Cygnet Lodge Lewisham’s new Christmas Lullaby
The song is about coming together, showing gratitude, and giving thanks to the people in our lives – both colleagues, peers, and residents.
The service’s Music Facilitator, Jack King worked closely with Sam, a service user, with a pair of guitars to create an initial chord sequence and song structure.
After recording an initial backing track Sean, another service user, was given the challenge to come up with seasonal lyrics that also incorporated Cygnet’s values of Integrity, Trust, Empower, Respect and Care.
With the lyrics and chord structure in place, musicians including both service users and staff, recorded their instruments. These included piano, guitar, trumpet, and sleigh bells! A merry band of vocalists from the psychology, occupational therapy, and catering teams, together with support workers and service users, all came together and recorded backing vocals to sit behind Sean’s seasonal lyrics. The whole song was recorded on Jack’s pop up studio.
Finally, another service user, Louis, offered the use of his technical skills and professional knowledge to record video footage of the song being performed in the therapy cabin. Being a one man powerhouse, he took the footage and edited together a fantastic, fun, and rather rambunctious music video.
Cygnet Lodge Lewisham’s Hospital Manager, Will Anderson-White, said: “This is co-production in its finest form and a true testament to the therapeutic relationships and togetherness culture we foster at Lewisham.
“Massive kudos to our talented Music Facilitator, Jack – you have helped create something extremely special.”
Jack said: “Working with such a big group of people, both staff and service users, was a truly joyful experience.
“What I love about this project is that the service users had a huge part to play in every stage of the process. With Sean, Sam, and Louis taking the lead in their departments (lyric writing, chord progression, and video making)
“Harnessing people’s individual strengths in this way created a sense of team work that transcended the familiar dynamic of service users and staff. There was a lot of trust and respect between all involved and we’re just so happy to share and show off what is possible when people from different departments and disciplines come together.
“I look forward to working on more projects like this in 2025.”
Cygnet Lodge Lewisham is a high support inpatient rehabilitation (level 2) service for men. The service supports individuals who have a range of mental health difficulties, in a quiet residential area overlooking the beautiful Lewisham Park.
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