It’s always been a tough one talking about inspiration for songs, and I think it’s the same for a lot of artists out there. Although I do consider it necessary to understand where a song is coming from, I also admire the songwriting process where a work doesn’t need to have any obvious meaning as such. One song that springs to mind would be Bowie’s 'The Man Who Sold The World' with its eerie atmosphere and surreal lyrics. In a way I see songs of this type as emotional chameleons: it’s for the listener to infuse sense into it, therefore different people will interpret the song in different ways and feel different things as a result.

        I remember reading (or maybe my dad told me?) that Bob Dylan was often criticised for the lack of meaning in his songs, and I heard somewhere that the young David Bowie would write bits of words on pieces of paper and assemble them to make up the lyrics to a song. These two men have been heroes of mine and for many of you I’m sure. They have truly inspired me beyond words and you will probably hear me speak about them more than once in my newsletters. 

        But could their renowned genius and prolific inspiration just be a fluke? Were they just winging it? It reminds me of the masterpiece 'I Am The Walrus' by The Beatles where John Lennon said whilst writing it: “Let the f*****s work that one out”. In the case of Lennon it seems like a deliberate move to mislead people who interpret too much. Just feel it, stop analysing it!

        Whether the anecdotes about Dylan and Bowie’s writing are true or not, and whether the ever-comical Lennon was just teasing the critics, I suppose inspiration sparks interest amongst people as it addresses the fundamental questions: where does inspiration actually come from? Can you command it at will? Is it only for a select few? There’s the romantic ideal that inspiration is some divine entity that one cannot fully explain. It comes from above and hits you. You cannot summon it, it just happens. The songwriter experiences a kind of stream of consciousness or epiphany wherein the music and lyrics just poor endlessly onto the page and pouf! there’s a song! 

        I feel this idea applies to all artistic fields, not just music. I would say that personally this has certainly happened for a few of my songs, there seems to have been an unstoppable energy, a flow that directs the songwriting process. Sometimes in ten-odd minutes I have ended up with a complete song, being entirely satisfied with music, lyrics and melody with an elated feeling, as if I can take on the world with my endless prolific songwriting! Other times, I have spent months on trying to make one song work, to finally just drop it and move on, frustrated that I spent so much time on something fruitlessly. I will often touch upon the topic of inspiration in my newsletters as I feel this is such an important part in any musician’s/artist’s life. We’re in a constant struggle to find inspiration, to try not to force it, and stay true to ourselves without compromising our integrity. 

        Integrity is an important word in this day and age where growing social media platforms and relentless adverts targeting the younger generation have created a homogeneous youth addicted to quick thrills. Shortened attention spans have resulted in the development of a sort of generalised ADHD amongst the young audience when it comes to art in all its forms (music and film especially), but this is a subject for another discussion. 

        So, within this context, I would like to move on and talk about the two songs for which the music videos have been made: 'Heart In The Sand' and 'Shackles'. I cannot say for sure where the inspiration came from, or dissect the process in any way, but I can place them at periods of my life when I was going through considerable change. 'Heart In The Sand' was written during the breakup with the mother of my child and my move back to London from France circa 2014, I can really place the lyrics: “Don’t leave me out, now my heart’s in the sand, and the tide pulls your hands” at a time when I felt isolated from my former partner and my child, and although I am in a very different place now with both the mother and my daughter, these feelings still resonate with me today. 

        The love I felt for my daughter and the feelings of nostalgia was an extremely important catalyst for the writing of this song, which is why it was all the more important to me to make it a single for the album. 'Shackles' was written later, around 2016 when I was going through the break-up with someone I truly loved but knew that the relationship was unsustainable. It is a very accoustic-based song as I was busking a lot and practically lived with my Maton guitar and harmonica, playing Dylan on the streets of London and living off my busking efforts. It has that London-based feel about it. “I spend these nights staring through a glass, I told you lies but I’ll try and make you laugh” relates to the time spent in pubs and bars around London doing things I would later regret, wandering lost and emotionally broken. 

        I found solace in writing songs like these, and although they both came from a dark place, the writing process felt very effortless and easy. I can only explain this ease because they were written with the purpose of healing and recovering from emotional trauma. They served as therapeutic entities that helped me get through the tough times spent alone. Not all songs came to me as easily as these two of course, and there are a few on the album that have required more work and time to get the right feel. 

        I sincerely hope you enjoy the two short samples of 'Heart In The Sand' and 'Shackles' I’ve attached to the newsletter (please send 'subscribe' to faceyhenry@gmail.com to receive the monthly issue). They are not quite the finished versions of the songs (as I have previously mentioned the album is still awaiting mastering) but they are very close. I would love to hear your feedback on them, and know your personal thoughts on the subject of emotions and music. Do you have a particular song that evokes a particular moment in your life, like with Proust’s madeleine in his In Search of Lost Time?