. The track is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, and other major streaming platforms under the name Witlove.
For more on Jon’s music, visit witlovemusic.com
Rebecca Barnes is the Publisher of Prince William Living magazine and Brides & Weddings magazine. She is a lifelong resident of Prince William and a volunteer with OWL VFD. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her blended family, being a Grandma, visiting Walt Disney World, reading, and sleeping.
