A L W A Y S

I wanted to write a song that used the line from Song of Songs in the Bible, 'stronger than death'. In contrast to all the tired and fluffy ways to talk about love, I was attracted by the power and truth in such a short phrase. I ended up using lots of ideas straight out of the book as it is so beautifully written. Sometimes when you're writing you have a certain amount of momentum that you want to go with, so, when you get stuck on a line, rather than thrashing it out there and then, you just write something simple or silly with roughly the right number of syllables so you can keep up your momentum and go on to the next line. In this song I wasn't sure how to start the chorus so I just stretched out the word 'always' which was a concept I wanted to include. I got so used to singing it like that that I ended up keeping it! I'm sure 'A-a-a-always' was meant to be something more profound but I'm still not sure what! The song has an African groove which we really emphasised on this recording with the great bass line and full percussion.

The drums used were the Remo Finger Drum, an authentic Darbuka and a beautiful Djembe (an instrument from Senegal, where I went to school for four years). I tried to play something that wasn't too repetitive but still fairly consistent. D.

ALWAYS by DANIEL GOODMAN

Who is this who arises like the dawn?
Fair as the moon, bright as the sun, my Lord
Many waters cannot quench your love
Stronger than death, sweeter than wine, always

Always your light shines
In all of the earth
Always I 'll love you
And you will always remain
Always your light shines
In all of the earth
Always I'll love you
And you will always remain
The strength of my heart

LISTEN to a sample.