Back in 2002 I made the acquaintance of lovely Tamara.

After a conversation with her one evening, I was walking back through the crowds on South Terrace – it was probably raining – working out this melody in my head. Somehow the melody picked up the lyrics for the old John Newton hymn “Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken”. Perhaps I was playing with the idea of glorious things that might be said! 🤣

I added the bass countermelody not long after – perhaps even later that same evening when I got home and had access to a piano and some manuscript paper.

I wrote out a fair copy – as best I could, my musical hand is only slightly less awful than my usual handwriting – and gave it to Tamara a few days later, hoping to catch her attention.

My piano teacher really liked this when I played it for him a few years later, but picked me up on the parallel fifths in the last line. Fair, but I like the shape of each line too much to change either of them.

And Tamara? Perhaps she was curious enough to play through the piece herself, or ask a friend to, but that’s some effort to put into an unusual gift from someone she barely knew.

I hope she received it as the unique gift and compliment I intended. I’ll always be glad she was the muse for this pretty little tune, and amused that – of all the possible grand gestures – I wrote a hymn tune!