Nostalgic Christmas single will support refugees and displaced people in Chichester
Bosham-based composer, songwriter, choral director and workshop leader Emily Barden goes back to happy memories of her north of England Christmases for the inspiration behind her first-ever Christmas single.
Everything I Need (Merry Christmas Everyone) celebrates the togetherness and the love that were always in the room – thoughts which made Emily realise just how lucky she was.
“And that’s why I am donating all the profits from this song to Sanctuary Chichester, the charity that supports refugees and displaced people in our city. I wanted to do something positive at this time of year.”
Go to Emily’s website https://www.emilybarden.com/ to download the single
“I made this song in 2022 off the back of the two odd Christmases we had in Covidland. Those Christmases made me think of the things that I knew forever in all my time on planet earth and that was that there was a pattern and a regularity to Christmas. But for those two years that pattern and that regularity were taken away, and it really made me think about the things that I missed. And the things that I missed were really the most tactile things, like being in a room that was too small at Christmas with so many people around a table that was too small and then being sent on a mission to find all the chairs in the house and bring them around the table, and just memories of everybody sitting there in chairs of varying sizes and it just being ridiculously hot. You were actually really uncomfortable but it was also the most comfortable you can ever be because there was just so much love in the room at Christmas.
“I did a rough demo of the song that I recorded at home and people really liked the song. So then I did a proper recording in the studio and I also wanted to make a video and just send it out properly into the world. As I say it just made me realise how lucky I am so I didn't want to make anything out of the single. I wanted to find a really good local cause and ideally a charity that was focused on home. Sanctuary fitted that vision perfectly and I had worked with them before.
“And they were really great. I met with Gemma (Driver) at the charity to get them on board and to check that the charity wanted this. It's a massive assumption. You've got to fit their vision but Gemma was just so lovely. She was amazed that anybody wanted to do this and she was 100 per cent supportive.”
Gemma, trustee of Sanctuary in Chichester, said: “We're extremely grateful to Emily for donating all the proceeds from her gorgeous Christmas song to help support displaced people locally. Every single sold will make a difference to us being able to buy essentials for those in dire need when they first arrive, and to support people to rebuild their lives.
“A theme of the Christmas story is migration and lack of housing, so it’s a good time to reflect on all the people around the world who have had to leave their homes due to persecution, conflict and natural disasters, and how lucky those of us with family and homes to return to are.”