Today, we said goodbye to my grandad.
He was a grounded, earthy soul... warm, witty, steady. The kind of person whose presence made a room feel safe. Hands that fixed things. A heart that held people quietly.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been walking with grief, memory, and music. Not trying to outrun them. Just letting them rise when they need to. Letting them speak. Letting them guide me somewhere softer, somewhere deeper. A song came from that place.
Somebody Out There is a reimagining of Coldplay’s Moon Music, rewritten and recorded for the moment of reflection at his funeral.
I didn’t want to honour him with heaviness. I wanted space. Light. Something that feels like a soul continuing its journey — returning to nature, to peace, to love.
I used to play this piece on the piano at my grandparents’ house, and he’d listen and say, “What’s that? I like that.” There was something in those chords that stirred something in him, and in me. It stayed. So I reshaped it into something new, for this moment.
It’s a song about letting go. About trusting that love doesn’t end when a body does. That there’s more to this life than we can see. That death, in its quiet way, might be a doorway... not a full stop.
These are the words I wrote for him:
Somebody Out There
Once upon a time, I tried to get myself together
Be more like the sky and welcome every kind of weather
Be more eagle-like and find the flight in every feather
Once upon a time, but I’m still tryin’ to get better
Maybe I’m just grateful, got to watch my family grow
Sit beneath the trees and feel the warmth of the love below
I’m tryin’ to trust in the heavens above
I’m tryin’ to trust in a world full of love
Follow the light as it calls me away
To the place where the stars and the memories stay
Is anyone out there? I’m close to the end
I’ll be somebody out there. The love will never end
I’ll leave a link below for anyone who’d like to listen, whether you knew my Grandad or not.
Let it be a moment to breathe. To remember. To trust in what can’t always be explained.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for feeling. Thank you for loving the ones who are no longer here in body, but still so present in spirit.