Brockenhurst singing group leader Amy Hopwood releases new song All Should Be Well
A POPULAR Brockenhurst singing group leader has released a new song to raise money for a charity which supports people with auto-immune illnesses.
Amy Hopwood grew up in Dibden Purlieu and now runs the Forget-me-not Singing Club in Brockenhurst for people living with dementia. She recently recorded her new song, All Shall Be Well.
Amy describes the recording as “a bit of a curiosity”, with just a drum accompanying her 21 layers of harmonies and vocals. She feels this gives the song a “monkish, Gregorian chant feel”.
Amy said: “The lyrics are based on two very wise, Medieval phrases, ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well’ from Julian of Norwich in the 14th century and ‘This too shall pass’ ascribed to the Sufi Poets of Persia in the 12th century.
Amy reveals that the track was written for anyone suffering, grieving, in pain, or worried about their loved ones: “It's not about trying to pretend that something is not happening, but about knowing that, one way or another, it will pass. I see it as a stoical marching song or even as the casting of a spell to make things better.”
Amy writes mostly in the folk genre and sings traditional folk as well as her own original songs inspired by the likes of Karine Polwart, Emily Portman and Leon Rosselson. She has studied folklore, social anthropology, philosophy and psychology and these interests often creep into her lyrics.
She suffers from multiple auto-immune diseases and her disability has made live performance problematic in recent years. However, her songs from her three albums continue to do well on streaming services and are regularly played on a wide range of radio stations, from BBC 6 Music to more niche national and international folk shows.
She said: “I wrote All Will Be Well while suffering a big flare-up of my multiple auto-immune diseases. I’ve struggled with their impact on my joints, skin, pain levels and more for over 30 years now, but the nature of auto-immune disease seems to be that as soon as you learn to cope with one manifestation of your body attacking itself, another one comes along.
“It can be very tough. However, even though I was in pain, creating and singing this song was a comfort to me, and I hope it is a comfort to anyone else who might need it.”
Amy will donate 50% of all sales of the song – which is available via Bandcamp, Amazon and Apple Music – to The Wren Project, a charity providing listening support to people with an auto-immune diagnosis. To watch the video search AmyHopwoodMusic on YouTube or visit https://youtu.be/W46siT-03Mk
