I have been writing poetry since I was a tiny. I had never thought of putting poetry to melodies and actually becoming a songwriter. It’s amazing the way somehow things almost fall from nowhere, and simply drop into place to set your path in life.

I tend to write songs about my life’s experiences, mental and internal conflicts, I like the idea of making something good out of something bad. I have had a good life, and I know there are many, many people that have far worse things to deal with in their lives than my issues with failed relationships. I suppose that’s why I write about some of those disappointments in an almost sarcastic, humorous way.

After writing a song for an extremely lovely, elderly legend, my great uncle Keith, I was contacted by someone who asked if I would write a song for her son, Tyla. Having only penned a dozen or so songs at the time (and still feeling that I am somewhat of a novice songwriter) I was slightly anxious at the responsibility of writing someone else’s story as opposed to my own. I agreed to write a song but needed to know more about the person the song was intended for, and the motivation behind it. It was pretty daunting as my motivation for writing is inspired by my experiences. Now I was about to write a song about somebody else’s experiences, which was uncharted territory for me. Tyla’s mum wrote to me and explained all of the circumstances that she believed made her son so special.

Tyla was 19 and suffered from severe cerebral palsy. He was born at just 26 weeks, extremely prematurely, and the prognosis was not good. In fact doctors had given Tyla virtually no chance of surviving at all.

Nevertheless, and against all the odds, here was Tyla just about to leave senior school and embark on the next chapter of his life. Tyler’s mum had brought colour into Tyla’s life, quite literally as she, her hair, and her house, are decorated like a rainbow! I have met Tyla, and he is extremely content and surrounded by love.That was so apparent in the letter his mum had written to me. In fact a project that had been quite daunting to me initially, seemed to flow quite easily, taking the contents of the letter and assembling them in a way that would not only be poignant and familiar to Tyla (and his family) but would equally be artistically vibrant and meaningful to everybody else. It’s a story of hope and courage and love. When those ingredients are so strong, it conquers all.

So I wrote the song and we were invited along to a party that Tyla’s mum had organised for his senior school departure. We arrived at the hall where the party was taking place, with the CD in hand ready to give to Tyla’s proud mum who was brimming with excitement. The day had been a wonderfully sunny one, but as Tyla’s mum appeared from the hall to greet us, all of a sudden the heavens opened up and it started to rain. Actually it started to absolutely pour down, so much so we jumped back into the car with Tyla’s mum in the back. We waited for the storm clouds to pass. After about 5 minutes of chatting with Tyla’s mum, who up to that point we had never met before, the storm clouds passed and the sun came out, once again.

That’s when we saw something so beautiful and so wonderfully ironic. As if, again, the pieces were falling from nowhere, the sky, confirming that the path we had taken was the correct one. A beautiful rainbow that appeared to fall directly over the hall where Tyla was having his party. It was truly remarkable, and I sung the song in a house under a Rainbow. If you’d like to listen to the song I wrote for Tyla, you can do so here <==. It’s titled, “House On A Rainbow“,  naturally!

Thank you for being a listener and for making it all matter.