Listen & feel · 4 min 59 sec
One Calm Face
See me. Not the fight.
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Behind the song
A song about helping a child arrive.
A handover or change between homes, visits or caregivers can ask a child to leave somebody they love and arrive with somebody they love—all within a few minutes.
One Calm Face is an invitation to let the child land before questions, interpretations or adult history rush in: soften your shoulders, lower your voice and make the first moments feel steady enough to arrive.
After listening
Help them land.
How can my face, voice and first few minutes tell my child: you have arrived, and you do not need to carry what belongs to the adults?
Let the bag come down before the questions begin. Offer a drink, a little space or quiet company, and give their body time to catch up with the change.
Accessible wordsRead the lyrics to One Calm Face
The words are provided so the song can still be followed without hearing the audio.
Cold open
I know when we’re nearly thereYour hands change on the wheelYou tell me everything’s okayBut I already knowhow you feel
Verse one
My bag is sitting by my feetI see them waiting up aheadYou both have things you’re thinkingThat nobody has to sayOne goodbye feels a little heavyOne hello is waiting thereAnd for those few small secondsI’m walkingthrough everything in the air
Pre-chorus
You see each otherI see both of youYou see everything that’s happenedI just seethe people that I love
Chorus
Give me one calm faceto walk towardOne soft voicethat lets me landDo not make me carry the weatherFrom one set of doorsto the nextYou do not have to fix each otherYou do not have to make it rightWhatever belongs to the grown-upsLet it waitoutside my timeWhen I cross the space between youPlease see meNot the fightGive me one calm faceto walk towardAnd somewhere safeto arrive
Verse two
Maybe I come in really quietMaybe I talk a mile a minuteMaybe I drop my bag and disappearBefore I’ve even settled inMaybe I look angryMaybe I need a little spaceI just left somebody that I loveAnd now I’m tryingto change my paceSo before the questions start comingBefore you search my words for cluesLet me put my things downLet me findmy way back to you
Pre-chorus
I do not need to carry messagesI do not need another sideI need a minuteto stop travellingAnd feel likeI’ve arrived
Chorus
Give me one calm faceto walk towardOne soft voicethat lets me landDo not make me carry the weatherFrom one set of doorsto the nextYou do not have to fix each otherYou do not have to make it rightWhatever belongs to the grown-upsLet it waitoutside my timeWhen I cross the space between youPlease see meNot the fightGive me one calm faceto walk towardAnd somewhere safeto arrive
Bridge
I just said goodbyeto somebody I loveTo come and bewith somebody I loveEven when everything goes wellThat’s still a lotfor a little heartSo if my feelings spill out sidewaysIf I cannot tell you what I needDo not make my first few minutesCarry everythingthat happened before me
Bridge build
Let your shoulders dropLet your voice come downSave the grown-up wordsfor when I’m not aroundYou can deal with all of thatWhen this moment has gone byBut right nowI’m looking at youTo knowif I am alright
Final chorus
Give me one calm faceto walk towardOne safe placefor me to landI have crossed enoughbetween youWithout holdingwhat I do not understandYou do not have to fix the pastYou only have to see me nowWhatever belongs to the grown-upsDoes not needto follow me insideWhen I cross the space between youPlease see meNot the fightGive me one calm faceto walk towardBe the safe placeFor tonight
Outro
The handover might befive minutes to youBut I’m leaving one worldAnd entering anotherGive me a minuteGive me your calmSee meI’m here
Spoken outro
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