Part 3 of Tony Cummings' examination of GODFREY RUST's 'Entangled' album

'Entangled' gave us "Voices Of Experience" and "Voices Of The Ruthless". With its third track "Listen To Me" we get "Voices Of The Voiceless". Down the years many great composers have written songs about human loneliness. In fact, one of my favourite lines in any song is from "Eleanor Rigby" where Lennon and McCartney offered the poignant line "All the lonely people, where do they all come from?" In "Listen To Me", Rust eloquently expresses the pain and frustration of the lonely man and woman where nobody wants to learn anything of their story and nobody wants to hear their opinions, thoughts and memories. Rust and his friend Charlotte Churchman share the lead vocals while David Fitzgerald's saxophone and Sam Brown's cello play their part in creating a mood of tender compassion.

"Just listen to me, please listen to me.
Don't have to take sides, don't have to respond,
Not waiting for you to wave a magic wand,
Just listen to me, please listen to me.

Oh, oh, no-one ever warned me of the voices hiding in my head.
Oh, oh, sometimes I think that nobody would notice if I just dropped.
Oh, oh, no-one ever told me I would have to make it on my own.
Oh, oh, sometimes I talk for hours just pretending that I'm not alone.

No need to speak, no need to cry,
No need to think you know the reason why,
Just listen to me, please listen to me.
You just raise your brow, you just raise a smile,
You raise up my spirits in a little while
When you listen to me, just listen to me,
When you listen to me, you just listen to me."

A commentator recently described Britain as experiencing "an epidemic of loneliness." It is indeed. Songs like this may inspire some in the Church to do something about it - to identify those who have made it into our church buildings yet feel isolated and unheard, and also to step away from our interests and activities to befriend and LISTEN to those outside.