Words and music by Rich Ferriman
The Songs
Written for mum. Play them whenever you need her close.
Ordinary Day
Intro
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine You make me happy when skies are grey You'll never know, dear, how much I love you Please don't take my sunshine away.
Verse 1
No plans today, just you and me, The kettle on, another cup of tea. Though somehow tea turned into wine, And one more hour became half past nine. The church bells drift across Church Close, You'd smile and say, "Where does time go?" The world outside could wait its turn, We'd laugh until our cheeks both burned.
Pre Chorus
Everyone said I was there for you, But they never saw what I could see. You weren't the one I carried home… You carried every part of me.
Chorus
If I could choose one place to be, It's not somewhere far away. It's sharing stories, side by side, Where laughter always found its way. One more ordinary day, Just one more ordinary day.
Verse 2
Holly Lane and familiar faces, Prosecco cold and glasses raised. Another story, one more chapter, Willow with you all your days. The Circle gathered round your table, Tea and cake and lives laid bare. Some came searching for the answers, Most just found that you were there. You never tried to fix the world, You simply made it brighter. And everyone who left your table Left a little lighter.
Chorus
If I could choose one place to be, It's not somewhere far away. It's sharing stories, side by side, Where laughter always found its way. One more ordinary day, Just one more ordinary day.
Bridge
I was your little girl once, Running back to you. Then the feisty teenage years, When I thought I knew the truth. You were there for every broken heart, Every door I slammed at night. Every 2am phone call, When nothing in my world felt right. So when the days got heavier, And I was lying next to you, I wasn't giving something back… I was loving like you taught me to.
Final Chorus
So if you ask me where I'll be, It's never somewhere far away. I'll sit beside your empty chair, Where laughter always found its way. And I would give the whole wide world For one more ordinary day.
Outro
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine You make me happy when skies are grey You'll never know, dear, how much I love you You left your sunshine here to stay.
Go to Dad
Verse 1
I won't hear your voice again, I won't see you smile when I walk in. I can't ask for your advice, or turn to you when I lose my way. I sat and watched your final hours, I saw the fight with my own eyes. I know you heard me when I said "Mum", I can't help but cry now you're gone.
Chorus
Go to Dad, I kept on saying, he's waiting for you in your version of heaven. He's back in uniform, that same perfect smile, your soul mate, his arms wide, right where you were always meant to be. Go to Dad, I kept on saying, he's waiting. You don't have to fight now. You don't have to hold on. We're okay now, so go to Dad, give him a hug from us.
Verse 2
Your laugh still echoes through the rooms, in every story, every cup of tea. A hundred little things still speak your name, and somehow you're still here with me. You gave us strength you never named, you held the weight and called it love. You built a family that still stands tall, you left your whole heart in us all.
Verse 3
I sat beside you through the night, held your hand as you fought on. We talked about the life you'd led, the places seen, the people met. Your stories read beside my bed, I told you a lifetime of ours instead. Then came the path we could not follow, but you would never walk alone. For his hand was reaching down to lead you gently on.
Bridge
And if love could keep you here, you never would have left. If tears could turn the clock around, you'd take another breath to hear the words I could not say, and love the parts I hid away. But love was never measured by how long we got to stay. It lives inside the lives you changed, and nothing takes that away.
Final Chorus
Go to Dad, I kept on saying, he's waited long enough in your version of heaven. Go tell him all the stories you've been saving. We'll laugh again, and when we cry again, every day you'll both still be with us. Go to Dad, I kept on saying, he's waiting for you. Take his hand, hold him close. Tell him we'll see you both again. Go to Dad, I kept on saying, He's waiting.
Outro
Go to Dad… he's waiting In your perfect version of heaven.
Reflection
Every Other Friday
Verse 1
Well, she came down from Yorksheer with a suitcase and a name, left the streets that raised her on the early morning train. He swore he'd rowed for Oxford, she laughed and rolled her eyes, and neither of them knew that night was the first of their Julys.
Chorus
Every other Friday, headlights through the rain, love letters on the dashboard, just to feel her touch again. Before the wedding photos, before the vows were made, that's how forever looked before it had a name.
Verse 2
A little church that summer, the fourth day of July, Pontefract out on tiptoe as the wedding car rolled by. She left behind her yesterday to build tomorrow's home, and every door she opened meant you were never on your own. Our house was never quiet, the same old stories spun, and every time we heard them we laughed like they'd just begun.
Chorus
Every other Friday, headlights through the rain, love letters on the dashboard, just to feel her touch again. Before the Christmas mornings, before the children's names, that's how forever looked before it had a name.
Verse 3
Maps spread on the table, another place to go, one made friends with everybody, one could mend the radio. And every fourth day of July, come sunshine, come the rain, two glasses on the table, the date was never changed.
Bridge
Nobody knows they're in them, the days they'll dream about, they're just two kids on a Friday with a lifetime rolling out.
Final Chorus
Every other Friday, headlights through the rain, love letters on the dashboard, just to feel her touch again. Before the wedding photos… before the silver hair… that's how forever looked… Before it had a name. Every other Friday, headlights through the rain, love letters on the dashboard, to feel her touch again.
Outro
Fifty six years later, forever found its name, it was love from that first Friday, and it never changed. And heaven had to wait for the fourth day of July, 'cause through every year, come rain or shine, she always kept the date.
A slideshow of Barbara’s life plays with this song during the service.
Recessional Music
Always There
If I ascend into heaven, You are there. If I dwell in the depths of the sea, You are there. If I sing sweet songs of praises, You are there. If I cry quiet, sorrowful tears, You are there.
I can never flee from Your presence. I can never hide from Your face. Even when the darkness surrounds me, You are there. Through the raging storm, You are with me. Where time can never part us now. You are there. Always there.
In my distress and my failure, You are there. When I stumble and fall once again, You are there. When I cry out for mercy, You are there. When I long for Your loving embrace, You are there.