Follow The Hometrek Project Series here: • The mission to release...
The Hometrek Project now has a Patreon page:
/ thehometrekproject
There will be extraclips and vids, outtakes and thoughts available over there very soon so please do check it out. Any support you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
Last year in a period when I was feeling particularly low the truck's wheels rolled into the Rhondda in South Wales for the first time.
I spent about a month up on the Rhigos and Bwlch Mountains basically grieving. Whilst there I came across the Yellow Heart on Bwlch Mountain and learned it's incredibly moving story. We are not alone in our grieving, far from it.
One day when I was beginning to feel a bit of hope I got the calling to venture down into the Rhondda Fawr and spend some time in Treorchy-the grove of the magpie. It turns out that it was very wise to listen and the good folks of Treorchy had a profound effect on me. It's hard to put into words just how much! I parked up and wandered into town and my spirits were immediately raised by the most wonderful piece of graffiti, celebrating the Valleys' first ever Pride. That progress continued as Alf and me crossed the bridge into town. Over the next days the Fawr and Fach valleys continued to work on me. I started singing the chorus of Yma o hyd in as many high places as possible and began to feel connected again and not alone with my pain. This song which was written one day as I was parked up on the Rhigos sheltering from a storm. One of those just falls out of you songs. Bless you folks of the Rhondda and thanks for being you! Coming back to the valleys since in much happier times has been every bit as wonderful, a bit of my heart is always up on the Rhigos and the Valleys are in my heart forever now.
I did upload another live take a while back but wasn't happy with the performance. Emotions were high at the time and breath control wasn't brilliant so it was a tad shouty. I'm much happier with this later version and hope to record it properly soon alongside some other songs that Chel and I have written.
Yellow heart on the mountainside
Flowers on the grave
An old tattoo that reminds me of you
The ones we lost along the way
Graffiti art in a mining town
Grove of the Magpie
You heal my heart and you heal my mind
The wounds will heal in time
Ry'n ni yma o hyd in my head
Ry'n ni yma o hyd in my heart
Some days it seems it's just too much for me
To find the will to survive
But in the pools and streams where I bathe my feet
I thank the stars that we're alive
So now I stand in pride by the fireside
With you and all your kin
Let us raise a toast for each and every ghost
Let us feed the fires within
Ry'n ni yma o hyd in my head
Ry'n ni yma o hyd in my heart
#nomad #musician #ptsd