Ben
Ben is a musician who set up The Swan Song Project.
He lost his grandma in 2014.
“I believe everyone can write a song.
Leonard Cohen said something about songwriting - you can break it down into two parts: craft and inspiration. You can have great craft or skill, but without the inspiration, it’s nothing.
I was working as a community musician when I started The Swan Song Project. I was doing music sessions in prisons and doing mental health-focused work.
Then it all just clicked: giving people facing the end of their life the chance to write a song.
I thought, there must be a catch. Someone else must already be doing it. When I finally built up the confidence to contact some local hospices, they thought it was a great idea. They really went for it.
When I’m writing with someone, I try to be the craftsperson who knows the technical side of things and they bring the inspiration. Or sometimes they need help to draw it out of them. But it’s there.
People worry that it’s all been said before. But I tell them that no one has your life experiences, your way of speaking. No one sees the world like you do.
Imagine if we could change the culture and it was common for people to write Swan Songs. For people to say, “Have you heard my dad’s song?”
“I mean, a song can last forever, can’t it?”
I always encourage people to sing themselves. For some, it’s an immediate no, but sometimes we manage it.
We build up a bit of trust and I say, “Shall we have a go with just me and you here? We can delete it if you don’t like it. No one needs to hear it if you don’t like it.”
People are generally better singers than they think they are. They surprise themselves.
Anyway, we’re not trying to win an award for Best Vocalist.
In the Irish music tradition, it’s all about a group singing and playing together. It’s not about who has the best voice or the most skill. Music is for everyone. I really believe that.
It’s eight years since my grandma died. She had dementia. She was from Donegal and she couldn’t always remember our names, but she always remembered the music she loved.
When she was close to the end, we sang to her. She was more or less unresponsive, but when she heard the music, she sort of lit up.
She was tapping her finger. We were singing The Black Velvet Band. It was her favourite.
A couple of years later, we were still talking about what a special memory it was.
I wish I’d recorded her singing. Or even better, written a song with her. I reckon if we had a song we’d still sing it at times when we all get together, like Christmas.
When I’m working with someone, I always start with the same question: “Who would you play this song for and how would you want them to feel when they hear it?” It’s rare that someone wants their family to feel sad.
I worked with one woman who was really angry about how hard her life had been. But when we talked about it she realised she didn’t want her kids to remember her as angry.
It’s about acknowledging the dark, but letting the light in. ”
Ben started The Swan Song Project in 2016.
You can find out more through their website, Facebook page, on Instagram and Twitter.
Written by Laura McDonagh