Tom Sweeney shares words of hope with new song

Tom Sweeney has written and recorded a new song to remind people there is ‘A Better Day’ ahead.

While families are going through times of grief and sorrow, unable to see friends or hug a loved one, Tom wanted to offer a vision of hope and comfort through this song.

The Omagh musician has also been spreading joy and positivity to his neighbours and Facebook live followers every Thursday night with a half hour concert on his doorstep as he counts down to the 8pm ‘Clap For Carers’.

Tom said, “I wrote ‘A Better Day’ last week to hopefully bring some comfort that we will come out the other side of this.

“I think what we all miss most is the small things; they become very meaningful as people put life in perspective.

“Things that seemed insignificant and trite in normal times took on a huge significance when we were faced with isolation and uncertainty.

“Not being able to visit our loved ones or give our children and grandchildren a hug, taking a leisurely stroll into the town and having an outdoor coffee with friends.

“It’s only when they were taken away from us that we saw their true value. I wrote ‘A Better Day’ thinking about this.”

Tom hopes when we come out of the Covid crisis, people will have a different outlook on life and “hopefully society as a whole will be more caring and kinder.”

Tom joked that he is still learning the words to his new lockdown inspired song, but may play it during one of his weekly doorstep gigs.

“I thought it would be a good idea to sing some songs for everyone in the build up to the applause each Thursday evening,” he explained.

“I play from about 7.30pm and stop for the 8pm applause for the frontline healthcare workers.

“Many of the neighbours stay after to talk to each other for a while which is great.

“One positive from all this is that community spirit is shining through.”

The residents of Sperrin Park now look forward to the weekly session of songs and with the PA system the sound travels to other areas and parks as well.

“It gives people a great lift and takes their minds off the reality of Covid-19 for a while,” said Tom.

“The real heroes are those who put themselves in the front line every day at risk to themselves and their families, their selflessness is beyond words.”

Word of the Thursday performance soon spread on social media and requests began to come in from far and wide to share it on these platforms – it is sometimes viewed by thousands of people now.

“I am not very good at modern technology,” Tom laughed.

“But my wife Frances figured out how to ‘livestream’ the songs and we couldn’t believe that people could see them all over the world. Omagh people were sending live greetings from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and all over the UK to share our solidarity with the magnificent health workers everywhere.”

Listen to A Better Day here… https://soundcloud.com/tom-sweeney-620790935/a-better-day?fbclid=IwAR3wzVUAPioz8MrLMeN_YRxnyATGdEopwJ91Snuuz14yi6YUQe0WiilPRZY