🎵 ‘Face The Sun’: The Story Behind The Song 🌻

Hi Friends…

The Story Behind “Face The Sun” – And The Battle Of The Slugs!

Sarah asked me to write her a summertime song about sunflowers that she could listen to on her Apple Music playlist. She wanted something bright, cheerful and summery – a song that would capture her love of sunshine and those beautiful golden flowers…So, naturally, I got right on it!

I started writing about a little sunflower seed beneath the earth, waiting patiently for its chance to grow. From there, the song developed into a story about growth, resilience, facing difficult days and always reaching towards the light. The sunflower became a metaphor for life.

There will be storms. There will be cloudy days. There will be times when you can’t see what’s ahead. But you keep growing. You keep reaching. You keep turning towards the light. It was all coming together rather nicely…And then Sarah listened to one of the early drafts, and she had one very important suggestion.

“Everyone needs to know about the slugs.”

Of course they do my love. Because if you’ve ever followed Sarah’s love of sunflowers, you’ll know that growing them isn’t simply a case of planting a seed, watering it and sitting back waiting for a magnificent yellow flower to appear. There are enemies, hundreds of them…Slugs!! 😨

Apparently, the sunflower-lovin’ community needed to know about the hundreds of slugs that regularly turn up and attempt to destroy her growing sunflowers. So, before I made the final edit to the song, I added a verse:

But your roots are holding firmly
Though the slugs come out to feed
Twenty thousand tiny teeth
Won’t keep you from your dreams

I have to admit, I rather like that verse, lol. It’s probably the first time I’ve ever written a motivational song that includes a warning about gastropods…But strangely enough, it fits. Because the slugs aren’t just there for a laugh. They become part of the message. Something is always going to try to stop you growing.

But you keep growing. You keep reaching. And you face the sun.

Originally, this was simply a song for Sarah. She wanted something summery and sunflower-themed that she could add to her Apple Music playlist, and I wanted to create something that would make her smile whenever she heard it. But then we realised it could be something more. Sarah has her Sunshine & Sunflowers blog and Facebook page, where she shares her love of sunflowers with other people. So why not give everyone else a sunflower song to listen to as well?

A little song that started with a request from my wife and grew into something we could share with the sunflower community.

Listen to “Face The Sun”… wherever you stream 🎧

If this story and song resonated with you, and you’d like to listen again, you don’t have to keep coming back to YouTube. “Face The Sun” is also available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and many other streaming services. Whether you’d like to add it to your favourite playlist or simply listen on the platform you already use, you can choose your preferred service by clicking the link below:

Listen To: “Face The Sun” Wherever you stream music!

Thank you for listening, for sharing, and for helping this little sunflower song grow beyond where it first began. ❤️