February 2023

In 2017 at the advanced age of 73, I had a totally unexpected and
unsought inspiration to write Christian lyrics for Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’.
After being thoroughly shocked at the report on Premier Radio that the
song's nihilistic words had become the most popular secular song at
funerals I began to get hopeful lines parodying Paul Anka’s wretched
verses that, apparently, even Sinatra had grown to hate in his latter
years. I wondered what song I would want to be remembered by and
began to write the words down alongside the original lyrics, resulting in
‘His Way’, seven new verses which, unintentionally were my personal
testimony after more than fifty years as a believer. Over the next weeks
and months I was prompted on hearing other smash hit numbers and,
even getting up in freezing conditions in the middle of the night, felt
compelled to write them down.

​

By Christmas I had written five parodies plus what turned out to be my
first original composition ‘I Know My Lord is Coming Soon’. It quickly ran
through my mind, unwittingly at the time, to the old hymn tune of The
Church’s One Foundation, somewhat inconveniently as my wife, Chris and
I were getting ready to go to our church carol service. I scribbled down
maybe three verses verbatim but, although I had others that there was
not time to write, we dashed to church. I knew it was no coincidence as
the first Bible reading was the apocalyptic Isaiah 9, 1-7 which had long
been my favourite Christmas passage, announcing not only Jesus’s birth
but his Millenium Kingdom which was the inspiration for my writing that
morning. On getting back home I wrote the substantial part of the other
verses. In 2020 I replaced ‘earthquakes’ with the tyranny word of the
moment, Lockdown, to the biblical scale disasters in verse 5.

As I had never dreamed of writing songs and don't sing or play music I
nevertheless, felt sure the lyrics I had saved were not to remain locked in

the files of my laptop, I spent two years praying and contacting well-
known worship leaders to explore if the lyrics were worthy of publication

and if they could advise me. Although I had some encouragement most
only recorded their own or other professional lyricist's work. I was given
more than one warning that I could be pursued by powerful publishers of
the original works and that when Cliff Richard had sung a parody of My
Way at a concert in Berlin he never sang it again after a threatened
injunction. I don’t suppose Cliff will ever read this but I don’t doubt that
many fans would love to hear it now as there is no law that prevents it.

Undaunted by these considerable obstacles an unexpected invitation to
the CRE (Christian Resources Exhibition) in Manchester in 2019 provided a breakthrough at last. After a harrowing rail journey hindered by the previous night’s damaging storm an unscheduled termination at Crewe caused me to miss the music seminar I was headed for. Clutching my lyric sheets and a letter of introduction I hurried doggedly towards the three stands I had decided to concentrate on. Although I was politely received at a chance meeting with Andy
Hawthorne of Delirious and personally encouraged to press on by former
Eurovision winner Dana at the seminar pavilion I was eventually able to
leave my precious sheets with worship leader Nicky Whyman at the Ministry of Music stand.

Then, for three months, nothing! Until an email from Kim at MoM in May
with one of my parodies ‘You Took the Chains from My Heart’ interpreted
by Nicky in a voice note on her phone and an introduction to her publisher
the exact one I had been attempting to contact for the past three months.
Since that fateful day, the lyrics and many more have been professionally
crafted and released by the publishers, Homegrown Worship and Resound
Media in Gloucester, despite considerable Lockdown obstacles.

I had indelibly imprinted on my mind that music can reach where
preachers cannot. When I entered into an initial contract to produce my
first five parodies Andy Baker, head of HomeGrown Worship challenged
me to write and collaborate with him and other worship leaders to write
twelve original songs in the following year. I was not sure if I would be
able to take this on as I only wrote when I had received inspiration from

the Lord. It was quite a step of faith to agree, especially as the not-
inconsiderable cost would be borne by me! God works in mysterious ways

and I was left a small legacy in 2019 when my dear Mom went to be with
the Lord at the age of 98 so I saw no reason to turn down the
opportunity. I have since enjoyed the exhilarating, and sometimes
exhausting, experience of writing both original material and sitting down
together, or online during Lockdown, collaborating with other Christian
singers, songwriters and musicians from the USA, South Africa and The
Netherlands as well as throughout the UK. Apart from the ready-made
tunes of the parodies, all but two needed specially composed
tunes/melodies added by the brilliant team at HGW.

In 2021, a song I had written after a long dark night of unrelenting trials
‘When the Morning Comes’ had, to my complete surprise, been nominated
by judges and listeners as a ‘Song of the Year’ Finalist in the StepForward
Christian Music Awards in the company of well-known worship leaders
such as Matt Redman and Rend Collective with the winner being Philippa
Hanna with ‘You’re Still God’. That was OK with me as Phillippa’s
successful Christian parody of the Ed Sheeran smash hit ‘Perfect’ had
encouraged me to press on with my quest to record parodies regardless

of the albatross of litigation. Was it chance that she was launched on her
worship ministry by Andy Baker’s RocketFuel crowd-funding platform? A
further, very significant moment was when I discovered that parody and
pastiche had been legalised in an EU treaty in 2014.

In order to build outreach for the songs they have been entered into the
UK International Songwriting Contest in the last few years, consistently

winning maximum 5-Star ratings by the panel of judges, up to Semi-
finalist level by 2021. 25 were entered in the 2022 contest resulting in

three Finalist and two Semi-finalist nominations in the Christian category.
My first original compilation ‘I Know My Lord is Coming Soon’ was one of
the finalists and was also awarded a Semi-finalist nomination in the
Lyricist of the Year class which is open to the thousands of entrants
through all 30 categories, 29 being secular songs! When the results of
UKSC 2022 were announced, I was pipped at the post by a professional
Nashville Country-style lyricist, Tony Olsen with 'Only Me' which can be
found on Youtube. One of my rewards of the UKSC is 60-minute private
face-to-face Zoom meets with Nashville music industry guru Dallas
Gregory, a former Warner/Chapel creative director and Christian music
specialist.

I have an HGW and a general website devoted to my songs so they can
be shared with church members, friends and others via the following link:
https://www.homegrownworship.com/artist/robtromans

I hope I will be excused for the photo that my publishers used! It was at
the 75th Anniversary of VE Day when I wrote a Simon & Garfunkel parody
called The Sound of Sirens! My nominations and the stories behind some
of my songs and collaborations with worship leaders and musicians are
included together with a brief (for me!) personal testimony from 1962.

​

The first five songs I wrote were parodies of some of the most famous
secular songs of the post-war years by inspiration 'straight out of the
blue' in 2017 using my pen-name ‘Jude Meritus’ from my 2015 book
Magna Carta R.I.P? I was greatly encouraged when, in the broadcast of
an interview for Revelation TV in 2021, Gordon Pettie referred to the
adaptation by General Booth in the 19th C of popular songs and tunes in
hymns which were able to touch the public nerve of the time.

They are on my website above.

I guess the current peak of my calling to write is the recording by Jonny &
the Jazzuits - heavenly jazz gospel group based in The Netherlands, led by Jonny Boston, who recorded and created a music video for my song When You Return (overlooking the Mount of Olives) in Jerusalem in 2023 just before the current, prophesied conflict in Israel. I was introduced to Jonny, a Silver-Dove Award nominee in The Netherlands by Nicky Whyman in 2020 when I sent her my re-written version of the Louis Armstrong all-time Jazz classic ‘When the Saints’ to her for advice.

I hope you will be greatly blessed by the collection of biblical words and
music, which, by God's good grace are now on YouTube, Spotify and
other worldwide streaming services. Please feel free to share this story -
for the glory of our Lord and Saviour who constantly surprises us with his
plans for us and his glorious Kingdom, coming soon as he promised! As I
am often saying now ‘never let them write you off’. As I write this, it
occurs to me that this could be the first line of my next song! Even at 80 I
am looking forward to publishing three new songs already written in spite
of almost insurmountable problems and delays of the past three years.