STREAMS IN THE DESERT
(The Gift - Treasures from the Basement)
(Volume 3)
I have always loved this prophetic song by my old friend Jarrod Cooper - the line that always touches me is this one: “healing our nation - saving our children”! When I used to sing it years ago at Bible college, I didn’t have a child, but declared it out in faith anyway, believing that one day, against all odds, I would. Here I am, nearly 30 years later, releasing this old recording, and one of the images in this video is of my miracle son - my fulfilled promise and gift from God! He is so faithful! X
'dripping with melancholy, yet full of hope'....
AUDIENCE OF ONE
(written for the 'Talent is Timeless'
songwriting competition
This song came totally our of the blue, as I was drying myself after a bath! I scribbled down the line ‘audience of one’ knowing it was a seed.
I write songs as an expression, an outlet - a communication of my heart, about things that touch me.
As a songwriter, I want to draw people into the story I’m telling- so they can resonate with the message, be transported into the story.. to be touched in some way... for it to make a difference ....
This song sums up my heart that even if a song blesses just one person, then it has done it’s job!
YOU MAKE ME FEEL
(Bigger Picture)
A friend of ours called Frieda had returned to Botswana, where she had been living & working for many years. Before her return, she gave me a book of her poetry that she'd had published a few years earlier, & wrote a little personal message in it for me at the front. A few years later we heard the tragic news that she had died in a freak accident - so young, only in her early 30's! Not long after, I found her book & this poem jumped out at me. I added just a few of my own words to complete the middle section. I love the beautiful descriptive words she used.....such a sad loss.
RIP Frieda. x
'Fashioned from molten light
In a flame so vibrant
That the cold in me
Fuses with your heat
Moulded by the warm earth
In a womb so secure
That the sky kneels to kiss the ground
You make me feel....
Shaped by living water
In a wave so deep
That the least of me
Is exalted in you
Cast among the stars
In a heaven so infinite
That the end meets the beginning...
You make me feel....
You make me feel loved & secure
There's nothing more..'
THIS ORDINARY BOY
THIS ORDINARY BOY
It is now almost 3 years since I attended the funeral of Joby - a local homeless man who I had befriended. The church was packed with so many people! That's when the seed for this song came - it struck me in that moment, that his life had started out just as any other ordinary boy! Our lives are steered by the choices we make....let’s learn to choose wisely.
RIP Joby Boy. X
'Oh here's the lesson to be learnt
You touch the fire, you will get burnt
And where it rages, it consumes
Taking you prisoner,
Turns you to ashes.. .
Life started out good
Like the start of every story
But no fairy tale end
Look what happened to
This ordinary boy.'
YOU'VE BEEN THERE
(Live in Lockdown) Vol 1
This song was written after a season where I had been through many changes, Sometimes we disappoint ourselves through making unwise choices, which then have permanent consequences! Even my faith was shaken and tested during this time, but as I looked back, I could see that God was always there! He remains faithful!
'You've been there in times of trouble
Helping me to stand
You've been there
when I've had my doubts
Of who I really am
You've been there holding out Your hand
And I've seen the reason for it all
Yes I've seen it all
And You've been there !'
! NEW EVERY MORNING
(Live in Lockdown Vol 2)
I love mixing old with new! Whether it be writing a new tune to some wonderful truth filled words of an old hymn, or, like this example, incorporating an old chorus, into a brand new song. The verses came to me as soon as I woke up on the 1st Jan a few years ago, I sat up in bed & scribbled them down, while they were still fresh in my mind.....& when I sat at my piano, the tune came so easily....I'm amazed how well the verses flow into this well known and loved chorus.
'Every day when I awake
I will lift my eyes
Heavenwards towards Your face
So thankful for another day
Every morning is a gift
Every breath, a chance to say
I love You for loving me
Even though i don't deserve...
The steadfast love of the Lord
Never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning
New every morning
Great is Your faithfulness O God
Great is Your faithfulness'
44 MAYFAIR
(Bigger Picture)
For a short time, we rented a lovely old 1930's detached house, with a large garden full of wildlife, & a beautiful view towards the Malvern Hills. This house was full of character, but hadn't been lived in for quite a few years, as the land it was on was up for development, so I knew it's time was short! It struck me at the time that I would write a song about this lovely place, so when a few years later I saw the bulldozers demolishing it, this song came.
It was a sad day!
'You were once somebody's treasure
Somebody's work of art
But you were left abandoned, empty
All alone without your heart
And I'm sad to see your strong walls
Crumbling to the ground
Will you ever be remembered
In the place you once were found...
What happened to the heart of you
The love, the life, the man, the wife
I'll never know what happened there
At 44 Mayfair'
'
COME IN YOUR GLORY
COME IN YOUR GLORY
A spontaneous song that I sang out at a Christian camp where I was leading worship at, many years ago, but only recently has been made available to purchase on my album 'Eyes on You'. This has been having an impact on Youtube, with many views growing daily!
The Presence of God was so tangible at this worship meeting, & you can sense it still on this track, all these years later!
J OBY DREAM ON - SINGLE
I heard the tragic news of the death of Joby, on Christmas Day, huddled, & all alone, in a shop doorway! A few days later, I sat down & wrote this song - it was an outpouring of sadness!
JOBY DREAM ON - SINGLE
'Little acts of kindness,
Little acts of love
Breaking down the barriers
That we all put up
Reaching out with tenderness
'Cos words are not enough
To show that you were cared for
Show that you were loved
Joby dream on......'
MIRACLE WORKING GOD
(from the album 'Always Near")
Back in 1991, I remember my Mum ringing me, to tell me of a friend's accident in a gas explosion at his work. I wrote this song as a prayer for him - amazingly he came through unscarred! May it help you to pray for a miracle if you need one!
'What is man
That You are mindful of Him -
The son of man, that You should care
For You know how we are formed
You remember that we are dust
Yet have mercy on us...
Lord work a miracle
Lord work a miracle
So the glory
May go you You!'