I have been writing songs for a long time. Evidently I’m not THAT good or else I’d have been scooped up by now and I’d be living in Nashville, next door to Keith and Kristyn 

As a teenager I was fairly dismal in my outlook. And most of the songs I wrote reflected that. I listened to The Cure and The Smiths. I was never happier than when I was miserable, sitting with my guitar and bemoaning of the meaninglessness of life. I wrote a song called ‘The Puppet Show’ about someone who I thought was my friend, but actually they were just using me and I was their puppet – I didn’t realise they were deciding what I would do and wear and listen to. Bizarre teenage years!!!!

These days when I’m writing songs they usually come from prayers. (Just moaning again really) Some times I don’t know what to pray. Or I’ve prayed the same prayer so many times that I just feel I can’t ask for that same thing again. So I pick up the guitar and suddenly the prayer I couldn’t say comes out in a song. I would say 99 out of 100 tunes disappear into oblivion. But the odd time a tune stays with me and becomes a real song.

The real difference is that, like some of the Psalms (though not as good obviously) no matter how hopeless my songs start, they always end up with hope and comfort from God.
I’m so glad that my songs that have been written in times of near hopelessness don’t end there.

I love music. I’m not a highly trained, dazzlingly talented musician. But I do love it and it makes me very happy.