New song for all those missing live music and theatre

[Paul]

My son, Will, works in theatre sound in London and asked me to write a song for everyone impacted by the loss of live theatre and music this year. So, here is a song of hope, called ‘Hold the Light’. It was inspired by the tradition of keeping a single ‘ghost light’ on in theatres when they are closed.

You can hear the song on YouTube here:

The words are below.

Hold the light

While the curtains all stay down,
While the lights are off in every town,
And the posters slowly fade,
There’s still light upon the stage.

While our hopes stand in the wings,
As we wonder what tomorrow brings,
And the waiting lasts an age,
Hold the light upon the stage.

We’ve held the light through all before,
Through plague and war,
Through Cromwell’s law.
When times are tough
We’ve strength enough.

When ‘to be or not to be’
Casts a shadow for each company
And we need the scene to change,
Hold the light upon the stage.

To the gods we look and ask,
Will this cruel, dark winter ever pass?
As we fear they turn away,
Hold the light upon the stage.

We’ve held the light through all before,
Through plague and war,
Through Cromwell’s law.
When times are tough
We’ve strength enough.

There are stories to be told,
And the worlds we make are just on hold,
Give it time, we’ll turn the page;
Hold the light upon the stage.

We shall see the stalls alive,
Then we’ll live again, not just survive.
As we wait for better days
Hold the light upon the stage.
We shall see a better day.
Hold the light upon the stage.

Best wishes
Paul

[Pam]

It’s lovely, Paul and Will, and yes, full of hope for better times. Also poignant, as many of Jake’s songs were. RIP JT

[Bugzila]

Is this a place to ask about the musical based on Jake’s songs? I believe it’s called “Sister Josephine Kicks the Habit.”

I fell in love with Jake when my dad was stationed in Cheltenham in the mid-60’s. For the longest time I only had access to the 3 albums I managed to bring home. Thank the lord for the internet! Better than 15 years ago I saw an amateur recording of the play online, but now can’t find anything but a girl singing ‘The Kiss.’

Any help?

[Pam]

Hello Bugzila

Yes, that musical was “Sister Josephine kicks the habit”. It played for a few performances mostly (I think) around Yorkshire in about 2004 -2006, but then it seemed to just fade away. A search on that name brought up this review https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/sisterjosephine-rev.htm which has some pictures, and elsewhere on this forum I think there is a bit of information about it, including a couple of now-dead links to the website.

A DVD was produced, which was a recording of one of the performances, but I think that’s no longer available, although some hardcore fans probably have copies. The man who was responsible for the project was the late Ian Watson.

However thanks to this website and the many fans dotted around the country, much more of Jake’s work is now available, and ebay is probably your best starting point.

Pam

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