The three of us have known each other for a few years now, and we've wanted to collaborate on a project for ages! It's taken us a while...but we've finally managed it! About six months ago, we hooked up for an initial chat around which song we might like to work on together. Louise had a set of lyrics entitled 'Home, Lads, Home' - words adapted for singing by Sarah Morgan from the original poem by Cicely Fox Smith.
We fell in love with it straight away - and it seemed to us that there was something poignant about the lyrics - inspired by events of the First World War - at a time when the world is observing this conflict's centenary.
During World War 1, horses were conscripted as well as men. The words of the song are written from the view-point of a soldier laying at temporary ease one evening in Flanders. He hears the sound of harnessed horses pulling gun carriages and is reminded of his peace-time life in Hampshire when he would hear the same evening sounds but of horses pulling carts carrying the labourers back from the fields. He mourns 'both horse and man' but also the passing from peace to war.
We'd always hoped to record a live video of our adaptation of the song - but as our rehearsals progressed, we thought that we might have something rather special and so it occurred to us that if we also recorded the audio we could mix and master it - offering our efforts up as a digital download in return for a small donation towards Help for Heroes - a charity which supports armed service personnel injured in modern conflicts, and their families.
We really hope you enjoy the track - please give generously!
We'd especially like to thank St Peter's Church in Parkstone for allowing us to use their beautiful building to record the track.
Jon, Jay and Louise x