I have spent a great deal of time writing about other people’s words and music. It seemed only fair eventually to admit that I’ve written some lyrics myself.
Some songs start with something serious. Others begin with an irritation, an observation or something that simply refuses to leave me alone. The results so far range from faith and holding on when life becomes difficult to proofreading, spreadsheets and the surprisingly challenging business of trying to pay some VAT. Each song has its own page, with the story behind it, the lyrics and the video versions.
Hold On
Some songs are written from ideas. Others come from things you have lived through. Hold On is one of the latter: a song about faith when holding on becomes difficult, and the possibility that faith may sometimes be less about our grip on God than God’s grip on us.
Listen, watch & read the lyrics →Please Let Me Pay My VAT
There are plenty of songs about love, loss, heartbreak and longing. This isn’t one of them. This is a song about that most unlikely of human desires: wanting to pay some tax and being unable to find anyone who will let you.
Listen, watch & read the lyrics →The Last Frail Line of Defence
Years of proofreading, copy editing, tracked changes and the extraordinary consequences of a single misplaced letter eventually turned themselves into a song. Naturally, I chose an overblown 1980s rock anthem. It seemed proportionate.
Listen, watch & read the lyrics →The Spreadsheet Prophet
Every organisation has one. While everybody else is discussing transformation, innovation and exciting new operating models, someone makes the tactical error of actually opening the spreadsheet. Eventually it seemed only reasonable to write a song about it.
Listen, watch & read the lyrics →