You can find most of the Friday Fix songs from last year on this Spotify playlist – https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1CgqJuCtOFFPOOMioYXHQn?si=714cfce4ce02457b
Streaming royalties aren’t huge amounts so if you enjoy any songs in particular, we’d recommend you buy the album (or singles) of the musicians whose work you are enjoying.
Jules writes:
I have been imbibing the Friday Fix for a year or more now, but I’ve never been able to pinpoint a song that I could share. There are sooooo many! However, I remembered a song that always inexplicably renders my soul.
Specifically Nina Simone’s recording of ‘Feeling Good.’ Nina recorded the song in 1965 and it’s subsequently been covered by Muse, Michael Bublé, and many others.
“Feelin’ Good” is a song written by English composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. It was first performed on stage in 1964 by Cy Grant on the UK tour and you can hear a rare recording here:
I first ‘really’ heard it played on a record player as a student in Crewe in the 1990s. I will never forget it filling the house – everything stopped! I think it’s the ‘massive’ background musical composition (it’s simple, but just so BIG!), together with Nina Simone’s performance that is quite phenomenal.
If I may, I would like to suggest listening to music outside of our world’s clutter, and a way that I have found to do this is through BBC Radio 3 in the morning.
Combine music such as Feeling Good with a sunrise, a river, wildlife, a friendly ‘good morning!’ fresh air, cardiovascular exercise, and you have a hint towards life in all its fullness.
Breeze driftin’ on by,
you know how I feel
It’s a new dawn,
it’s a new day…
In years past, I would never have predicted that I might habitually listen to Radio 3! But, I have to admit, over recent years, my morning routine has seen me listening to (fellow Cornishman) Petroc Trelawny’s selections on ‘Breakfast‘ on BBC Radio 3.
During my morning commute, just as the day starts, it occasionally (and surprisingly often) seems possible to glimpse something ‘true’, before the business of the day kicks in; before the popular noise takes over.
River running free…
Blossom on the tree…
As I cycle my 45 mins to work, occasionally, endorphins cause the abstract combination of musical compositions accompanying the fresh air, wildlife, seasons, and the things and people I meet, to become more than the sum of their parts.
You know how I feel…
I know very little about the history of music, composers, or the political or social relevance of specific music creations. I can imagine for the creators, there is a lot of loaded significance behind, underneath, and inside many compositions. Perhaps I might dig deeper at some point. But it’s the raw essence of some music that I find wonderfully powerful.
I have heard it suggested that a definition of ‘classical’ music… is that it transcends cultural, as well as generational barriers… music that’s created through sincere devotion, not through selfish desire, but rather by something greater, which exists beyond time, history or culture. Golly gosh! When you hear a musicologist say “it’s a ravishingly beautiful piece of music … and we can’t quite understand why…” that’s the kind of thing that makes music special.
What has struck me over the last few years is the power of music to affect us.
This old world, is a new world, and a bold world…
Freedom is mine… (and yours)
I truly hope you can occasionally find a way to truly feel good.
Nina’s music and work lives on, and you can find out more at https://www.ninasimone.com/
Jane writes:
It’s a hard thing to face up to sometimes – life.
It doesn’t go as planned. It seems ok and then something comes out of left-field to get you and disrupt everything. People you love die, and those you care about who remain are struggling still. I suppose it’s been like that forever but recently we’ve seen a global version of what we already know to be true.
Here she is then – Janis Ian – one of my favorite go-to artists, stating the obvious about life.
She wrote it at a time when her own life was in chaos, having lost all the key things that mattered to her. Her financial security. Her marriage. Her health. And on top then she was aware that her whole life seemed to have been like living through a drought. Add in a pandemic for good measure and the song resonates more than ever.
The sense of loss is apparent and the thinking that “even God may have turned his back” sums up how hard it feels. No hope in sight.
Yet as people of faith we might have a way to see it differently. Endurance is a feature in lots of biblical stories. Throughout the Old and New testaments, people have had to live with courage, persistence, and hope in the toughest of times. Walking in wildernesses. Living in exile. Coping with disease and illness. War. Famine. Rejection. Loss. The themes mirror the way of the human condition, and yet the stories that go with them – finding the promised land. Restoration. Healing. Peace. Unconditional acceptance. Resurrection. All play a part too and God is in it all.
I love the simplicity of this version of this song. No fuss. No embellishment. Just a simple spare sound and the realization that we can make it. We have endured before and we can endure again now. Our resilience is built on the human experience and the knowledge that endurance is part of the fully-rounded life we all lead. Life in all its measure. Every element in abundance. Joy and Pain. Our ability to cope (or not). Our onward journey accompanied by the God of love we know to be ever at our side.
And we endure
Though the road only gets longer, we endure
And I swear it makes us stronger
Even when the wolves are howling at the door
We endure
You can find out more about Janis Ian here https://janisian.com/
We’ve had some fabulous contributions this year from new faces to the blog, and now we’re in need of some crackers to start rounding the year off with.
As Madonna rightly sings ‘music can be such a revelation‘ so if you have a song that you would like to reveal to us, we’d love to hear from you.
Just send (thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk) us your thoughts on a popular song (300-600 words is usual) and we’ll do the rest.
Diana writes:
There’s a man I meet,
walks up our street.
He’s a worker for the Council,
has been 20 years.
And he takes no lip of nobody
and litter off the gutter.
Puts it in a bag,
and never thinks to mutter.
And he packs his lunch in a Sunblest bag
the children call him Bogie.
He never lets on, but I know
coz he once told me.
He let me know a secret
about the money in his kitty.
He’s gonna buy a dinghy
and call her Dignity.
I’ll sail her up the west coast,
through villages and towns.
I’ll be on my holidays
and they’ll be doing their rounds.
They’ll ask me how I got her
and I’ll say “I saved my money”.
They’ll say “isn’t she pretty,
that ship called Dignity”.
I’m telling this story
in a faraway sea
sipping down raki
and reading Maynard Keynes.
And I’m thinking about home
and all that it means
and a place in winter for Dignity.
Stand it up, stand it up…
And I’m thinking about home
I’m thinking about faith
I’m thinking about work
And I’m thinking how good it would be
to be here some day
on a ship called Dignity.
Karine Polwart’s cover of Deacon Blue’s Dignity has kept me company throughout the pandemic. I love the stripped-back simplicity and the clarity of the vocals.
For a while in lockdown the song was a source of hope – an old friend reminding me to trust there would be a day when travel and freedom would be possible again. In the meantime, it helped me take comfort in the familiarity of the small coastal town where I live. “There’s a man I meet, walks up our street, he’s a worker for the Council, has been 20 years” …Yes. Yes there is. Even at the height of lockdown, I would pass council workers day-by-day on the High Street and we’d smile and say hello as we went about our business. I have been here 4 years, but some of them have been here all their lives, quietly keeping things running, and being paid a pittance for the privilege.
And now, in the last few weeks, as furlough support and now the uplift in Universal Credit have been scrapped, this song has been reframed for me into something else: a ballad of lament and a reflection on injustice that ignites a flame of anger in me.
I heard on the news today that the reduction in Universal Credit is the biggest effective cut ever imposed, reducing some people’s income by 10% in the midst of massive rises in fuel costs, and at the onset of winter. I know people, and I bet you do too, whose already tight budgets will be forced into the red by this change. It will rob people of dignity.
My Christian faith teaches me to pursue a society where God-given dignity is nurtured in all people. It’s not complicated, really. We’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns, created in the Divine Image. In ancient times, the scriptures taught that the widow, the orphan and the stranger were to be accorded special care because of their vulnerability. We are charged with the imperative to look after for those who are most in need. When we fail, this the prophets call us repentance on pain of disaster. Justice, we are told, will roll like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream (Amos 5:4).
In my mind’s eye, Bogie wraps his sandwiches, in that same old bread-bag day by day, and walks up the street to begin his work. It’s cold and wet, but he trusts that with perseverance and saving he can put a little money by each week. It may be hard graft, but slowly he can build towards a dream for the future.
Hope and dignity go hand in hand, and this week the ship called Dignity sailed further away from reach for many people.
As I listen to this song again today, I think about home. I think about faith. I think about work. I think how good it would be, to be here some day with everyone on a ship called Dignity.
Hope must not be allowed to die. I hear a prophetic voice cry “injustice” and I resolve to stand against it.
Find out more about Karine Polwart at https://www.karinepolwart.com/
Deacon Blue are just about to tour the UK – find out more at https://deaconblue.com/
We’re running low on Friday Fix reflections. Following the recent bleak IPCC Report and the upcoming COP26 Gathering, we wondered if songs about change and/or the environment might prompt some ideas for contributions. Perhaps a season of ‘protest’ songs might be in order?
Anyhow – have a think and a shuffle through your record collection (physical or mental). Gill would love to receive a few reflections at thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk. As always, don’t worry about format, editing and links to videos – we can do all of that.
Looking forward to an influx of songs in the next couple of weeks!
Lynne writes:
On March 15 2018 I was (as I said in my Facebook post at the time) playing out late on a school night. Along with my dad (the main source of my musical education), my sister and my brother (who’d been roped in last minute because my mum was ill) I had the immense joy of seeing the legend Joan Baez in concert at the Birmingham Symphony Hall.
What I was looking forward to the most was seeing this amazing woman sing ‘Diamonds and Rust’ live and, honestly, she didn’t disappoint in her delivery of that classic. But, as much as I love that song, it ended up not being my main memory of the night.
A few weeks before the concert took place, on February 14, a gunman had opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 peopleand injuring 17 others. This terrible, tragic event became the most deadly high school shooting in American history (how sad that there is even a list), surpassing Columbine (1999) in its number of victims. It came at a time of increased support for gun control (following other mass shootings in 2017) and it prompted several Parkland students to start the #NeverAgain movement, advocating for tighter regulations that prevent gun violence.
In response to all this, Joan Baez sang the Bob Dylan song ‘The Times They Are A-Changing’ and dedicated it to those brave students, taking a stand against the NRA and turning their grief into action. I remember turning to my brother (who had been a very reluctant stand-in to take the spare ticket) and seeing tears streaming down his face, tears that mirrored my own as I reached out and took his hand.
As we were reeling from the emotional impact of Dylan’s ever-relevant lyrics, Baez moved into singing the beautiful song that this post is actually about. Written by Zoe Mulford, ‘The President Sang Amazing Grace’ tells the story of the 2015 attack on the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, which claimed the lives of nine of the church-goers. The title refers to the reaction of then President, Barrack Obama, when he attended the memorial service for the victims:
But no words could say what must be said
For all the living and the dead
So on that day and in that place
The President sang Amazing Grace
The President sang Amazing Grace
As Joan Baez sang this beautiful song, I swear the whole audience held its breath. It felt like a profoundly spiritual moment – a shared acknowledgement that some things are just too awful to comprehend, some feelings too big to articulate. I’m not ashamed to say that, at this point, my brother and I were practically clinging to one another and sobbing like babies.
This song has returned to me recently as I’ve been watching the news – in particular (but not only) the worrying events in Afghanistan, the tragic shooting that occurred in Plymouth and the aftermath of the awful earthquake in Haiti. I’ve watched the video, with some beautiful, hand-drawn animations that serve the song well, a number of times. The lyrics tell us that sometimes all we can do is share our pain with God, knowing that God is with us, that God not only understands but shares our grief and cries with us. We can lean on God and feel ourselves held.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
More about Joan Baez: http://www.joanbaez.com/
More about songwriter Zoe Mulford and the story of the song: https://zoemulford.com/the-story-of-the-president-sang-amazing-grace
Jane writes:
In the last 18 months or so, I’ve had a lot of people talking to me about “finding your song”. It may have been in worship or through a children’s story; through conversation and reflection on a radio programme or even through song lyrics themselves. It has even extended to those conversations about Simon Sinek’s work on “Finding Your Why” or discovering your core purpose. A sort of perfect storm then around discovering who you are and what really drives you. What is your song and how do you sing it with passion?
Into that space then comes this song from k.d. lang. It has such a lazy summer feel to it and yet it has at its heart a celebration of the unique individuals we are. The imperative to be true to yourself and all you can accomplish with what you’ve been given or learnt or seen as critical in life. How to be your true self and then what you do then with that discovery.
The story in your eyes
Spoke of all the things you realize and dream
The thing about finding your song or purpose is that it offers great joy. A kind of sweet spot moment but also comes with other questions and queries. If we extend the metaphor then. What happens if you’ve effectively lost your voice for while? What if someone, or some situation, has stopped you from singing? What if you’re in a choir and the rest of your friends want to sing something different? What if your song is a one hit wonder or maybe it’s a classic. How do you teach others to sing it if it has a complicated tune? How long can you sustain a solo without backing singers? You get the picture. How do you handle having to not be your whole self for a while knowing that at your heart there is a thread of being you can’t put down?
As a person of faith it never ceases to amaze me how critical song is biblically.
Songs of joy and thanksgiving. Psalms full of gratitude and despair. Songs of lament and sorrow in exile. Songs of love. Songs of realisation. In scripture then these songs are a representation of how people were discovering who they were and what they were for. People who knew from the start what they were being called to and what their purpose was. People who were unsure and on a voyage of discovery. People who had to be persuaded or discovered the hard way. People who didn’t like it. People who lived through some really tough stuff. Abraham. Moses. David. Hannah. Samuel. Jonah. Joseph. Jeremiah. Mary.
Each one with a unique story to tell and a significant “song to sing.”
It seems then that all this “song stuff” requires of us at least a little self awareness. Time to dig deep and find out who we are and how that plays out in our lives. Time to discover and focus for a while but then whatever you do and whatever your song……..
Sing it loud, sing it, sing it, sing it loud
So everyone knows who you are
Oh and by the way I Iove this bit:
When the days grow dark with confusion
You can always give your burdens to the music
It’s a real truth for me and I guess many readers of a blog like this. Ultimately I suppose, your song is what keeps you grounded but more simply the songs sung by anyone can sustain you and you can rest there for a while. Both literally and metaphorically of course.
You can find out more about KD Lang here https://www.kdlang.com/
Gill writes:
Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
In her book ‘How to Fall in Love’, Cecelia Ahern describes life as “a series of moments, and moments are always changing.” We humans mark out our lives with key moments/milestones/achievements – birth, first tooth, first steps, first tantrum, first day at school, first love, last day at school…you get the gist.
Some of the moments are choices; some of the moments are not; some moments are inevitable; some moments are completely unexpected.
For me, this song manages to capture the tension between the expectations and uncertainty of life. The last year of pandemic restrictions has confronted us with the notion that we’re not in control of everything. We can diligently plan to the finest detail but we should also factor in that such plans can be scuppered in a moment. Or by a teeny, tiny organism.
So make the best of this test
And don’t ask why
It’s not a question
But a lesson learned in time
So what am I going to learn from these unexpected moments that have been foisted on me thanks to Covid? Well first of all, I’m going to accept that it might be a few years down the line for some of the learning to manifest. Secondly, I am going to continue to grab opportunities as they are offered and relish them – rather than wait for a better option or compare them to other experiences. And finally, I’m going to try and embrace the unexpected; less anger at things not going ‘my’ way and being thankful for the chance to learn and grow even more.
So take the photographs
And still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time
The last Friday in June traditionally marks the last day for those in Year 11 at school. I know this year that many schools opted to finish their Year 11’s early. Not so in our house, it really is the last day of Year 11 for my son today. There will be photographs – and dressing up in daft costumes – and a BBQ with the staff to say a cheerful goodbye. Memories caught in images that will continue to be replayed, revisited and reviewed throughout their lives.
True enough, the last two years of school life have certainly not been what was planned and expected. It’s been distressing, disheartening and disruptive. However, it’s also opened minds, opened up dialogue about how we do things and opened up new possibilities about how we move forward.
Tattoos of memories
And dead skin on trial
For what it’s worth
It was worth all the while
Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes famously talks about a time for everything. It also reminds us that we’re not the ones in control. Verses 11 to 13 sum this whole thing up perfectly ‘True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life.’ (The Message Version)
It’s something unpredictable
But in the end it’s right
I hope you had the time of your life
Find out what Green Day are up to these days at https://greenday.com/
The Friday Fix 