What I wonder, here’s the question, will we find in that word ‘Lent’ Is it old and worn and tattered now, and is its meaning spent? What I wonder can we plunder from this practice, ancient, strange Is there still treasure in age of leisure, are its riches out of range? Give up chocolate, fags, the booze, we harbour notions slightly quaint Do it at all? We’re free to choose, but it still has a pull, though faint In our times, these troubled climes, perhaps a chance to heed the call Because it’s not just old, gone cold, but it’s fierce, demands our all… Nowadays you might think “Oh, ok, I’ll give up something sweet” Where brave souls once encountered thirst, and worse, like desert heat Either way the call of Lent still beckons, reckons with each heart Asking, will I make space, for grace, face my fears, take part Maybe in that place I’ll find something wondrous waits for me A sight, a sound, and cords unbound, fresh living, wild and free.
This Valentines, we’re all locked down – that’s guaranteed to make love frown Steals its thunder, pushes it under, makes it blunder, takes its crown And instead of a love-heart and flowers and take your loved one out You’ll be lucky if your Beth or Bart just showers n doesn’t pout If he just cooks, or she just books a takeaway tonight At least content to look the part – not run for it in fright.
Love’s important, makes the world go round, and we want to express It kinda neatly, not too sweetly, and keep calm, you know, not stress But we still worry, frown and fret, and get all tense and anxious, yet If we could just relax a bit, that’d be by far a better bet.
Love’s intense, can be immense, gets you-off the fence, spare no expense You feel you’re flying, I’m not lying, gets you swooning, laughing, crying You’ll scale a wall, feel ten feet tall, and ask “It’s late, can I still call?” And agonise, fall down then rise – and then forget about it all.
I believe it – take or leave it – that the world vibrates with love It’s all around, and it abounds, it’s deep within, without, above As I learn to let it burn down in my heart and in my veins I find I’m falling more in love with its melodious strains This love divine, I let it shine in me, it fills and it redeems Has power to transform human love, so – with glory – it gleams.
For BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Bradford & other stations…
February fourteenth, Valentines, red hearts, romance – you know the signs The ads and fads (a lot quite bad), the schmaltz and cheesy lines They say that love is blind, it’s in the heart and in the mind But every February we find, the usual tropes revert to kind We’ll take any chance to shine – with just a sweet romantic line…
This year we’re all locked down – that’s guaranteed to make love frown Steals its thunder, pushes it under, makes it blunder, takes its crown And instead of a love-heart and flowers and take your loved one out You’ll be lucky if your Beth or Bart just showers n doesn’t pout If one just cooks, or the other books a fancy takeaway tonight At least content to look the part – not run for it in fright.
The day of love, when push comes to shove, is actually always fraught Because we’re human, we get in a stew man, and it’s easy to get caught In all the pressure, expectation, and some bad sleep deprivation In houses up and down the land, and all across the nation Love’s important, makes the world go round, and we want to express It kinda neatly, not too sweetly, and keep calm, you know, not stress But we still worry, frown and fret, and get all tense and anxious, yet If we could just relax a bit, that’d be by far a better bet.
This is me now, don’t you see now, I’m just talkin’ as one fella I’m no Valentine-o fanboy, I’m no ‘day of romance’ seller If I was I’d leave now cos I’ve no ambition to be toast I’ll just say hey, you know, we all want to be loved by someone most It’s so intense, you know, immense, gets you-off the fence, spare no expense You feel you’re flying, I’m not lying, gets you swooning, laughing, crying You’ll scale a wall, feel ten feet tall, and ask “It’s late, can I still call?” And agonise, fall down then rise – and then forget about it all.
What makes this one day special is the secrecy of course To be the admirer of Luke or Lyra, speak in code, you know, like morse And there’s something we adore, we want it more, the mystery Of wondering ‘who loves me?’; I don’t mean brotherly or sisterly When you send a card, and be a love bard, you get a magic thrill, a shiver Like running down a bank and jumping starkers in a river And if you find you’ve got that kind of place in someone’s heart There ain’t no poet that can quite express the feeling, there’s no art.
(pause). But the thing that most excites me, daily smites me, makes me quiver Is to think these tributaries of love flow to a bigger river The mystery of love at Valentines – it leads us on And shows us something deep about the heart of things, no con I believe it – take or leave it – that the world vibrates with love It’s all around, and it abounds, it’s deep within, without, above As I learn to let it burn down in my heart and in my veins I find I’m falling more in love with its melodious strains This love divine, I let it shine in me, it fills and it redeems Has power to transform human love, so – with glory – it gleams.
A Bruce moment 