Stop what you are doing and give your full attention to one of the final winners of The International Songwriting Competition 2020 Winner who was chosen by Coldplay and Tom Waits. All The Queen’s Horses has written a masterpiece titled “Jocelyn.” From the first verse, it is clear why this song was chosen as one of the final winners of the songwriting competition. All The Queen’s Horses is completely deserving of this legendary title. The songwriting is on another level, bringing on the chills. All The Queen’s Horses successfully tells the tale of an Irish woman who immigrated to Long Island, United States. The lyrics paint a vibrant picture, sharing the story of Jocelyn and the world events that unfold around her. This is an unforgettable song and story.
All The Queen’s Horses explains his creativity and inspiration: “The background and context is you hear about those who emigrated to the States from Ireland in history who did well and made things of themselves. Conversely there were also a cohort of emigrants who absolutely did not do well as back then moving away from family was like a funeral. It struck me that those stories were are not as known. The song is about an Irish girl I had read about who moved to New York in the 60’s when the city was coming alive economically and culturally post the war. I can’t remember exactly where I read it (I want to say Cara magazine on an Aer Lingus flight) but always thought it was fascinating. She worked, sang, was loved and thrived over there in many ways and became part of the fabric of New York. An upstarter outgoing, character, resilent tough and travelled, however, in other ways she didn’t do well at all. Despite being Irish, larger than life, confident and immersing herself into the fabric of the people of New York City it hid another hidden side. She was young and left a family back home and suffered psychologically belonging to everyone but belonging to no one. She sadly killed herself in a Catholic bedsit that she stayed in Williamsburg. It just seemed like a story that needed to be told and that was my attempt. It was one of the first songs that I wrote.”
Listen to the song on Spotify now:
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Written by Ryan Cassata