The Birmingham Press editor has enjoyed a long literary relationship with children’s book author Ron Dawson. His ‘Scary Bones’ series of books has brought much pleasure to young readers across the world. Ron has now branched out into song writing. He emailed recently with his latest production. Here’s what he wrote….
Sometime ago, while reading a copy of the British Legion magazine, I was struck by the words ‘Lest we forget’.
I have heard or read these words hundreds, if not thousands, of times but in this instance they struck a particular chord in me and, literally within seconds of reading them, I was singing and writing the words of a musical composition of remembrance.
Although I feel relatively competent as an author, I have little musical experience or skill, so I contacted, Kevin Morgan who is the Principal Trombonist with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra who also composes music (Kevin has composed music for two of the Scary Bones books) and sang my embryonic creation to him. He liked it so much so that he worked with me to turn my basic melody into what I would now call a ‘proper musical piece’.
We now have the words and music for a song/hymn that is entirely appropriate to be played and sung at any occasion of remembrance.
What we need now is for it to be played and sung at such occasions, particularly on or near Remembrance Day itself.
It has never been played in public and so I have this idea for it to be played for the very first time at Services and Festivals across the country on the the coming Remembrance Sunday, which this year coincides with Armistice day too, so it is a more special Remembrance this year. It could be a sort of Nationwide premiere.
We are beginning to contact choirs and bands (we sent it to the Musical Director of the British Legion’s Main Band who took it to their Committee re the Festival at the Royal Albert Hall but their plans were too far advanced to fit it in- another major RBL Band is trialing it to fit in with their Remembrance service- should know result soon) to find if they would be interested in singing and playing it on Remembrance day but we need to make it known much more widely particularly to local choirs and musical groups.
What we want is for them to contact me and we can send them the words and demo’s music with the possible condition that they do not perform it in public until Remembrance Sunday or after.
Kevin has produced six versions of ‘Lest we forget’, five on his electric keyboard, not the most suitable of instruments perhaps, and one by a ‘scratch Brass Band’ (unrehearsed) and I have attached some of these so that you can hear what it.
They are very much first demonstration versions but I think they give some feeling of the music and the way it might be sung and played.
All of the singing is by Kevin and his wife Karen and I hope, particularly the computer generated multi-layering, gives an indication of what might be achieved by a choir,
When I was writing the words I wanted them to apply to all members of a family bereaved by war : mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, as well as wives, indeed to all who experience and live with such a loss and, equally, that they would apply to all of the armed services and to both male and female members.
The words as they stand are at the end of this Email.
Lest we forget
Chorus
Lest we forget,
Lest we forget,
The boy who died in the morning sun,
The girl who died from a sniper’s gun,
All those who stood and refused to run,
Lest we forget,
No! We must never forget,
No! We must never forget,
No! We must never forget,
We must never forget,
A flag draped coffin in the morning rain,
An unsung hero is home again,
Wreaths of poppies, pride and tears
The price of war paid with their lost years
They died with honour in some foreign land,
In fields of mud and hills of sand
They fought with love -gainst those who hate,
They fought for the things that made Britain great.
(CHORUS)
A loved one lost and millions more,
In their land of birth or some foreign shore,
A family’s grief for theirs who died
Knows no frontier or a country’s pride.
Those lost at sea, on land or sky
Lie silent as their loved ones cry,
Remembered now and for ever more,
May their sacrifice bring an end to war.
(CHORUS)
Lest we forget,
Lest we forget,
The boy who died in the morning sun,
The girl who died from a sniper’s gun,
All those who stood and refused to run,
Lest we forget,
No! We must never forget,
No! We must never forget,
No! We must never forget,
We must never forget,
Lest we forget.
You can hear one of the versions here. Bear in mind it it is very much a demo version of how it might sound.
Click here – it’s a 3mb file so don’t try this unless you have a good internet connection.
