[A palm tree in Kenya, 2005]Last week I did my quickest ever piece of song-writing.
I am chaplain to a school for children with severe and profound learning difficulties and every month I take an assembly there.
When I arrived on Friday morning to take this month's assembly the Head-Teacher informed me that one of the children who had been in the school for many years would be leaving that day to go to another school. There had been very little advance warning that this was going to take place.
The Head-Teacher asked me if I knew of any song we might sing to the girl as a sort of farewell, but I couldn't think of anything. Then, for some bizarre reason, I impulsively suggested that I might write something to use at the end of the assembly. This gave me about five minutes to come up with something. I borrowed a pen and quickly scribbled down some lyrics, refining them as best I could, but it left me no time to come up with a tune in advance of singing it. So the 'music' was 'composed' on the fly as I was singing it. To my amazement it worked.
But, of course, it was the ultimate in disposable music as I am not sure if I could remember now what the tune actually went like.
I spent a little bit more time on the following hymn for Palm Sunday.
It is based on the understanding that the word "Hosanna" is not so much a shout of praise as a cry for help - "Come, save us!"
I can only show the text here but if anyone wants a copy of the music I can supply it by email- if you leave an email address.
Blessed is He
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Comfort the people weighed down by their grief;
Comfort the sad and the tearful;
Come to bring joy and a welcome release
and new hope for the troubled and fearful.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Challenge the people entranced by their power;
Challenge their easy indiff'rence;
Come to bring justice and truth to the world
and establish a new kind of kingdom.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
(c) Iain D. Cunningham, 2009
