Faith
Faith is a trust in goodness and the power of love to hold everything - the wonderful and the awful. This song invites us to embrace this truth by ‘never saying no’. The upbeat feel is inspired by bands like Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan. Vocal layering as the song progresses echoes Judy Tzuke’s beautiful classic ‘For You’.
You can listen and download opposite - or scroll down to listen on Spotify, iTunes and other platforms. Downloads are free if you set the price to £0, but you can also choose to make a contribution, half of which I will pass on to Oxfam.
The song was inspired by Joy’s mindfulness and focusing practices. Find out more about the story of the song as well as the lyrics and liner notes below.
“The creativity in this is next level..... your sound has something rare and powerful ”
— Golden Songs
The Story Behind the song
To be honest, I can’t remember how this song came about. I think it must have been one of those ones where I just sat down at the piano and words and melody appeared. It feels like the song comes from nowhere. But of course it doesn’t. Experiences, books, things people have said - I absorb them all into my being and it is as if they get to know each other and start collaborating without my conscious awareness. Then one day, when the right moment appears, this alchemy manifests as a song.
I’m someone who has policed my inner world rather closely, censoring and pushing away the more difficult feelings for fear of being overwhelmed by them. But having studied mindfulness, focusing and other contemplative practices, I am now better equipped to hold life’s highs and lows. I think this song was my way of coaching myself to let my old guard down - to update my inner policeman and let them know that it is the time to stop saying ‘no’.
I have much clearer memories of the process of arranging and recording the song. I created the demo of the song with GarageBand. I’ve always loved songs where there is a backing vocal with a different melody and lyric that interweaves with the lead vocal. Judy Tzuke’s song ‘For you’ is a wonderful example of this. Inspired by this song I used the phrase ‘never saying no’ from the end of the first verse as the lyric for a backing vocal later in the song. I also used my recorder (an under-rated instrument in my view) to create another counter melody. It was when I added these two elements at the arrangement stage that the song really started to come to life for me and is one of the reasons that I chose it for this first EP.
When it came to recording I really wanted an upbeat feel and so the drums and percussion were a really important element. Drummer Fred Hill and producer Jake Skinner (also a drummer himself) did a great job of that and with organ, electric guitar and harmonies from Andy Stuart-Buttle the piece has really come together in the way I hoped. I hope you like it too!
Lyrics and liner notes
Verse 1
Are you willing to let the watchers go?
Do you dare to leave an open goal?
Will you let life write it’s story on your soul?
Never saying no, never saying no
Verse 2
Can you tell me you will let the feelings flow?
If I lead will you follow?
Do you believe me when I say the rope will hold?
Never let it go, I’ll never let it go
Bridge
Put your faith in bricks, but they’ll crumble all the same
Put your faith in dollars, but you can’t buy your way home
Put your faith in people, they’ll bring you joy, and they’ll bring pain
Put your faith in sweetness
And you will never be lost again
Verse 3
Are you willing to let the watchers go?
Do you dare to leave an open goal?
Will you let life write it’s story on your soul?
Never saying no, never saying
Instrumental
No, never saying no, never saying no, never saying no, never saying
No, never saying no, never saying, no, never saying no, never saying
No, never saying no, never saying no, never saying no, never saying
No, never saying no, never saying no
Verse 4
Are you willing to let the watchers go?
Do you dare to leave an open goal?
Will you let life write it’s story on your soul?
Never saying no, never saying no,
Lyrics and melody by Joy Jefford
Copyright: Joy MacKeith
Producer, sound recording, mixing and mastering: Jake Skinner (Echopine Music)
Lead vocals, backing vocals and recorder: Joy Jefford
Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals: Andrew Stuart-Buttle
Drums: Fred Hills
joy performs 'faith' at ep launch
“All intimate piano and centre stage vocals, warm grains, steady heart-beat kick and lyrics that reach for the light without pretending the dark isn’t there. Such a beautiful resolve there ”
— Rachel Colton, Hidden Harmonies, Future Hits Radio, 25th September 2025