Story of the Song: Lament

A new video discussion for 'Song of the Self'

Friends, I have just released a new video telling the story of one of my earliest songs, Lament.

After an off-the-cuff performance, I delve into the lyrics through a mythopoetic lens, exploring how they reflect my evolving personal mythology as expressed through my songs…

I shall share a few thoughts on making the video bellow, but first; as the 2nd run of my Songwriting Mentorship program approaches (we start October 6th) I wanted to share a some kind words from

Monika Bravo

who took part in the first cohort earlier this year. Monika has been an influential mentor to me over the past few years and I was thrilled to have her take part, particularly with her deep knowledge of the individuation process and her courageous embrace of new mediums of expression (this was her first approach to songwriting). She also has a beautiful book soon to be published & recently had a deep and thought provoking conversation about Astrology, Etymology, and Bitcoin on

Robert Breedlove

’s excellent WiM podcast)

“I have been on my individuation journey for quite some time, guided by various teachers and practices. As a creative mentor myself, I deeply admire and support those who have the courage to mentor others in creative practices. Engaging in these reciprocal roles enriches one's personal truths. As a fellow artist, I have always been captivated by the depth and quality of Ellery's multidisciplinary creations. When he launched the workshop, I immediately felt a YES! Being intrepid and eager to explore new realms of discovery, I found a well of carefully crafted techniques that weave together in a poetic and lyrical way.

I dared to share my singing (despite having no formal training), and the community Ellery is building slowly mirrors what these tools will support in the future, urging us to be more active and bold. Creativity, individuality, and the courage to speak up in one's voice will be essential and critical in the times ahead. Embracing a beginner's mind has always been my ally. Even though I am considered "established" in my artistic path, with 30 years of professional experience, I love being part of emerging, igniting, and powerful moments of creation. That spark is my passion.

Thank you, Ellery. Many internal things are shifting within me. One of the key insights I have gained during this journey is learning to trust myself in trusting others who are willing to be sincere and honest as we all seek truth. The material is well-prepared, the prompts are meaningful, and the journey has been incredibly enriching, even though songwriting and music are not my main fields. But who knows in the near future, I love exploring new things…”

If all this is speaking to you in this moment I do hope you will join us for the second cohort of Song of the Self!

So I shot this video for Lament on Monday morning, bright and early. It was my second attempt, the first came a few days before but my energy was just not right. It has been an interesting process (for me at least) to try and find that flow state of lucidity when shooting.

I have my own rituals of coming back into the body, out of mind, that I enact to ready my self for songwriting, but I am finding shooting these videos somehow different, or at least more challenging to enter that “zone”.

My songwriting process is perhaps more carefree, or the mistakes don’t throw me off course as readily, but in shooting videos I find it very easy to lose my self in a tangent; in a way it’s like a tight rope walk of attention, the smallest thing can send you off balance and then the whole attempt becomes derailed.

I prepared notes but find I have to surrender into trusting what comes in the moment; again I did not say half the things I planned to, but this is OK, I see the act of making this video series as a learning process, a journey towards becoming not a final product, documenting the emergence of my own personal myth through inquiring into my songs.

I realise that this video is long, at 40 mins and it probably could/should be edited down into something snappier for the attention deficit generations. I realise as I sat before the computer to edit that I am not the one to do this, or at least not yet, I don’t have the objectivity of what to loose and what to keep, what’s valuable to another. Maybe someday I will have the cash flow to higher an editor, but for now I keep it pretty much as it comes, just a few micro edits when my vacant urrrrrrms get a bit too tedious.

My ambition is to get to a lucid mastert of speech where I don’t need to edit, I can just speak from the heart with articulate coherence. I believe I will find this, with practice. There are a few glimpses of what could be; I feel it within when I catch a wave of thought that carries me to a new horizon, a new idea, not another rote repetition, a rehearsed regurgitation of life’s story.

I believe we all have the potential to be born a new in the alchemy of each living moment; this thought brings me back to another, to quote myself from an earlier essay:

“What emerges in this intersection of past, present & future, Story & Song- is what I understand to be the mythopoetic revelation of the Self- where the timeless fuses with the time bound.”

So over the coming months I am committing to the process of creating these videos, I have an outlined plan of songs and stories I will cover, but exactly what will be said is again, emergent. Much is changing for me in this moment so I am leaving lots of space for the Song the Self may feel moved to sing in the moment.

If this video dialogue stirs any questions that you would like me to engage with in future videos, or if you have any requests, please drop a comment on the youtube!

P.S the video freezes for the final 10 mins, which was damn frustrating given that the conclusion holds some of the most potent thoughts… Not sure what happened, but I could see my Gopro was getting low on batteries whilst shooting: perhaps it’s a sign to keep future videos down to 30 mins max… better luck next time etc etc.

E