David Brackenbury

Hull, UK
One of the challenges within the 2019 12 Song Challenge was to write a “Funeral Song”. As soon as I started thinking about the task, two particular bereavements came to mind – one almost 20 years ago where a close friend who lived with us for a while as he battled an alcohol addiction died shortly after moving out. For both my wife and I we have never felt loss like that – never felt so absolutely knocked by a situation – we probably cried ourselves to sleep for months rather than weeks. The second is also the inspiration behind the song on the EP The Journey Continues, entitled When I am broken. That song was written with the express intention of being accessible corporately to give church chance to voice some of their thoughts and questions. However, as I set about the task, I felt that I found my personal voice in response to that loss – one that I don’t think I’d actually allowed to come out as yet, so I was thankful for the challenge as it gave that words. I guess the final line of the chorus has a different meaning for these two losses – “enter into your rest” for Adrien was a life that was promised where every waking moment wouldn’t be consumed with him resisting the cravings for a drink, and for Andrew, the rest was from Christian and secular service – a life of putting the needs of others before his own, but always keeping his eye on the prize and knowing where his eternity lay. This is the original version of the song, intended to be able to be sung at a funeral. I later tweaked it to have a broader focus and both were included on the EP. However, this was the true origin of the song.
note 6 years ago
This song came out as part of the Resound Worship 12 Song Challenge during 2019. The challenge had been to develop a ‘seed idea’, meaning some time to spend time in a particular passage and allowing yourself to be creative without filtering your creative output, and then going back and reviewing everything that was there to see if there was something that had potential. I did this in a number of ways and ended up stumbling upon the chorus on a cycle ride into work. It had been a particularly challenging period for me at work and this, along with another song, came out of regular reminders that God was with me, that his love was for me, and that he wouldn’t let me down. We’ve used this quite a few times at our church and it seems to have connected with people, so hope you like it.
note 4 years ago
As a church, we regularly took part in the 40 Days initiative across Hull. During 2007, there was a prayer that appeared in the daily study guide that included a prayer for use throughout the Lent period. This was as follows: “Lord we ask that You would act, not according to the poverty of who we are or what we believe, but according to the greatness of who You are and what You can do” Originally, this song had a chorus that simply set those words to music, but much has changed with it over the 11 years since four of the verses were written. Hull has been the knocking boy of most of the country. Regularly being reported as the worst place to live, and often finding itself at the top of every league table it would wish to be at the bottom of, and the bottom of every league table it would wish to be at the top of. At the time of writing, teenage pregnancy was a significant issue in Hull – hence the reference in the first verse. It is a city where, growing up, our young people don’t even feel they have the option to dream or imagine what a future would be like – whereas their peers in other areas feel that their future is full of options that they can determine and shape, for many in Hull they believe that their lives will amount to nothing – ambition quashed before it even starts to take shape. And within Hull, there are areas that are criticised from within – and Bransholme, where Bodmin Road Church is based, is one of those areas. Considered by many to be an area that they would avoid – and even with significant transformation and investment, those legacy issues still remain. This song attempts to capture the position that Hull and Bransholme finds itself in, and cries out to God to act – in the way that only He can – and not to be limited by the times when we as His church feel that things can’t and won’t change. The chorus attempts to stay true to the thrust of the prayer that inspired it. And then 2017 happened – Hull was City of Culture. A song of this nature remained unwritten until something captured that part of the story. The year started with a mesmerising light show, projected onto some of the most iconic buildings in the city culminating in the statement “We are Hull”. Hull folk are proud – proud of their history, and proud of their heritage. This song captures something of the journey that we as a city have been on – and continue to go on, where people choose to visit and are open to having their mind changed about Hull. I hope you enjoy the song!
note 7 years ago