This toolkit will walk you through ‘This Rain’ and describes what we did when we spent time writing songs with a group of Young Onset Dementia carers from Bridgeton Resource Centre.
In it, you will find guidance should you want to run a similar project, with some ‘prompts’ to get the conversation going.
This work is supported with funding from the Life Changes Trust. The Trust is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
Beautiful love lasts all of our life
Always for evermore
Sharing the love, you know will go on
Always for evermore
All of our years we travelled the world
Travelled the whole world o’er.
Our future plans, robbed of so much,
Now we can travel no more
Adventures and fun, we still can share
Different now, new ways to care.
Life is so changed, and we are too
But our love will see us through
Years will go by, where will we be?
Will you know me no more?
Hearts will be broken ripped to the core
But we’ll carry on just as before
One day we’ll see how this can be fixed
Before we lose any more.
The fear will be gone, the future is bright,
And you’ll be as you were before
'Beautiful Love' to me is about celebrating the one thing this disease can't steal from us, the way it's taken so much from us both .... Acorn Shed has given us the platform to express our feelings with music.
It’s easy to forget
Who the person was before
As you see them fade
A little more
Even though they’re different,
They are still there
Still, you know, still you know
You feel as if….
A journey’s just begun
Though you share memories and fun
Every day changes
We go round and round
Through the ups and downs
Ups and downs
Every day is day one
An old tv re-run
So, go cry
Be sad
Take a little breath
Get a little mad
So, go cry
Be sad
Take a little breath
Get a little mad
It’s a crazy life
One hell of a ride
So, tell your story
To those like you
Even if you think
They’ve got no clue
Trust me, trust me
Every day is day one
An old TV re-run
So, go cry
Be sad
Take a little breath
Get a little mad
So, go cry
Be sad
Take a little breath
Get a little mad
Get a Little Mad
I wrote the words with the intention that it's not all negative...there are some positives and the whole process is absolutely worth it; the even closer bond you build with your loved ones, the laughs when words come out different, the random comments/conversations. Just remembering to have fun and make good memories because I don't want to look back and think of all the negatives
Its 10 am on a Monday
The regular crowd shuffle in
To the café here in Brig’ton
A new venture about to begin
Carol and Pauline come through the door
Look around and take it all in
Talk to the people and ask them
If anyone would like to join in
La di da la la la
We all told our stories and amazingly
Our stories all sounded the same
One thing in common that we all had
Caring for our loved ones was our aim
Carol and Pauline encouraged us
We began to feel more at ease
More sessions were had and boy were we glad
Our singing became more of a breeze
As the months went on, we grew stronger
As group we grew closer as well
The reward it came when we launched This Rain
Our stories to music to tell
We started as a group of individuals
And now our group has grown
It’s been a transformation and this realisation
That in caring, you’re never alone
La la la la di da
Our ventures not stopping we must keep it going
We must take it and spread it out further
Because one thing we’ve learned you’re never too far
From people who help one another
'Sing us a Song' is where it all started. If it wasn't for Carol and Pauline, I probably wouldn't have been motivated enough to do this .... And music is a great therapy!
Half of Something was written by Carol in response to Pauline’s experience caring for her mother who had dementia
Safe in bed she hides away
It’s hard to tell if she’s ok
Her world is not the same
Withdrawn she stares the time away
So far from all her happy days
Her world is not the same
And she misses all the faces that she knew
And she misses all the places that she took you
She follows rules she follows orders
Just as though she was a soldier
Her world is not the same
But her mind plays tricks, and she thinks she knows
Just how the everyday things go
Her world is not the same
But they say that half of something is less than nothing at all
And she’s tethered to a darkness
With reminders on the wall
And she misses all the faces that she knew
And she misses all the places that she took you
Weeks and months disappear
As she re-lives her younger years
Her world is not the same
But no-one stops to recognise
That she’s just the same behind those eyes
Her world is not the same
'Half of Something' is based on Pauline’s story of how she cared for her mum who was diagnosed with dementia. It describes her feelings and sense of loss as the familiar became strange and the strange became familiar.
Carol
When All Is Said And Done
Caring for our people
It’s tough as it can be
Getting them to join in
To set their spirits free
Sometimes it doesn’t happen
Sometimes it isn’t fun
But we continue anyway
When all is said and done
We are one but we are many
And from all different walks of life we come
We take good care of our loved ones
Stressful but rewarding
When all is said and done
The rewards outweigh the sad times
A happy look upon their face
A smile, a glint inside their eyes
They are in a happy place
Memories come flooding back
You know they’re having fun
You’re happy that they’re happy
When all is said and done
We are one but we are many
And from all different walks of life we come
We take good care of our loved ones
Stressful but rewarding
When all is said and done
We are one but we are many
And from all different walks of life we come
We take good care of our loved ones
Stressful but rewarding
When all is said and done
….Stressful but rewarding
….When all is said and done
'When All is Said and Done' for me reflects what our family went through during my wife's illness and I'm sure this is typical of most people's experiences.
