On market day, Sammy sits at the end of a row of stalls and plays tunes on a tin whistle. The whistle is cracked and Sammy is short of breath. But he likes to think he’s earning the few pence he makes from passers-by who remember his songs from the old days. Sometimes he gets abused and told to get up and go home.
But Sammy can’t go home because he lives in a pile of cardboard boxes at the back of a warehouse. His whistle is his companion and a reminder of better times. His life and his songs are intertwined.
In this room of the house you can find ideas for music which may help you think about what home means and what it might be like to be without a home. You can find ideas for music to listen to, or you might like to sing and/or perform some of the songs. And when you do, think of Sammy and his song.
Ben
Hymns you may have in your hymn book
- Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
- Deep River
- Graham Kendrick, Beauty for Brokenness (God of the Poor)
Psalms
- Psalm 23
- Psalm 84
- Psalm 90
Taize chant
- In Manus Tuas, Pater
- Kyrie Eleison
Listening to Classical music
- Michael Tippett, A Child of our Time
Listening to Contemporary music
(links are to listen to the song on myspace when available)- Ralph McTell: Streets of London
- Phil Collins: Another Day in Paradise
- Jethro Tull: Aqualung
- Arrested Development: Mr Wendel
- Megadeth: Breadline
- Iggy Pop: Home
- Elvis Presley: In the Ghetto
- Paul Simon
- Amanda Stott: Homeless Heart
Listening to Contemporary Christian Music
- Howard Dobson: Search me O God
- Andrew Pratt, ‘On the side-walk by the shopfront’
Lyrics available from www.hymns.uk.com - Linda Currin, Empty Hands