Brendan pens song for Queen’s 90th birthday

Michael Commins

MAYO based songwriter and novelist, Brendan Graham, has penned the lyrics for ‘This Mother’s Heart’, a song dedicated to Queen Elizabeth on her 90th birthday. It is the lead track and single on Katherine Jenkins album, Celebration, which last week entered the UK album charts at No 7.
Katherine Jenkins, the 35-year-old Welsh soprano, along with producer Jon Cohen for Decca (who together wrote the music), invited Brendan to write the lyrics and the song is Katherine’s dedication to Queen Elizabeth for her 90th birthday.
Brendan, who resides in Kilbride, Finney, close to the Mayo-Galway border, is one of Ireland’s foremost songwriters and has twice penned Eurovision winners. His song, You Raise Me Up, has become an international anthem and has been performed on all Continents and at numerous inspirational events.
“The Queen’s ‘I give you my heart’ speech of some years ago and her Christmas 2015 speech where she speaks about the darkness of war and division in the world and quotes St John’s ‘It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness’, partly inspired the lyric of her as being ‘mother’ to her people.
“Aware too of Katherine being a new mother, the song is an expression of that lasting love that is in every mother’s heart and the video made to go with the song demonstrates that bond in a very beautiful way,” says Brendan.
Masterful job
“Jon did his usual masterful job with the arrangement/production and Katherine delivers the song with a wonderful mixture of passion and tenderness. So, it was a real pleasure to be in the studio in London with them both for the recording and to hear it all coming together.”
Katherine will perform Brendan’s new song at the Queen’s Royal Albert Hall Celebration Concert on June 18 to honour her 90th birthday. You Raise Me Up was previously performed by Westlife for the special concert in the Convention Centre during the Queen’s historic State Visit to Ireland.
“While not forgetting the dark history between our two islands, for me the Queen’s visit - the obvious regard and rapport between herself and Mary McAleese, her sensitivity to the history between our countries and general natural warmth, was a measure of the woman.
“The visit inspired a hopefulness for the future of a deepening of relationship between Britain and Ireland. So, in the spirit of rapprochement, I had no hesitation in saying ‘yes’ to the invitation to be involved in writing the song. I hope it appeals to Her Majesty - 90 is a great and joyous age for any person to reach,” states Brendan.