Michael Murphy sometimes hears music when others speak, like the soundtrack to a good film.

The Omaha folk musician finds his best work in the spoken words of those he knows.

He said he especially hears music when he listens to his friend Frank LaMere.

“Frank is so amazingly brilliant, and he sees things and hears things nobody else does,” Murphy said of the Winnebago activist.

Two years ago, LaMere shared a story he'd written with Murphy -- and the seeds of a new song were planted.

LaMere has spent more than a decade trying to convince Nebraska state leaders to shut down four beer stores in the town of Whiteclay, population about 10. The stores sell more than 4 million cans of beer a year, mostly to residents of the nearby dry Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

About five years ago, LaMere wrote a story about Jesus visiting the small Nebraska village and providing comfort and warmth to the men and women who drink on the streets every day.