This was written in July 2015 after I had seen the 2009 film “London River”, which is about the search by two parents for their children who go missing in the midst of the 7th July London bombings. The film portrays, with great empathy, the emotional turmoil the parents go through along the timeline of events of the day before finding out the truth of what happened to their only children.
Not being a parent, this was not an easy emotion for me to relate to, but the portrayal by Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyate of the two central characters was inspirational. I took lines and events from the film’s dialogue as building blocks and describing what I was watching as the basis for the piece. I have always been a huge fan of Blethyn, her part in Secrets And Lies is one of the most towering performances I have ever seen by any actress. Huge fan, I tell you.
The track is named after the fictional daughter (Jane) of Brenda Blethyn’s character (Elisabeth Sommers) in the film.
It was originally going to be developed by Dave Barnes, one of my collaborators, but I’m not aware of him doing anything with it. So, after ten years of it being sat in the ring binder, not doing anything, when Suno came along, this was one of the most challenging sets of lyrics for me to throw at it in that kind of “Oh yeah? You think you’re smart, do you? Lets see what you do with this then, Mr Smartarse…“
… to which it goes “yeah, no problem, fat boy… Wait here for twenty seconds and two versions will appear out of nowhere“.
Oh. Wow. Thats not bad…..thats not bad at all….
One of the ones that it came up with was a quite ghostly, quite chorale-y, quite almost Clannad-y with an operatic soprano and, much as some people dont like Suno, or GenAI on a matter of principle, that one song made me think “hang on… if it can come up with an idea for that, in this form….maybe this thing could be useful”.… A track of mine being turned into like a modern day operatic Theme From Harry’s Game??? Where the hell do I sign up for more of that?!
Its almost certainly not in its final form as yet, but I think it will definitely be on the slate to be included on the Echoes Of Unmade Miles album, sometime in 2027. I will almost certainly need the assistance of Suno or Re-Sing to be able to get an operatic soprano voice, which I think this track absolutely needs.. and the structure may change and become more defined and slightly less ethereal… but we’ll see. One of Suno’s failings at the moment is that it hasnt realised that it doesnt have to sing all the time, LOLZ. So, trying to rush its way through each line is a bit of a nauze, in truth. But, once we get into taking a deeper look at it during the Echoes sessions, it will go off in the direction that it is meant to do.
Song For Jane
Verse 1/
I just cant get through
I have to know
And find out what happened that day to you
I keep ringing your office
And everyone is there except for you
I know you wouldn’t just walk away, would you?
Please understand, I have to find this out for myself…
Bridge/
I promised I would find you
Even if I had to comb the earth
And I’m not going home empty handed
Its shaking my faith to its core
Now I just don’t know if I can believe any more
Were you caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Verse 2/
Standing in a church as quiet as a grave
Candle in my hand, burning for the soul I’m hoping to save
Making whispered promises that only I can believe in
I made a vow to always keep you from harm
But everything around me is broken and I cant understand the calm
Please understand, I have to find this out for myself.
Chorus/
And I’ll be there when you break and when the pieces start to fall
And I promise I’ll gather you up, leaving nothing behind at all
Because you lived your life by the values of love.
Verse 3/
I have more questions
That can ever be answered by the weary face of a stranger
Who has already said the same thing fifty times today
I don’t know if I can bear to be around all your friends
Lights in the tunnel like candles in a corridor that never ends
And the kindness of people I don’t know going out of their way
Bringing armfuls of flowers to the crime scene every day
Please understand, I had to find this out for myself.
Middle 8:
Now I can only sit alone in your room
Breaking my heart over and over again
Every time I hear your tunes
But theres never any music in the dead of the night…
CODA/outro (spoken)
Its not about you
Its not about you
Give of yourself for those who are lost
And not for yourself
Not for yourself
Not for yourself.
© Music & lyrics: Steve McCarthy-Hunt 2015
