Emeli Sande sang this song at the olympic closing ceremony and until then I’d never heard it but one day when I was about to get into writing I decided to play the song and have a listen. I was looking for a bit of inspiration to write. Unfortunately it actually had the opposite effect.

Here’s a link to the song on youtube and the lyrics:

You’ve got the words to change a nation
but you’re biting your tongue
You’ve spent a life time stuck in silence
afraid you’ll say something wrong
If no one ever hears it how we gonna learn your song?
So come, on come on
Come on, come on
You’ve got a heart as loud as lions
So why let your voice be tamed?
Baby we’re a little different
there’s no need to be ashamed
You’ve got the light to fight the shadows
so stop hiding it away
Come on, Come on

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
so put it in all of the papers,
I’m not afraid
they can read all about it
read all about it oh

At night we’re waking up the neighbours
while we sing away the blues
making sure that we remember yeah
cause we all matter too
if the truth has been forbidden
then we’re breaking all the rules
so come on, come on
come on, come on,
lets get the tv and the radio
to play our tune again
its ’bout time we got some airplay of our version of events
there’s no need to be afraid
I will sing with you my friend
Come on, come on

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
so put it in all of the papers,
I’m not afraid
they can read all about it
read all about it oh

Yeah we’re all wonderful, wonderful people
so when did we all get so fearful?
Now we’re finally finding our voices
so take a chance, come help me sing this
Yeah we’re all wonderful, wonderful people
so when did we all get so fearful?
and now we’re finally finding our voices
so take a chance, come help me sing this

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
so put it in all of the papers,
I’m not afraid
they can read all about it
read all about it oh

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
so put it in all of the papers,
I’m not afraid
they can read all about it
read all about it oh.

It’s rare I hear a song and wish I’d written the lyrics but this is one of those. It sums up a lot of how I feel and have felt over the last year or so. I’m an ambitious person, I always have been. Mostly it’s come from knowing I was a miracle child, I’ve always felt I must be here for a good reason but I also love inspiring other people. In short, I want to change the world, and that’s no small task.

The written word is something I’ve always loved, but when it comes to seeing the difference it makes to peoples lives it’s the hardest to judge. With live performances and art galleries you are there to see people’s reactions to your work, but with a book or a poem, unless they tell you what they thought, you can’t see the impact it’s had.

It’s days like this I feel torn between the arts. I want to know I’m making a difference and singing and films move me just as much as, if not more than, books do. I guess I really want to do all three but it takes a long time to build a career in one let alone all of them so I feel like I have to choose.

Either way I guess I’m not going to get much work done today.