Candlelight
Hi there !
As always I hope this finds you well. We have a new song out on 10th June – my Mum’s birthday (happy birthday Mum!). Think Steel Eye Span Gaudete meets Crosby, Stills & Nash To The Last Whale. We spent a long time on this over lockdown and I can’t wait for you to hear it!
Spotify : If you’re a Spotify user you can find the presave link below.
Bandcamp: If you want to be notified of it’s release on bandcamp you can follow here.
Preview: If you want to hear a sneaky preview you can listen here.
If you want to read more about the story behind the song, here’s the story from my book.
Stay well and speak soon
Dx
PS Gigs are like busses! 3rd July we’re playing live at Winchester Hat Fair and The Pallant info here.
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The Story Behind Candlelight
John Gleadal, Chris Wood and DiElle all on vocals
Artwork by Lauren Norton
This song is inspired specifically by these words
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the single candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
The Buddha
I also heard Billy Connolly, arguably a very different character, say something very similar in a Comic Relief appeal years ago. Compassion does not expire because you’ve shown some to somebody. It’s not like money that runs out. You can continue to be more and more compassionate without your cup running empty. Just like the spark, it can be a tiny gesture. I think sometimes when someone is in a particularly dark place in their life, a small act of kindness can be like a spark in the darkness. I know it’s been like that for me at times.
Compassion is the candle in this story. I can’t help but feel that ‘finding our way’ is a metaphor for overcoming division between people. At the time of writing, there is disconnect and disequilibrium in the air. People feel disenfranchised. People are angry.
Just like the candle, your light will not extinguish because you’ve lit someone else’s candle.
It’s an idea I have been inspired by since hearing it when I was young, but it really helped me during some difficult years as an adult.
This song is inspired by this image. Of all the times I’ve been lost in the dark and needed that one little tiny light to light the way. Of all the times I have been that light, gladly, willingly and with love, and all the times I thought twice about it because of all the times I have been hurt and let down. There have been times in my life when I’ve not wanted to offer any more of myself, because it has not been reciprocated in the past, or worse, it was forsaken. But so often I was hesitant to offer my light because of a hangover from a previous situation when I’d been let down, and on reflection that was irrelevant to the current circumstance. Unrequited light. I think there’s a lyric in there. Furthermore, I see this in other people. Because someone let me down, or I was disappointed by someone else, I am not going to extend that same courtesy to you now, today. Someone abused my trust years ago, so I will not trust you. I never wanted to live like that, but I feared that my darker years had made a cynic of me. I was looking for a way to refuel my faith in humankind without feeling like I was being taken advantage of. This saying provides me with the perspective I need for that. People can let me down time and time again, but becoming cynical and mistrusting only adds up to a failure in human compassion.
Don’t let your light go out, just because other people have not seen its beauty. You have to see it and protect it for yourself.
Stay well
Dielle
PPS Read more stories about songs here.
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