#ChristmasNo1
That's The Wonder Of You
The Wonder Of You, a song written in the late 50's, became a big hit for Elvis Presley in 1970. Somewhat forgotten since, the song got a new lease of life when it was recorded by the Irish band Villagers and appeared in the Big Little Lies (featuring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman).
The song was adopted by one of the BCP volunteer groups that visited Gorodishche in July 2017. When the song is listened to carefully, it tells a beautiful story of the relationship between the children of the orphanages and the volunteers of the Burren Chernobyl Project. A plan was born, in Summer 2017, to record the song and bring it to #ChristmasNo1.
The first verse of the song (sung by children from St. Conaire's and St. Tola's school choirs) tells us how the children of the orphanage feel misunderstood ("when no one else can understand me") but loved and consoled by the BCP teams ("you bring me hope and consolation"). The love of the children towards the volunteers is returned in the second verse (sung by BCP volunteers) where we hear them speak to the children about how their smile and touch brings joy ("and when you smile the world seems brighter, you touch my hand and I'm a King"). The chorus, sung by all, speaks simply of "The Wonder Of You". Voices of young children from Shannon introduce the CD as they speak on behalf of our children of Belarus, resigned to be where they are but so looking forward to the love of the volunteers ("I know no other way of life - or living . . . I ask if I can be with you . . . ").
More than 170 volunteers (children, adults, musicians, artists) were involved in bringing the project to life.
Recording in Studio13
Putting It Together
Two local schools in Shannon were asked to join the Project and to represent the children in the first verse and chorus of the song. We met with the teachers and pupils in September and a "good secret" was born - we were going to record a song and make a video that would become Christmas Number One in 2017 (why not reach to the stars!). It would be late October before we would record the kids, under the watchful eye of the Technical Coordinator - DJ.
Also in October, during a Humanitarian Air truck loading event in Ennistymon, we recruited BCP Volunteers to become our backing chorus for the second verse. Dressed in Christmas hats and jumpers, another part of the dream to be Number One was taking shape.
Vocals were recorded at Studio13 with Joanne taking the lead for the volunteer verse, I croaked a few notes to not feel left out.
With the help of a bunch of musicians (Emmet on drums, Dr. Moss on keys, DJ and I on guitars), and finally pulled together by Ed, the single was ready to be released on an unsuspecting world.
And Number One It Was!
There is a theory that "you should put it out there and the universe will take care of the rest". We had spoken about our song as if it was already number one but in reality we were looking for it to be a big deal for the kids that had become part of the dream (and most especially to raise funds for BCP). But what happened next led to sleepless nights, interviews and phone calls, meetings and "socialising with influencers"; and our song got to Number One in the Easy Listening charts and Number Two in the main charts (beating Ed Sheeran, and Selina Gomez!
The dream had become a reality and we managed to get played on local and national radio and TV channels.
The background & Original Song
Cuppa Tea TV proudly presents the "The Wonder Of You"...a story about the combination of a man's dream and a song used to bring light into the lives of kids and young adults that have touched his life.
