Maybe I was born to hold you in these arms

Title? Check. Design? Check. Start date? Check.

That was me, five months ago. The idea? A blog dedicated to my (yet to be) newborn son documenting his day-to-day journey and the songs that define it. "Brilliant," I thought to myself. Armed with a potent idea and the plan to execute it, I came home and announced it to my less-than-enthused wife. "Do you really think that you'll have enough time to juggle a job, fatherhood and blog daily? How about a post a month? Maybe that would be more realistic." "This isn't about realistic," I said, "It's about groundbreaking!"

Which pretty much brings us up to date. Oli, you are almost four months old and your mother is much smarter than I am. And with that, here is your first blog post!


Looking back on the last 4 months, no one song defines the time that we have spent together better than In These Arms by The Swell Season. It is a work of true beauty that is only made better by the fact that your mother and I actually agree on that. Although the refrain (Maybe I was born to hold you in these arms) is the only thing that echoes the relationship of a parent and child, there are few artists whose sincerity and authenticity I look forward to sharing with you more than that of The Swell Season. First introduced to the world via the simplistic magic of the film Once, wherein Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (The on-again, off-again couple behind The Swell Season) portrayed two on-screen buskers who took their music off the streets of Dublin, off the screen and into the hearts of millions, even winning them the Oscar for Best Original song in 2008. While their incredible first collaboration, the basis for the soundtrack to Once, documented Hansard and Irglova's falling into love (listen to the acclaimed Falling Slowly for full effect), the hauntingly beautiful Strict Joy laments their demise as a couple while celebrating their coming-of-age as a musical duo in an incredibly powerful way.

So as I hold you in my arms and continue to wonder where you came from, I introduce you to the first song in your musical journey and look forward to the day where you return the favour.

Click here to listen!