A song called 'Home' and good hearts in Cornwall

I began thinking about this when a new song popped into my head, the lyrics for two verses rushed out and I had to jot them down quickly before I lost them, a tune came at the same time, then there was a delay between the initial inspiration and being able to sit down with Paul, my guitarist and husband, to finish the song, hence I forgot the tune! So we worked on the piece together to create another melody to fit.

I write lyrics to the tune in my head but I can’t play an instrument so I sing the melody to Paul and he follows, finding the chords and rhythm on guitar and together we glue the musical parts by playing it through, and then sealing the arrangement. We feed off each others ideas to shape a bare bones version that I sing and record immediately, and after this, Paul plays the separate instruments around my voice until the song takes shape.

So, 'home' was finally fashioned after an evening of changing bits of the vocal phrasing around so the chorus fell fluently from the verses.

We thought it sounded good acoustically, with just one guitar layer, and also with bass and electric guitar and drums. So we will have two versions. I used the acoustic for the video/slideshow that you can view below, and the full version will be included on an album called ‘Wayward Songs’ to be released later this year.

I wanted the images in the video to represent the security of knowing you have a roof overhead and show the heart of a home, which I guess is the love that is at the centre of a family, friendships and communities. I was contemplating the pictures I could use and I have quite a few photos of our family and the scenery of Cambridgeshire, but I wanted to push the idea further than my personal feelings of home. Then I came across a photo of our friend Mary Alice Pollard, Cornwall's Voice for Animals, receiving the gift of a beautiful and very lucky pony for her birthday a few years ago, a tiny Shetland named Sparky who was rescued by Mary's husband Chris from being sold at sales for slaughter. I’d never seen this picture before and it is perfect, it says 'home' to me. You can see the bond forming between Sparky and Mary Alice as he nuzzles close into her safe hands. Jollity Farm, in the centre of the village of Gerrans, Cornwall, was a small rescue for farm and domestic animals that sadly closed a year ago (that's another story) but the good news is Sparky now lives with a friend of Mary Alice's and he will always have a happy home where there are other horses and ponies to keep him company.

In the video I also feature Mary Alice's photography art Just Nice Photos and her work often includes photographs of her husband Chris Pollard, a fine musician, carpenter, author and storyteller. Chris is a tremendously friendly and comical character, known by everyone in Gerrans, near Portscatho, as a local celebrity and teller of fascinating tales from the Roseland Peninsula that he knows so well. Chris helped Mary Alice to run their rescue shelter and was often seen with either a guitar or wheelbarrow in hand!

I have a great affection for this wonderful couple, not least because they have always made Paul and I so welcome in their home and introduced us to their family and friends, making us feel part of their family too.

I hope you enjoy a glimpse of ‘Jollity Meadow’ a new feathered friends rescue, which Mary and Chris began when Jollity Farm closed, many of the animals past and present can be seen in the pictures.