Site last updated Dec 2009
Behind the Sea, Light and Love songs - The Sea Cycle songs
"The heart can think of no devotion
Greater than being shore to the ocean -
Holding the curve of one position,
Counting an endless repetition”
Robert Frost (1874-1963)

The Roseland peninsula is a magical unspoilt enclave of beauty in south Cornwall. Many of my holidays were spent here and the dramatic coastline and quiet coves and windswept cliffs were the inspiration for a series ‘sea songs’.

Pendower beach in Cornwall inspired the sea song ‘The Sands of Time’

I feel the sea is metaphor for life in all its movement and change. I always felt the changing emotions of my life expressed in the movement of the sea. This reflection within the flow of the sea is expressed in ‘The Sand of Time’ and also in ‘Laburnum Tree’. “My thoughts are flowing way across an open sea” (Sands of Time) and ‘the ever changing moods I feel are mirrored in its ebb and pull” (Laburnum Tree). All the ‘sea cycle’ songs contain the theme of movement of the ocean as a symbol for changes within our own lives. Feelings in flux reflected in the eternal ‘to and fro’ of the sea.

And in Cornwall there is a strong tidal force. The tide comes in and goes out twice a day, and the ebb, flow and strong cross currents create a state of constant flux and change. This creates a marine landscape that is never static but always fresh and new. Our emotional life is like this physical life of the sea. One moment rough and stormy, then calm and serene. Another moment playful or gusty but always vibrant and alive. Breathing in and out. Emotions, like the sea, are in a constant flow.

I also feel a deeper, eternal spirit that transcends all these changes. A guiding spirit like a breeze that roams over the surface of the ocean. This spirit of ‘Love’ or ‘God’. The sea is alive and so are our souls, and the energy and dynamism of this roaming sea Spirit invigorates and inspires us on our journey through life.

The Love songs
“It burns like blazing fire
Like a mighty flame
Many waters cannot quench love;
Rivers cannot wash it away”
Song of songs 8 vs 6-7

Love lies at the centre of my music and songs. Love drives, unites, invigorates, refreshes and energises us and brings hope, joy and healing. In music we feel touched by love and our spirits are nourished by it.

We express love in many different ways for different people. For our partners, families and friends as well as God, our surroundings, nature and the wider world around us. My love songs are diverse, ranging from the personal to the social and political. A variety of expressions of love for different people and places. For those who are close to me as well as those living further away. Ndiawar Diagne, my Senegalese friend, and myself have composed songs about people and situations in Africa. We have also written about multi faith issues and the great force of love that unites those of differing cultures. One of my most recent love songs is about a children’s home in Amala in Southern India and another is called ‘Can’t turn away’. It is about the need to show solidarity with those desperately seeking peace in the troubled land of the Gaza Strip.

Renaissance Girl is the featured love song here on the website and is to appear on the forthcoming EP and album ‘Heading for the shore’, due for release at the end of 2009.

The Light songs
All these songs use the image of ‘light’ to communicate feelings of hope, warmth and contact with an inner spirit. They are spiritual songs and their common theme is the experience or the moments when ‘light’ or enlightenment enter our lives to transform seemingly insurmountable or impassable moments of darkness into moments of grace. Hope and love and the deepening of wisdom and understanding are reflected in this light.

The ‘All Embracing Light’ is the featured website song and takes the image of a candle as a symbol of unconditional love which burns for those we truly love. ‘The Sunset at Dawn’ is about the meditative peace and harmony found inside ourselves when we clear away the debris of confused and pressing thoughts. This enables sunlight to enter into the inner halls of our mind and create a deepening sense of peace and well being. The other featured song is in the video section and is ‘A New Dawn’ This is a spiritual song about battling forces of darkness and depression that lurk, and the need hold on the positive in our lives and keep lights of hope burning at all times. It’s about how we can re-discover new vision and let light in to our lives after a period of darkness. Like all the ‘light’ songs it has a positive message of healing and hope.

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