Port Songs

PORT SONGS

We love Newport — it's a city worth singing about!

So we created a special song cycle, working with groups of young people from Newport and the operasonic team - composer Stacey Blythe, soprano Sam Hay and director Rhian Hutchings.

Port Songs was composed by Stacey Blythe, members of Defying Gravity, students from Year 8 at St Julian's School, young people who took part in Easter songwriting workshops, and The Really Cuckoo Company.

Port Songs was performed at the Big Splash Festival in Newport on Saturday 30th May 2015.

You can hear the songs on our Soundcloud Playlist

Dragon's Breath
written by pupils at St Julian's School
THE CASTLE IS MADE OF STONE
THE BRIDGE IS MADE OF METAL
THE ROAD IS MADE OF CONCRETE
THE RIVER OF MUD
THE DRAGON BREATHES FIRE
BUT NEWPORT DID NOT BURN

Newport Ideas
written by Edith, Sam, Rhiannon, Carys, Morgana and Oscar
The amphitheatre in Caerleon - you can play hide and seek so easily
The library and museum - stone age and Roman stuff - good artifacts - it tells their stories
The Roman Legion museum - we did a murder mystery there
Nofit State Circus - I do classes there, it makes me happy
The Riverfront Theatre - I like performing - I was Annie
The bluebell forest - a summer carpet of bluebells makes me happy to see them
UN DAU TRI, UNO DOS TRES, YEK DOO SAY, PIANO AND PRESTO
The Newport bridge - I spent the summer watching the river - from mudflats to high enough to touch
Twmbarlwm - it’s a magical trail with woods below - you can see all of Newport from up there
NANNY AND PUMPY, GRAMPS AND NANA, MAMGI AND GRANDAD, AND MY ABLUELA
The Transporter Bridge - a spiderweb with a gondala - you can climb right to the top
Tredegar House - Lady Tredegar thought she was bird
UN DAU TRI, UNO DOS TRES, YEK DOO SAY, PIANO AND PRESTO
NANNY AND PUMPY, GRAMPS AND NANA, MAMGI AND GRANDAD, AND MY ABLUELA
My mum started a new company called operasonic - we went to centre parks for Pumpy’s 70th birthday
We went to a welsh school - I learned to ride my bike in Tredegar Park
UN DAU TRI, UNO DOS TRES, YEK DOO SAY, PIANO AND PRESTO
I went to my friend’s nans house - my sister got taught by Circque Eloise so now she can juggle 4 balls for ages
We toured with WNO Hansel and Gretel - I did my grade 1, 2, 3 & 4 exam in Newport
NANNY AND PUMPY, GRAMPS AND NANA, MAMGI AND GRANDAD, AND MY ABLUELA
I was a mascot for the Argentinian rugby team in front of five thousand people in the millennium stadium
I learned to speak posh and Spanish in Cardiff where my parents met
I learned to ride a bike at Bellevue Park - I am part of a brass band in the YMCA
UN DAU TRI, UNO DOS TRES, YEK DOO SAY, PIANO AND PRESTO
NANNY AND PUMPY, GRAMPS AND NANA, MAMGI AND GRANDAD, AND MY ABLUELA - DON’T FORGET GRANNY AND POPPA

I Just Like Newport
written by members of Defying Gravity
GLAN USK PRIMARY AND MUSEUMS
YSGOL CYMRAEG CASNEWYDD
AMAZING BUILDINGS,
RODNEY PARADE AND THE RIVERFRONT
IT’S A LOVELY CITY
I WAS BORN HERE

I JUST LIKE NEWPORT
I JUST LIKE NEWPORT
I LIKE MY FRIENDS
I PLAY WITH GRACIE
I PLAY WITH ELLIE
I LOVE NATURE

NEWPORT HARRIERS, PIANO LESSONS
EATING CHOCOLATE AND SINGING
CHEERLEADING, WATCHING RUBGY
MY STUDENTS ARE FANTASTIC

I JUST LIKE NEWPORT, I JUST LIKE NEWPORT
I LIKE SWIMMING
I LIKE GOING TO BEAVERS
LET’S GO DANCING WITH CHICKENS
I JUST LIKE NEWPORT
WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF NEWPORT

Transported by Delight
written by a Newport Resident

Door to the Dream
written by Liam and Isaac
walking down the street, we come to a bright and colourful shop
antiques and second hand stuff
we come across an old wooden object enriched with shiny gold
and eagerly we want to buy it
behind the table was a shrivelled old man looking intently at us
wearing long sea-blue robes and an orange pair of shades with blue rims
he asked us “what would you guys like?”
his movements were as if he were the very sea itself
we replied hastily “We want that box.”
so the man gracefully led us over to the box
without hesitation we followed him
he disappeared
It felt like ages before he swished back into our view
he held a large bag glistening like the sun
in the bag was a red and black globe
filled with unknown golden sand, not of this earth
WE’VE ONLY KNOWN THIS MAN A FEW MINUTES
WE’RE BUYING AN UNKNOWN OBJECT
I’M WORRIED ABOUT EVERYTHING
THERE’S NO SIGN ON THE DOOR
WE DON’T KNOW WHAT HE’S SELLING
BUT I’M TEMPTED, TEMPTED TO BUY IT
WORRIED ABOUT EVERYTHING
TEMPTED , TEMPTED TO BUY IT

Defying Gravity
written by members of Defying Gravity
I LIKE SCHOOL, I LIKE MY FRIENDS
SUCH NICE PLACES TO WALK IN NEWPORT
THE RIVERFRONT AND THE SHOPS
EATING OUT WITH FRIENDS IN NEWPORT
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER I WENT TO THE PARK
WITH MY GRANDPA - HE TAUGHT ME TO RIDE A BIKE
DANCING AND CHEERLEADING
I’VE ALWAYS DANCED
MY FIRST COMPETITION
I CAN STILL REMEMBER
UP IN NORTH WALES AND THE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SCRAPBOOK
I MOVED HERE FROM CYRUS
STRAIGHT INTO YEAR EIGHT
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER I WENT TO THE PARK
WITH MY GRANDPA - HE TAUGHT ME TO RIDE A BIKE
KEEPING FIT, PARTYING AND DEFYING GRAVITY

Twmbarlwn
written by pupils at St Julian's School
I LIKE TWMBARLWM
LOOK DOWN YOU’LL SEE
THE MAGICAL TRAILS
SIDE BY SIDE WITH ME
I LIKE TWMBARLWM
EVERYWHERE YOU GO
WITH ALL THE NATURE SURROUNDING YOU
THERE’S NO OTHER PLACE TO GO
TWMBARLWM IS THE PLACE
HE GOT DOWN ON ONE KNEE
HE ASKED MY MUM TO MARRY HIM
SHE SAID YES PLEASE

Love and Stuff
written by The Really Cuckoo Company
SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS
LOVE AND STUFF, HOME
LOVE AND STUFF, HOME
ESCAPING IN THE MUSIC, VISITING HISTORY
I LIKE DOING ART - I CREATE MY OWN WORLD
WHERE EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE
MEGAPHOBIA IN OAKWOOD
I LOVE SEEING MONKEYS AND I LIKE SNAKES
spoken: Why does everyone care about the hamster when the Siamese fighting fish are so much more exotic?
LOVE AND STUFF, HOME
LOVE AND STUFF, HOME
I LIKE PERFORMING SHAKESPEARE PLAYS
MISSISSIPPI MUD PIES ALL DAY LONG
I LIKE NIBBLING JAMMY DODGERS
MY ROOM IS MY UPTOPIA
I JUST LIKE WALKING ROUND RISCA
LONG BEACH WALKS DOWN THE GOWER
JUMPING ON MY TRAMPOLINE
FEELS LIKE FLYING, EXPLORING THE OUTSIDE WORLD
spoken: why does everyone call me egg?
LOVE AND STUFF, HOME
LOVE AND STUFF, HOME

The Incredible Future of Newport
written by pupils from St Julian's School
FALLING DOWN BUILDINGS
BUT NEW ONES OCCURRING
GOT TO GET NEWPORT IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE
IN THE END IT’S GOING TO BE BETTER
SAFER FOR PEOPLE TO WALK AROUND
SAFELY, SAFELY
THE INCREDIBLE FUTURE OF NEWPORT
THE INCREDIBLE FUTURE OF NEWPORT