17 days

Thus emerges the first of the promised songs from our Collingwood recording session. I wrote this after having played at the Students' Union in Stockton back in October. While I was playing there and everyone was facing me, behind them the tv was on and showing sky news or bbc news or some other such channel. And so there infront of me was being shown the live rescue of the 33 Chilean miners (reported here in case you slept for three months last summer). One thing that struck me was that nearly all the miners knelt and prayed as soon as they were free. I found their level of faith and the hope that sprang from it incredible. This, coupled with a difficult few months in terms of family health, my Grandad passing away, a brief consideration of Plato's cave and something Paul says in Colossians 1:13, led to this song. Fairly obviously it's a draft recording, hence the mistakes and less than perfect quality, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Oh my friend won't you hold my head,

inside your arms again.

The streams inside, have run dry,

and the water drips from my chin.

We cry oh Lord, oh Lord,

How long must we wait down here,

In darkness and in fear.

I'm sick and tired of endless fights,

with the prince of this cruel, cruel world.

And my heart aches, from years of strain,

But I'm not this old yet.

All my friends stand round as I'm carried home,

In a box just big enough for my soul.

Stones are rolled,

With a gasp the surface breaks,

I'll rise with wings from deep,

To a light so bright we can barely see.