Historyworks commissioned the famous children's poet, Michael Rosen, to write new poems for marking Holocaust Memorial Day on our national theme for 2019,  Torn from Home.  We have the Cambridge Composer, Bethany Kirby setting these to uplifting melodies, which choral music will be performed by school choirs from Milton Road and St Matthew's (Primary) and from Cambridge Academy Singers (Secondary) and with two pieces led by Sing! Community Choir encouraging the audiences at events to join their voices too.

 

These lyrics are being composed in response to our history workshops organized by Helen Weinstein for Cambridge children at KS2 and KS3 where Michael Rosen shares his story about what Home is, in terms of safey and laughter and warmth and sharing.   Other lyrics by Michael Rosen address what it means to be 'Torn from Home' about packing up your belongings and safeguarding your memories, about gaps in his family, the migrant and refugee experience, and we with the young people will be meeting survivors, discussing the testimony of those fleeing from wars and genocides, from hateful words and prejudice,  and use these tesimonies to create new pieces.  

Michael Rosen's lyrics for 2019 are set to music for children's and community choirs to sing by our musical arranger, Bethany Kirby.  The sound files are available for the start of the January term.  Scores can be directly downloaded.

With our musical director, Mario Satchwell, we are also sourcing lyrics which fit the theme to be resonant with the values of marking HMD of using our voices to challenge injustices and prejudice and to call for celebrating diversities and to create peace in the world.  You can see some of the songs we are preparing for our school choir singing assemblies and for the Cambridge HMD Civic Event below and can navigate quickly by using the tabs with song titles on the right-hand side.  

We have recorded the melodies in parts and provided the lyrics online so that individuals and groups can learn the pieces. These are drafts to help beginner singers and not professional recordings to be broadcast!  We have also provided scores where they exist.  Please do use the Historyworks commissioned pieces for community groups and singing assemblies in schools and faith groups, as all are commissioned as creative commons.

---

Michael Rosen - 'What Home Means to Me' - commissioned by Historyworks for HMD 2019 - for Primary Schools

 IN THIS SECTION YOU WILL FIND:

MICHAEL ROSEN'S ORIGINAL POEM

THE LYRICS BY MICHAEL ROSEN ARRANGED AS A SONG BY BETHANY KIRBY

THE SCORE BY BETHANY KIRBY FOR PIANISTS AND SINGING TEACHERS

THE SONG AUDIO WITH ALL THE PARTS COMBINED

SONG PARTS FOR CHILDREN TO USE TO LEARN THEIR PARTS AND THE HARMONY

MICHAEL ROSEN'S ORIGINAL POEM 

WHAT HOME MEANS TO ME by Michael Rosen

A place where I feel safe
A place where I am me
A place where I feel warm
A place where I am free

I love the place I call my home
I love the place where I am me
I love it in the heart of my home
Home is deep inside of me.

Home is a roof over my head
Home is a pillow on my bed
Home is the smell of good things to eat
Home is the floor under my feet

I love the place I call my home
I love the place where I am me
I love it in the heart of my home
Home is deep inside of me.

Home is the door I want to open
Home is the smiles on all our faces
Home is the seat at the family table
Home is the best of all the places

I love the place I call my home
I love the place where I am me
I love it in the heart of my home
Home is deep inside of me.

THE LYRICS BY POET MICHAEL ROSEN ARRANGED AS A SONG BY COMPOSER BETHANY KIRBY

Download a copy of the SCORE HERE

---

Michael Rosen - Torn From Home - Commissioned by Historyworks for HMD 2019 - for Secondary Schools

Lyrics by Michael Rosen (commissioned  by Historyworks)

Musical Arrangement by Bethany Kirby:  Download Score HERE

To help learn the song, you can listen to a recording of the voice parts 

 

LYRICS for SONG (by Michael Rosen with musical arrangement by Bethany Kirby)

What we’re going to tell you about won’t take LONG
We weren’t doing anything you could say was WRONG
It's all about being in the wrong kind of PLACE
It's all about having the wrong kind of FACE
It's all about being in the wrong kind of LINE
It's all about being in the wrong kind of TIME

‘cos we were
called out

we were
turned out

we were
pushed out

we were
shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

nowhere to call home we were all alone
neither here nor there
we were NOWHERE

It's all about being on the wrong kind of SIDE
It's all about having nowhere to HIDE
It's all about NOT having enough to EAT
It's all about US having nowhere but the STREET

‘cos we were 
called out

we were
turned out

we were
pushed out

we were
shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out

nowhere to call home
we were all alone
neither here nor there
we were  (called out, turned out, pushed out, shoved out) NOWHERE 

TORN FROM HOME - lyrics by Michael Rosen (original version by poet)

What we’re going to tell you about won’t take LONG
We weren’t doing anything you could say was WRONG
This is all about being in the wrong kind of PLACE
This is all about having the wrong kind of FACE
This is all about being in the wrong kind of LINE
This is all about being in the wrong kind of TIME

‘cos we were 
called out
turned out
pushed out
shoved out

nowhere to call home we were all alone
neither here nor there
we were NOWHERE

This is all about being on the wrong kind of SIDE
This is all about having nowhere to HIDE
This is all about us not having enough to EAT
This is all about us having nowhere but the STREET

‘cos we were 
called out
turned out
pushed out
shoved out

nowhere to call home
we were all alone
neither here nor there
we were NOWHERE

---

One Heart Beating - Lyrics & Melody by Sue Kirkpatrick

To help learn the song, you can listen to a recording of the voice parts

Part 1

We are one world, one voice, one heart beating
We are one world, one voice, one heart beating

Part 2

Everybody living in this world
Everybody has a voice, let’s use it
Everybody living in this world;  One heart beating

Part 3

We are one world – we are one heart beating
We are one world – one heart beating

 

---

Hebrew Lament - Musical arrangement by Su Hart

Scroll down to see Su Hart's score & tips to use with singers. We are calling the song 'The Hebrew Lament'  because this is a traditional melody that has been sung over the centuries at times of sadness and loss, also of resilience at times when Jewish people were suffering, and the term Canon relates to Biblical Law so we are renaming it for our programme. Simple words for this haunting melody which we will sing with Su Hart's beautiful arrangement as a round. You can listen to a recording of the voice parts below:

 

Words for this version of the Hebrew Lament:

Lie la lie lie
Lie la lie lie
Lie la lie lie la lie lie

Lie lie
Lie lie lie lie
Lie lie lie la lie lie

Lie lie
Lie la lie lie
Lie la lie lie la lie lie

This is a traditional jewish tune which has been set out as a song with a musical arrangement and license purchased by Historyworks for our HMD project and performances from Su Hart's The Joy of Singing Book  available from www.baka.net or contacting Sue at su@bakka.co.uk

 

 

---

Shosholoza - Musical arrangement by Mario Satchwell

SHOSHOLOZA

The school choirs singing with Historyworks for 2019 events are learning this anthem, which originates from Zimbabwe and was sung by miners and train workers, becoming a protest song during the years fighting against discrimation called 'Apartheid' in South African; now often sung in celebration and solidarity at sporting events across not only Africa but around the Globe!

Mario Satchwell is making an arrangement for Historyworks to use in rehearsals and concerts which will be scored in two parts suitable for Primary singers and Community choirs.  Score coming soon!

SHOSHOLOZA FILMS TO WATCH AND LEARN!

Meantime, here is a youtube version with the words onscreen to help you learn them that was recorded as the soundtrack for the Invictus Games film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aFlQS4k3wo

And here is a film with a fantastic arrangement performed with children singing it in parts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saJmOw0GGyI

And another film with an inspirational dance and rhythm routine within the performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-clAgeyGZA&list=RD2oQENAAu078&index=6

FYI Shosholoza words and the translation beneath: 

Shosholoza

Kulezo ntaba

Stimela siphume South Africa

Shosholoza

Kulezo ntaba

Stimela siphume South Africa

Wen' uyabaleka

Kulezo ntaba

Stimela siphume South Africa

A rough translation:

Go forward

Go forward

from those mountains

on this train from South Africa

Go forward

Go forward

You are running away

You are running away

from those mountains

on this train from South Africa

---

Durme Durme - Sephardic Lament about Exile from Home

Here is a film of Sing! Community Choir performing this powerful song about exile from home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcDIDIB4Y9s

Anna Lovewell introduces the song, talking about the sorrow and loss that the Jewish community felt when they were missing home, exiled from their ancestral Spain in the time of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492

Translation of the lyrics to the lullaby:

Sleep Oh Sleep So Blissfully Slumber

Dream Away all of your Troubles and Woes

Sleep Oh Sleep in Peaceful Repose

Slumber Deep Slumber Deep

Slumber Through the Darkest Night

Sleep and Dream, Sleep and Dream,

Til Morning Light,

Sleep of Sleep so Quiet and Restful,

Sheltered and Free from the Cares of the Day

Calm and Tranquil, May worries melt away,

Sleep Oh Sleep, so blissfully slumber,

Dream away all your Troubles and Woes

Sleep oh Sleep in Peaceful Repose

Sleep Oh Sleep.

 

 

---

'Home' by poet Warsan Shire "no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark"

Home by Warsan Shire

Warsan Shire, a British Somali Poet (who won the role as the first Youth Poet Laureate for London), has composed an inspiring and powerful piece about the refugee experience well known by the arresting first line ' no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark', and we believe this piece will be super useful CAP students when writing their own poems and song lyrics for the 'Torn from Home' theme marking HMD 2019, and also may be appropriate for a CAP physical theatre piece to perform for HMD 2019 within the chancel at Great St Mary's.

---

Collaborative Poem by Michael Rosen & Cambridge Primary School Pupils - What would I pack? What would I pack?

What would I pack? What would I pack?

Good walking shoes, clothes & rations
Eggs x2

The rolling green fields surrounding my home
Medicine x2

Think of the stuff that you have not the stuff you don’t have
Laptop x2

What would I pack? What would I pack?

My brother saying shut up to me
Teddy x2

My sister’s first word&nbsp
“Mum” x2

Pictures of my family
My Chicken x2

---

Collaborative Poem by Michael Rosen & Cambridge Parkside Federation Year 7 Pupils - Believe in the moment

Suddenly my brain
takes a trip down memory lane
Devastation fills my life

Believe in the moment

Family Album
My mum my dad my grandma
my great grandma my sister
and me

Believe in the moment

Together forever
I thought we would be

I hope the slate would not be wiped clean

Believe in the moment

Treat people how you want to be treated
Or else you and them will be
Defeated

Believe in the moment

Voices go
and I am alone

The train is ready
The beast is listening
You cant cheat murder

Believe in the moment