1 Kiss Kiss
The legend says that to hearten the Native American mothers on that terrible march from Georgia to Oklahoma, for every tear that fell, a white rose bloomed. Kiss Kiss celebrates those fragile fleeting moments that mean so much and must be treasured.
2 Sweet Columbine
The blue columbine (aquilegia) was grown in the rocky mountains and used for medicine by the Native Americans. Shaped like a dove, it is especially loved by the songbird.
3 Coldest Night of the Year
When you are suffering from depression or grief, you can feel totally alone and desperate while appearing completely normal. The girl in the song is in a very cold place. She is crying out for help, leaving signals and trails in the hope that someone with compassion will hear her.
4 Apples – The Long Goodbye
Originally about the seasons and cycles of the year, this song is for my beautiful Mother who is in the final stages of dementia.
5 Are We Angels
This song is about those small random acts of kindness, often from complete strangers, which helped me so much when I lost my husband in my twenties. I feel that telepathy, angelic intervention, compassion – whatever you want to call it – is becoming stronger in the world and that we are all angels, sometimes.
6 Shoulder To Shoulder
Relationships are symbiotic, and the balance of giving and receiving transfers as we grow older. This is a song about all aspects of love.
7 Ancient Church
Down my lane, overlooking the river, is a tiny 11th-century stone church. At dusk one New Year’s Eve I sat on the time-smoothed wooden pew by the stone windows and thought about all those who came, now and in the past, and why. This song is about searching for inner peace and finding that it is closer than we think.
8 Nothing To Me Without Love
The words need no explanation: love will always triumph if you follow your heart.
9 Trail of Roses
The American composer Kenneth Hope sent me an improvised track played on his favourite old piano to see whether it resonated. I recorded the song you hear in one take, having absolutely no idea what I was singing about. It was an emotional, and unusual experience. I knew little then about the plight of the Native American but after writing this song, I know so much more.