This episode from various participants in the project - choir members, songwriters, arrangers and audience members talk about their experiences of the project, and  also Barbara Hateley,  one of the Here We Are project songwriters,  talks about her experience of being in the project and being involved in writing the song 'Hand-Me-Down.'

You can watch the video of the performance of Hand-Me-Down at 
https://youtu.be/-O_6FZqdycc

 HAND-ME-DOWN (a song created from The Pathhead Choir Songwriting Project - Here We Are) 

Lyrics by Barbara Hateley with Sophie Bancroft and The Pathhead Choir Songwriting Group 
Music by Sophie Bancroft 

The soup-maker stands side by side with her daughter 
Onions, lentils and leeks fill the bench 
“I made this soup long ago with my mother” 
The soup-maker says 

The soup-maker moves in with daughter and family 
Pea and ham soup bubbles hot on the stove 
Wean in the high-chair wears pea and ham face paint 
The soup-maker smiles 

Hand me down, hand me down, I am warmth, nurture and love 
Hand me down, hand me down, I am warmth, nurture and love 

The wean, now a mother, stands by her own daughter 
Mud covered carrots sit on the bench 
“I found them in the garden, can we make some soup?” 
Young soup-maker begs 

Hand me down, hand me down, I am warmth, nurture and love 
Hand me down, hand me down, I am warmth, nurture and love 

The soup-maker lies in her bed in the care home 
Velvet brown, bone marrow broth, brought from home 
steams in a cup that is held by her daughter 
The soup-maker sips 

The soup-maker’s daughter returns to her family 
Holding the cup that was once full with broth 
Now filled with mem’ries of onions and lentils 
The soup-maker’s love 

Hand me down, hand me down, I am warmth, nurture and love 
Hand me down, hand me down, I am warmth, nurture and love 

HERE WE ARE - The Pathhead Choir Songwriting Project 
saw Sophie Bancroft guiding a group of Pathhead Choir members aged 60+ to write original songs for The Pathhead Choir to perform. These songs were then arranged and notated for the choir by Pathhead Music Collective musicians and arrangers, rehearsed and performed by The Pathhead Choir, conducted by Sophie and choir co-leader Gina Rae, with Dave Milligan on piano. The choir gave three concerts around the Lothians in June 2023, performing eight new, original pieces. 

Full information about the project, and sheet music and choir arrangements can be found at https://autumnvoices.co.uk/projects/the-pathhead-choir/