
The music I have written for One in the Crowd is to a poem by Kelly Hare who is from Safe Rescue for Dogs. I wrote a melody for the song and recorded and mixed my vocals and acoustic guitar at home. I felt so touched by Kelly’s heartfelt words - knowing that she has experienced first-hand what it is like to visit the dogs in the shelters - and was moved to help them raise funds and awareness for all the hard work this very small team do to save dogs in dreadful conditions:
I know you're in there
But my hands are tied
I know you're frightened
I see you hide
I know you're hungry
Too scared to eat
I know you're dirty
And afraid to sleep
Her words convey sadness and how terrified the dogs must feel in the shelters but there’s also hope; the possibility of starting a new life and putting their tough past behind them:
I know you're in there
You're just one in the crowd
I've seen you, I've noticed
Said your name out loud
One day I will come for you
Your turn will come
If you can just stay alive, don't give up
We're not done
Founded in January 2013, Safe Rescue for Dogs rescue, rehabilitate and re-home dogs from the UK and abroad. They highlight and educate about the plight of street dogs in Romania, fundraise for neutering campaigns and work with the rescuers when they can to make the shelters that the dogs live in as comfortable as possible in the conditions they live in.
The volunteers visit the shelters and get to know the dogs; in a shelter of 700 dogs they sadly can’t save them all and must choose who gets to live a new life and who must remain behind, hopefully for a later time. Hunger, disease, injury and death due to fights amongst the unsupervised dogs will end their stay at the shelter, often after months or years of existence in squalid conditions.
The team endeavour to do their best to match dogs with adopters to create harmonious and settled home lives for all involved. Run by volunteers they also hope to pursue active campaigning on welfare issues and are always looking for fosterers, fundraisers, home checkers, transporters and great items to auction.
As a small charity they rely solely on the kindness and generosity of people to enable them to carry on rescuing and caring for the dogs. If you would like to find out more, visit their website. saferescuefordogs.co.uk/
Here and also on YouTube you can watch an emotional and powerful video that Safe Rescue for Dogs have put together telling their moving story and giving an insight into the amazing work they do. It also features my recording of One in the Crowd: youtu.be/F3LYUV3RfUY
I’ve also done a little live acoustic performance from home here: https://youtu.be/-lMeRAwNNPQ
One in the Crowd audio version available to listen to on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lisaredford/lisa-redford-one-in-the-crowd