Brady Kent Podcasts 'Unpicked in 5'

This is my view of a well-known event from a different angle. i.e. The sinking of the Titanic ship in 2 hours and 40 mins in 1912, 370 miles off Newfoundland in Cananda.
The main character in my song is a Mr J Bruce Ismay, who became known as the ‘Coward of the Titanic’. At the time, he was President of The White Star Line, the company that owned the Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage 
Mr Ismay was also originally involved in the ships design, demanding a reduction in the number of lifeboats from 48 to 20, for so called aesthetic reasons.
Somehow, Mr Ismay and his wife, survived in Lifeboat C, whilst 1500 other unfortunate souls died in the ice-cold waters.
This led to public vilification, despite his claims that he tried to help others. The disaster destroyed his reputation,leaving him to spend the rest of his life in isolation in Ireland
The story of the song starts in his cabin on the boat, as the ship crashes into the iceberg.
At this point Mr Ismay reportedly, ignored the traditional ships orders of ‘women and children first’
With the help of a £5 bribe, he and his wife and a member of the crew, launched their own lifeboat in order to survive amongst the chaos.
But significantly, the lifeboat was only half full and he could have gone back to save many others.
Afterwards he claimed, ‘no children were begging for mercy’
However, this led to widespread public suspicion and ridicule.
Mr Ismay spent the rest of his life alone, fishing on the river 
Later in life as a stroke, left him unconscious and blinded


Pod 1  Why did you pay the man in the lifeboat

This is my view of a well-known event i.e. The chain saw felling of the Sycamore Gap Tree in Sept 2023, along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. A place I know well, having walked the wall.
As the most photographed tree in the UK, its solitary picturesque silhouette, had become a cultural symbol across the world, appearing in films like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
It was also the last place I spent some time with a good friend from University, who sadly died soon after. The tree was a place of pilgrimage and natural wonder.
Daniel Graham and Adam Cruthers were each sentenced to 4 years in prison, for causing criminal damage. The public reaction was one of profound shock and anger. It was an act of mindless vandalism, that made no sense to anyone. Even now the world is still in mourning and I continue to mourn my friend
The story of the song starts with one of the defendants claim that ‘it was just another tree'. There was ‘no warning in the breeze’. It was a ‘moronic mission, a savage, senseless act’.
The ‘sense of loss’ from a tree ‘cut down in disbelief’, left ‘the world numbed by grief’’
A ‘gaping hole to the eye’ is a symbol to ‘the two traitors’ who felled the tree
The song demands ,’ Cross out the wrong words. Say sorry, say sorry’   and ‘shout it out from the roof tops’.
It goes on to say ‘People like us, should make a stand’
I suppose in the end; we all lost a bit of faith in humanity. I know I did
The Sycamore tree was ,’A cherished part of history, Loved and so admired’



Pod 2 Just another tree

This is another attempt at apolitical song- allowing the  listeners to make up their own mind about an issue. This is a song about the Kamikaze pilot suicide attacks on allied shipping at the in 1944/45. The word Kamikaze means ‘divine wind’.
Japan was losing the war,  so Vice Admiral Onishi proposed using young pilots to fly planes packed with explosives into enemy ships. They were 21 years old ‘volunteers’ on a divine mission. There task was carried out with great ceremony involving keepsakes, prayers, a last meal, white headbands and so on. Only average students were selected to avoid using up clever students or picking ones unable to fly.
4000 pilots died sinking about 50 ships, damaging a further 300, with 5000 allied sailors killed and 5000 injured ( the biggest loss in the war). However,  this was  also a catalyst for the dropping of the atomic bomb which killed ca 300,00 people over time.
Absolute loyalty to Emperor Hirohito ( the supreme leader)  was a key issue, with personal sacrifice seen as the highest honour. The pilots we dying for him and Japan. He survived and visited the USA in 1975
‘The only way to win the war’ was the phrase used to try and break American will power, but in reality, hardened their attitude to using the bomb as ‘the only way to win the war’, leading to surrender. 
The song starts with the ten Kamikaze pilots are that are still alive. Then the lines , ‘Dont cry for me mother, it was expected of me ‘ ‘Like falling cherry blossom , the price we pay for peace’.
‘To die with honour, a letter to my family’. ‘Sacrificed to fight the enemy’ ‘Young pilots sworn to avenge’ – albeit only those with average test results. Flying as ‘war Gods and mighty eagles’
I then talk about some of the scared customs and keepsakes whilst posing the question, ‘ Shameful or heroic, willing to die for a nation’
I guess the words ‘time for reflection’ and ‘acceptance of death is a spiritual duty’ are probably a bit too much to absorb for anyone.Most of the pilots left a will for their family, I  also use this as a ‘will for humanity’ i.e. We should all remember what these young men were asked to do and the consequences of their actions.
A difficult song to write. I started to write it from the perspective of my son Thomas being one of the pilots, but I gave up as I could not do it justice, and it was a bit upsetting.



Pod 3 The only way to win the war

‘Not another love song’, I hear you cry. So, this is my first attempt to write a ‘political or protest song’, following in the wake of songs like Blowing in the Wind, Give peace a chance, What's going on and War by Edwin Starr, with the famous line ‘what is it good for, absolutely nothing !’
This song was prompted by a  comment from the local Mayor in Calais, who claimed migrants were willing to risk all to reach their ‘El Dorado’ in the UK.
There are about 280m international migrants worldwide, i.e. people escaping poverty and persecution) from well over 100 countries. 120,000 people have made it across the English Channel ( since 2018) with 60-100 deaths. Of course, it’s now a topic of fierce political debate, not least in the UK, for both legal and illegal immigrants.
My song is from the perspective of desperate people in a boat in a storm in the cold and the dark. It touches on political issues, but its mainly about ‘ a tragic, end of life night mare’. 
The man’s wife and a baby boy both die, when the boat overturns.
Alas, I offer no solution to the overall problem
The story of the song starts with people making the leap, to reach their El Dorado, before following them in their journey across the English Channel  ( or any other stretch of water around the world)
The boat is overcrowded, the sea is rough, its black and cold and they are barely afloat.
They are just waiting for the engine to cut out, whilst brutal gangs are recruiting, the next boat load
The boat overturns, whilst emotions erupt in the news about even more boat people arriving.
The water was eight degrees and wild. The man’s  wife and a new born baby are lost at sea
The man ‘wished he had cried more, when he heard about the baby boy.’
More political debate and people playing the blame game
In the meantime, coastguards continue to search.




Pod 4 Migrant baby born in a dinghy

This is a sad, sentimental song ,which listeners tell me, has made them cry. It’s my attempt to look at a subject from another point of view. It’s adapted from one of my early poems
The Vietnam war lasted for nearly 9 years ending in 1975, after five Presidents. Albeit the conflict started 10 years earlier. Ho Chi Minh ( a communist revolutionary in the north) rebelled against French Colonial Rule to demand independence for Vietnam, whilst the Americans feared the domino effect and the rise of communism.
About 1.4m Vietnamese soldiers died on both sides and 58,000 US soldiers. The total death toll rises to 2.5m if you include all sides and civilians.1968 saw a shift in US public support, with gaps between govt statements and news footage and with rising casualty numbers. The war was becoming personal for many US families. The Tet offensive and The My Lai Massacre, ( the murder of 500 civilians by US troops) ,  raised big questions about US involvement and led to an anti-war movement. 
Nixon's expansion of the war into Cambodia and National Guard shootings at Kent and  Jackson State Universities, galvanised the opposition. The war as seen as a ‘mistake’
Returning Veterans were greeted with hostility, spitting, verbal abuse and condemnation. They were called baby killers, murderers and war criminals. Many suffered from PTSD and Agent Orange exposure. The draft was mainly from poor, working class youth.
PS my favourite social protest song is Marvins Gay ‘What's going on’ – about his brother in Vietnam, family problems, and anti-war protests
‘We can never ever, hope to feel the void. I still remember the day I was told’. The toughest job is to tell the parents’ is how the story is told. These are the words in the song of grieving US parents, told that their son is dead. It must have been much the same for the 1.4 m Vietnamese parents.
A long time afterwards the father says, ‘I sill cry and it’s been over 40 years. ‘I will never again celebrate Fathers' day.’
The parents hold on to ‘I think of the last night I was with you’ and ‘Your framed picture sits alongside the flag’
Finally, they ( like the US public) being to question the war and the reason for their son’s involvement and his death.
He asks question like ‘‘When you went to war, did you kill anyone’. ‘God, why don’t I get any answers’ ‘ I don’t care about medals’
He also suggests ‘ Your Mother still thinks you will return’ – the pain must have been unbearable

Pod 5 We regret to inform you

There are about 58,000 nannies working in the UK and about 75,000 au pairs. This dropping by quite a lot due to Brexit and a change in immigration laws. A nanny is seen as professional employee, whereas an au pair is a someone on a cultural exchange visit.
Generally, au pairs receive pocket money or a small allowance and works an average 30 hours a week and unlike a nanny is not required to have a formal qualification. They always live in , whereas nannies normally  live out. Au pairs are also expected to help with light housework. The phrase au pair  means ‘on equal terms’
The concept of the au pair started in the late 19th century, where women were brought into rich families to help the children learn a new language. Switzerland was the center of most of this activity. The role was formally recognized by the EU in 1971 for the purpose of cultural exchange. Many of the au pairs working in the UK are from France but this has ground to a halt in recent years. Post Brexit the role has no official visa status and no official legal immigration channel. Dedicated agencies have now stopped placing au pairs  and there are now visa barriers that require a min wage, which is higher than the pocket money that au pairs receive. About 20% of all married men in the UK admit to having had an affair at some point in their lives. Cheating is the most common reason for divorce with 33% of all divorces due to one or the other partner having had an affair, usually men. 44% of all unmarried women in the UK have engaged in infidelity. People have affairs due to emotional dissatisfaction, loss of intimacy, low self esteem, unresolved anger or a desire for revenge or its simply an ‘exit affair’. Often there has been a communication breakdown, people have grown part or taken each other for granted. Opportunity and circumstance play a big part as does major events or times of crisis.
This is song about a French au pai that previously worked for a yuppy English couple in   Chiswick, West London He has a good job in the city and they have two children. The beautiful au pai was called Sophie. This a song written like a whispering conversation between the husband and Sophie, ten years  after she returned to France. Albeit I used a female singer to keep it gentle and  feminine. I was really pleased with the result, which is a bit different  to most songs. The conversation starts with ‘Hi Sophie, I’m calling you for a reason. Do you remember, your time in London’  and then, ‘I called out your name in bed, on her birthday’. This has clearly rocked his marriage, so much so that his wife now wants to call Sophie and discuss events from ten years ago. 
It tuns out he wants to come clean, albeit after he shouted out Sophies name in bed. He sings, ‘I said, I don’t want any lies between us’ –now  that’s that very good of him !
He seems to be explaining to his wife and reminding Sophie how it innocently began 
i.e. ‘It started with a simple walk in the park. Putting on makeup, going out after dark. Sophie, I finally told her about the affair. About sleeping with our French au pair. You always made me laugh so much. Now asking me questions, about my crush’
Funny how he relegates the issue to ‘ a crush’’ and of course, like all cheaters, there is no mention at all about his children and the effect on them and their lives.
Our fallen hero now starts to feel sorry for himself ( that’s the norm ) and pleads to keep the marriage together , ‘I’m terrified she is now going to leave me.I’m being judged, turning two into three. I asked her to forgive me, to defuse the tension. To try and face the blows, to learn a lesson’. The songs ends abruptly ! – its all too little too late, I'm afraid.

Pod 30 Sophie, I called out your name

Brady Kent is a  Song Lyricist 
Books. Songs. Podcasts. Working with Guest Muscians

Pod 30 Sophie, I called out your name

Brady Kent - Song Lyrics Writer