INTO THE LIGHT

1.	The opium of the people	4:39
2.	Kildonan Strath	5:27
3.	The lion of Donegal	6:10
4.	No forgiveness	2:17
5.	Eternity	6:44
6.	Light from the east	4:05
7.	The lost Road	3:59
8.	Masters of the universe	3:31
9.	The twilight of the gods	5:38
10.	Into the light	6:20

INTO THE LIGHT Songs

The opium of the people
Karl Marx famously called religion the opium of the people. The Polish poet, Czeslaw Milosz, replied "A true opium of the people is a belief in nothingness after death - the huge solace of thinking that our betrayals, greed, cowardice, murders are not going to be judged".

Kildonan Strath
I was born and grew up in the Strath of Kildonan in Sutherland, an area rich in archeological remains stretching back over thousands of years. Two hundred years ago it was also the scene of the some of the worst of the infamous Highland Clearances when people were evicted from their homes to make way for large sheep farms. People talk a lot now of conserving this "wilderness" area, not realising that it's a very recent creation.

The lion of Donegal
James Duffy from Donegal was my distant relation by marriage. He won the Victoria Cross (the highest British military award for bravery) during World War I. His life in returning to a changed Ireland after the war was not easy.

No Forgiveness
Forgiveness is one of the hardest things in life. But if we don't forgive, we can't expect to be forgiven. "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."

Eternity
As the new millennium dawned on New Years Day 2000, one of the first celebrations was in Sydney, Australia. Beamed around the world was one word lit in 50 foot high letters on Sydney Harbour Bridge - the word "Eternity". It had become a kind of motto of the city. This song tells the story of how that came about.

Light from the east
Korean pastor Rev TaeDae Yoon came to Scotland as a missionary (just as Scottish missionaries had gone to Korea in the past). In December 2016, he began 40 days of prayer for Scotland. On the shortest and darkest day of the year, 21 December, he died. It was my privilege to have known him. I wrote this in his honour.

The Lost Road
You know how sometimes you don't know which path to take in life, or if you're on the right track? An experience I had during one of the toughest times in my life, when a physical track became a metaphor for my inner struggles, proved the inspiration for this song.

Masters of the universe
This is an ironic take on many of the unquestioned "values" of the present day establishment (and has nothing to do with Marvel Comics!)

The twilight of the gods
The original version of this song was written years ago and lay unperformed and unrecorded for ages. I revisited it, rewrote the ending and changed some of the music, and I think it now expresses what I intended. It deals with a similar theme to the previous song, but in a story form - the inconsistency of the prevailing worldview in the West.

Into the light
In 2016 my friend Murdo Murchison was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. He started writing an online blog, and this song was inspired by the story of his life (many of the words and expressions are his own). He's "Flying high with undaunted heart into the light".