Anyone who has spent long enough away from their home country knows that when we think of our mother country, what was once ordinary becomes extraordinary. Our perception completely changes. When we started writing this song, we truly wanted to transmit the sensation of being in that very beloved place with those beloved people.
It took me quite some time to write the lyrics for this song. We started it back in March 2021 and it was only in the last few days that it all came together. I had misplaced the lyrics and was trying to tackle the song again and recall them, but new ones started to flow, along with a new melody.
In my childhood, one of our favourite things to do as a family was going to the beach in Salthill, Galway. Rain, hail or snow, we would go to walk the promenade or simply sit in the car and watch the waves bash up against the coast. So, no doubt, when I do go to the green green grass of home, this is one place I never fail to visit with my children. The Atlantic breeze, the smell of seaweed, the wild water. I love it and so do they.
Although I grew up in Tuam, Co. Galway, Galway city played a huge part in my childhood. I used to go to the Galway Market with my father most Saturdays to sell flowers on the street market. This has shaped me somewhat; it has brought a lot of colour to my life. The Galway market was always full of different scents, people and languages. It was so stimulating and perhaps provided me with the curiosity to delve into other cultures and languages. When I think of Galway I think of the Galway market and the distinct smell of fresh food and vegetables; the cobblestoned streets, the tiny alleyways, and, of course, the live music. Galway, the city of tribes, full of pride.
Whatever about a place, though, it’s the people who make it. It is those experiences with your loved ones that give you these unique memories and the feeling of connection to a place. At least for me, that is. Two years had passed before returning home to Ireland, and with all that was going on, it felt like longer. I had a desperate need to go home, sit in the kitchen of my home house, make a cup of tea, hand it to my Mother, hand a coffee to my Dad, hug them, and feel them. Christmas came and I had the joyous luck to do just that; the extraordinary.