How hard is it to make sure Roma Ryan comes up with lyrics that you feel comfortable singing?
There are certain lyrics that are more sort of obvious than others. Like the song in Gaelic (Deora ar mo Chroi), when I wrote that melody, it was very much in the frame of a traditional Irish song, very much in the frame of a lament, where the women used to lament the loss of someone or someone emigrating. That’s the feeling I got, that the song was going to have that feel and be sung in Gaelic. And Flora’s Secret, that was totally a theme inspired by Roma listening to the melody and the arrangement as it was progressing. She thought this was a very positive, lively piece of music, and when she came with the lyrics and the title, I immediately asked, like everyone has been asking me, “What is Flora’s secret?” She told me that Flora is the girl’s name, and she’s in the long grass with her lover this is their secret place to meet. They’re surrounded by flowers, and the goddess of flowers is Flora, too, and she’s the only one to know the secret of these flowers and these lovers. I thought
