Love love love the lyric, but I bet you guessed what my reaction would be there. I love the pop beat and synth work, the electric guitar jangle over the organ works really well. Given the sound and bounce of that poppy 80s drum, I think I was imagining a more upbeat/energetic vocal delivery to belie the lyric. But the weariness of your delivery sure is how it actually feels.

these lyrics, man… ough. you cut to the heart of the matter with a simplicity here that’s nothing short of elegant, and profound. as others have said, the different ways you use “the line” at the end of each verse is masterful.

You might not be convinced, but I had this in my head earlier! I came back to say so and it appears I never even left a comment the first time, what a wally. Anyway, on paper it's a bit of a weird arrangement but I really like it. It's almost disorientating having a background beat with an up-front organ, but I like it a lot. Really feels like a jam in a big cavernous room, but I'm sat next to the organist. The lyrics - yep.

Not your usual kind of arrangement. There’s some lovely bits to this though I’m not sure they all necessarily belong in the same song. Still, if you can’t experiment during Fawm when can you? …….He says as he chucks about 3 failed ideas in the trash

I connect with this message a lot, and have been trying to write about it. And I like the 80's synth! Love the chord on "what's yours" in the final verse.

Loved 80s synthpop Mike! Great vibes on this one, it does feel a little unfinished but I loved the music and progression and those opening lines

I liked this. There’s something wonderfully whimsical about it despite the gravity of the lyrics…. The line “your bleeding little heart does no one any good” is nice! Good job.

The message is incredibly resonant, Mike, and in terms of you not being sure where to take it, thats completely in keeping with the theme - we do what we can to improve our corners of life, always knowing it never can be enough, which is a long winded way of saying you kind of nailed it.

probably I do! those synths are so pretty then they go a bit odd and hectic which is a really interesting choice! the organ is very commanding!

you say you're not convinced, but the changing "line" lines work for me.

Favorite line: fill up your neighbour's bowl better than weeping for a war you can't control

Yes! I always love it when Mike’s full production team arrives at your door. It’s got a pop sensibility, but there’s other layers to it that have your signature sound. This might not be a hit with world leaders, but I’m certainly a fan. I was just chatting to a friend the other day about my guilt for switching off from the news of late, but my feeling is that we’re better off giving our time and energy to our local communities rather than giving attention to the fear mongers. So this sums that up for me nicely.

I absolutely love what I’m now going to refer to as the ‘Debenham callback’, where you revisit a word or line (in this case both, get it!) in proceeding verses, with a twist on it. Brilliant stuff!