I’ve really been looking forward to sharing this new video with you for 100 Times Or More.
I wrote the song just before Christmas last year, after losing one of the most important people in my life. Having to suddenly get used to him not being in this world was a very difficult thing to try and get my head round. So, through song, I started to try and make myself better. I spent a lot of time on the beach, which was our favorite place to go, thinking about him and the lessons he taught me… so I wanted to try and get that across in this vid.
I dedicate this song to anyone whose ever lost a guiding light in their lives, suddenly and unexpectedly.
The Doors have been my favorite band since my mum introduced me to them when I was 16 years old. We were watching VH1 classic rock at 2am on a Friday night over in the UK – and this video popped up. Apart from falling head over heals in love with Jim Morrison there and then, I was totally mezmorised by the incredible music, how unbelievably beautiful and entrancing it was – hypnotic even. There has never been a band like them.
Ever since then, The Doors have been a guiding light in my life – At school/college, my friends would laugh at my constant love for a band that I found so truly awesome, they were all I could talk about. “Enough Lizzy,” they’d say. “We get it, you love a dead guy!” But it was so much more than that, and I could never truly explain to them. I have album upon album, book upon book, poster upon poster… you might like to call me obsessed. So much so I made the pilgrimage to Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris last September, something I’d been wanting to do for almost 10 years.
So it was deeply saddening for me to learn of Ray Manzarek’s death yesterday – all I can say to him, and the rest of the band is thank you so much for your music, and for being such an inspiration to me and so many others. You live on within those notes and within those words. Ray, may you and Jim find great musical happiness once again at the great gig in the sky.
Begin Again is a poem I’ve been working on in the back of my mind for quite some time – although I’ve never really sat down and found the time to put pen to paper – but that’s what my #PaperDreamPoet series is all about, doing just that.
There’s something I find truly magical about being given a second chance – knowing you can wipe the slate clean and start all over again, building yourself up to exactly what you want to be, is a feeling that is second to none. It is inevitable that there will be failure and times where things don’t go your way or according to plan, but knowing that tomorrow is another day, and that there are such things as second chances, to me, makes it easier to look past the negative. That’s what ‘Begin Again’ is really all about. I feel I’m very much at a ‘second chance’ in my life – and I’m ready to take it with everything that I’ve got.
I hope you enjoy episode two.
I would love to hear your experiences and what a ‘second chance’ means to you.
I’ve been wanting to branch into spoken word and poetry recital for quite some time now, but its always been something I’ve been scared of. Don’t ask me why, but I feel there’s something so much more exposed about speaking your lyrics as opposed to singing them. I guess I worry what people will say as they are so used to me singing. Anyway, I have put together a series of 10 poems that I’m going to be sharing with you over the coming weeks, all set to music and film via my YouTube channel… I’m excited to take this journey, mainly because I will be sharing it all with you, but also because its been something I’ve been dreaming of for quite some time.
Episode one is entitled ‘Summer’ – I don’t know about you but I have a series of ‘happy places’ – I use these places for the moments in life when I’m going through a tough time to try and feel better. I close my eyes and imagine myself back there and remember how I felt, in the hopes that I will feel a different about everything thats currently going on. 9 times out of 10, it works.
One of those ‘happy places’ is the summer I spent with my younger sister Grace when I was about 14 and she was 10. Every morning for nearly 6 weeks, we’d get up early head down to my Mum’s corner shop and buy a box of after eight chocolates and a couple of cokes. We’d then trek a couple of miles out of the village we lived in, across farms and fields until we came to a little stream (Looking back, I can’t remember how we discovered it for the first time!) We’d then spend all day there paddling in the stream, trying to construct a boat out of an old car seat and tyre convinced we’d get it to float, we’d only ever stop for a chocolate break. All we had to worry about was getting home before dark, in time for dinner. They were such simple times, and so much fun. I will always cherish those memories. So here it is, this is ‘Summer’.
Well, as you may or may not have seen, I’m back on Australian soil, well rested and ready for pretty much anything this good ol’ life throws my way. Ive just spent hours trying to pick my favorite photos for you from my trip but I’m still not sure!! So here is a tiny snapshot…
I spent 8 days on Nusa Lembongan – a relatively unspoilt Island just a short (and very bumpy) ferry ride from Bali. Its a tropical escape from the hustle and bustle of the tourist trap that Bali has become, filled with beautiful scenery and beautiful people. It is the ideal place to escape to get a little bit of perspective on life, and helps you plan those hopes and dreams! I then headed to Bali itself for the remaining 2 days of my trip, caught up on ‘civilisation’ and of course, some much needed shopping!
Hope you’ve all had a lovely couple of weeks, and that you are all well and happy!
