Songs We Never Sang

A song to remember times that may have happened and things I just wished has happened.

Both of my parents were musicians, so you’d think music would have been the thing that brought us together. But life was more complicated than that. Mum disappeared for long stretches when she wasn’t well, and Dad spent so much of his life on the road that seeing him often felt like catching a train that was only in the station for a few minutes.

As a kid, I used to imagine the ordinary moments we’d missed. Singing in the car. Learning old songs together. Borrowing guitars, making up harmonies, laughing because someone forgot the words. Those are the songs in the title—the ones we never got to sing because we were never together long enough.

There’s sadness in that, but I don’t think it’s a bitter song. As I’ve got older, I’ve realised my parents loved me in the ways they knew how. Life just got in the way. Sometimes people can love each other and still miss out on the moments that matter most.

I think that’s something a lot of people understand. We all have memories we wish we’d made, traditions we wish we’d had, conversations we wish we’d shared.

The Songs We Never Sang is my way of remembering those moments anyway. They never happened, but somehow they still feel real enough to miss.