You might like to check out "For Joe" after this. Good reaction. As far as defining a genre, don't waste your time. Ren transcends all genres. Edit: Oh, and check out Chinchilla's "Bounce Back" for her opinion on genres.
@mikkoheikka9579 It's a trilogy. Firstly: Jenny's Tale, Secondly: Screeches Tale and Thirdly: Jenny's Tale. If you listen to the trilogy of the tales in that order you will know exactly who Violet is. A Marvelous constructed Tale of 3 tragic lives lost in stunning poetry sung in storytelling mode with a twist ❤️👌🏼.
There are 3 Ren songs that have references to, or are about Joe, “Frecked Angels”, “Suicide”, and “For Joe”. Ren’s song “Mackay” is another tribute to a friend who unfortunately died in a tragic accident.
A mutual friend called Ren and told him they Joe was on the bridge and she was afraid he would jump. Ren lived about 15 minutes run away from the bridge. He ran at fast as he could the whole way there, but couldn't find Joe. By Ren's estimate, he was five minutes late.
This is a shocker when you first see it. Joe used to learn all the words f Ren's songs he wrote when he was a kid. He supported Ren big time. Ren also wrote freckled angels for Joe and there is now a cafe called Frecked angels in the town they grey up and later he did a song to piano "For Joe"
You’re in for a treat diving down the REN rabbit hole… one of the most humble, versatile, genre bending, storytelling independent artists. Not to mention his collaborations and band The Big Push. I’m going to enjoy watching your REN discovery 😊 Fantastic reaction and looking forward to seeing more. 👊🏻 ❤
If you watch his live version he does break down a bit. A few months after Joe died another friend mentioned in the song Callum drown . Ren raised thousands for the marine boat rescue that looked for joes body and presented them with a check. He presented a gift to Joes mom too.
Prada, great reaction again, bro. So Joe and Ren grew up together in Wales, the island town of Anglesea in northwest Wales. Joe had phoned a friend to say he was on the bridge that connects Anglesea to the mainland, and they phoned Ren. Joe had been up on that bridge before and always changed his mind and climbed back down off the railings. However, on the fateful night, it was blowing a hooligan of a storm. They think a gust of wind knocked Joe off balance, and he lost his grip.!!! The bridge is very high off the water, and the tide rips through the channel at some pace, Joes body was swept out into the Irish sea, never to be seen again.!!! The lifeboat crew searched for days looking for Joe, but to no avail. Ren went back up to Anglesea ( some time later )to donate a cheque to the RNLI that's the Royal National Lifeboat institution ( a charity ) for 10k to show his appreciation for their help looking for Joe. For Joe was written for Joe's memorial, Ren performed it in front of Joe's parents. Ren also gave Joe's mum enough money so she could buy the motorhome she'd always wanted. React to the chapters and some of the interviews that other reactors have had with Ren. BP,Knox Hill, charismatic voice, etc. Great reaction again, dude. 🇬🇧🏴🇬🇧👍👌❤️🇺🇲
Prada Bro. Much love. You have to start at the beginning truth!!!! Right at the start.... Hi Ren is the beginning 2 years ago. Everything is linked? We are now, ha ha ha he's is saying it as we all live it...
I could physically see the visceral reaction you had at the end. Like the words were hitting your skin. Insane. Thanks for covering this because I think it's an important song. 💜
I'm so glad you're learning his history. It makes his lyrics so powerful to know the connection behind. Back to the vid ... only 1/3 in. :) The segment at the end of 'Suic*de' ... is the inspiration for "For Joe". Here is one of my favorite Ren interviews but be careful ... the (chopped short) video is at the end ... "For Joe". UA-cam ... Behind the Song - 'Suic*de' with Ren
It is good to hear an artist like yourself appreciate Ren's song Suicide! The message is powerful and heartfelt Ren is not afraid to make songs about taboo subject matter, especially since he lost his friend Joe to suicide! The visuals and beat are nice too! Thanks for the shout-out! I love your channel❤
I remember reading a comment from someone at the time that stayed with me ‘The day this was released was the day that Ren made the internet cry! Still chokes me up everytime. Lovely reaction thank you!😊 Much love from the UK 😊xxx
Also for suggestions I have a sweet spot for the retakes and covers that Ren released . ‘Nas ‘halftime’ for rap, ‘Fred Again’ for deep and ‘Back on 74’ for smooth and funky! My guess is that you’d enjoy them all. Much love 😊xxx
Loved your reaction ❤ let us know if you don't know the story of Joe. Freckled Angel's was written for Joe's funeral. For Joe was written for Joe's parents. This song was not supposed to be about Joe, more Ren. It didn't feel finished, so the end was written for Joe ❤
The song was finished when ren was interviewed by Knox Hill and after talking and remembering about Joe, he went back to the song and added the last monolog portion. They had to make an additional graphic and thats why its so much different than the first portion. Somewhere Knox discusses this change with Ren
it was for his friend joe. the piece at the end is also used in the For Joe song, it combines that piece, freckled angels and another piece ren wrote about his friend.
Thanks for your reaction. Yea this is a hard one. The tragedy is that he really was on his way to the Menai Bridge to rescue Joe. But halfway there, Joe's mobile phone went silent. He was a few minutes too late. This happened on 28th of December 2010 (My 44th birthday, but of course I didn't know anything about it back then). Ren added the last part to the song after an interview with Know Hill. In the interview he talked about Joe, which he hadn't done in a long time. Six month later Rens friend Callum drowned in an accident. The song Mackay is about him. The video description explains why it took Ren so long to create that song. It's piano only but nonetheless very emotional.
Hey mate, I’m not too sure if someone else has explained, or if you know, but REN raised money for the search and rescue unit who searched tirelessly, day and night for JOE. It was also the first time that REN had returned to the region and he said that visiting JOE’s mum was exceptionally emotional. During this time , REN was forced to confront a whole new wave of emotions, emotions that not only REN, but many of his fans could identify with.
It's for his friend that jumped off a bridge. He got a phone call from him and he ran as fast as he could to try to make it there but he didn't make it in time.
For more context go to the comment section of the original video and Ren pinned a comment about the situation with a little more context. Great reactions! New sub! Look forward to your next!
Ren posted this when he posted the song "Today I want to write something beautiful and eloquent but I’ve been staring at my computer screen for the past 10 minutes blankly. So I’ll just write. Today, the 1st of June is my friend Joe’s birthday. I first met Joe when I was 8 years old, my friend Josh said I had to meet this guy, so we both walked over to his, it took about 10 minutes from my house. I was greeted by this kid covered head to toe in freckles, he grinned at us, climbed onto the back of his sofa and screamed “Swanton Bomb!” then front flipped off the top and landed right onto his back on a stone floor. He lay still for a moment, twitched a few times, then got up, grinned at us, brushed himself off, and did it again. This was Joe. He’d do anything to make people laugh. He ended up becoming one of my best friends. He was there when we stole our first cigarettes out of his mums pack, way too young. He was there when I had my first kiss, with a girl twice my size on the back of the 42 bus. He was there when I first got so drunk I threw up in the woods after drinking as much white lightning Cider as we could. I was there when he did his first backflip on skates, and saw him do a 720 off of the pier cave, that moment became legendary. Joe was the funny one in our friend group, he’d make us laugh till it hurt. No one had a bad word to say about him. It was impossible not to like him. Usually we put celebrities, athletes and actors on pedestals, turn them into role models and admire them from a far. The person I admired was Joe. Him and Sagar knew every word to the songs id write, we’d get drunk at parties and they’d be singing along as loud as they could. It gave me a lot of confidence back then. On Christmas Eve 2010 I was sitting in a pub with Joe, he’d been feeling low after a couple of consecutive break ups. He tried to check himself into a mental health outpatient facility a few weeks earlier but they turned him away because he didn’t have an appointment. He turned to me and said that sometimes he wished he could just walk into the sea and keep walking. He said it in a kind of half joking throw away comment type of way, then took a sip of his drink, walked over to the juke box and put Dig by Incubus on. If I knew that was the last time I’d see Joe id have hugged him, told him how much I loved him, how much I looked up to him, how much we all loved him, and I wouldn’t have left that pub. I didn’t know that, so I finished my drink, said happy Christmas and left. Two nights after Christmas I got woken up by a phone call at 3am, it was my friend Ella. She told me Joe was on the Menai Bridge, a large suspension bridge connecting the main land to the isle of Anglesey where we lived. He’d been on the phone to her in tears saying goodbye. He told her to tell everyone he loved them. I pulled on my clothes as fast as I could and started running toward the bridge. It was up a hill. I lived about a ten minute walk away, I could run it in five. As I ran I started dialling then redialing his number. The line was busy, which was a good sign, it meant he was still on the phone to someone. As I got about halfway, the busy tone changed. It told me the line was out of service. I got a sinking feeling and picked up my speed. I arrived to the bridge minutes after I left my house. It was deafeningly quiet. I was the first person to arrive. I got there probably about 2 minutes too late. Joe’s body was never found. Initially we refused to believe he was gone. The coastguard came out that night, with boats, and helicopters. Me and my friends spent the next 10 days putting up missing posters everywhere we could, walking up and down beaches with flashlights, getting about 3 hours sleep a night. When you’re walking up and down a beach with a torch when its dark everything looks like a body. We still haven’t found Joe. As his birthday came around, I wrote a song, freckled angels, a song I dedicated to Joe which I sang in front of his friends and family. A charity football match was put on for him, raising money for the RNLI where I won two bottles of wine in a raffle, I drank them both as quickly as I could, naturally, turned to my friend and probably slurred something along the lines of “This is the last time I ever drink” That was 12 years ago, I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since. My first ever album I named Freckled Angels in tribute of one of the best people I ever knew. Skip forward some years. I’d been sitting on this song I wrote a few years ago. It always felt a little incomplete. It was going to be my next release, but I was dreading it because of this feeling of incompletion. I decided, very last minute, to do something about it. I sat by my piano, and the rest of the song fell out of me. I hadn’t thought about Joe in a little while, and the song initially wasn’t going to be about him, but the words all fell out of me. I wrote and recorded a whole 2 minutes extra, recording each part as I wrote it. Tears spewing out of my eyes pretty much the whole time, and decided not to do my usual thing of perfecting each line, I just recorded every line as it came. During this campaign I will be raising money for the RNLI, the group of brave men and women who spent hours tirelessly looking for Joe after the night he went missing. I'll also be donating 50% of the profit on all copies of the 'Freckled Angels' album directly to Joes family as a nice surprise gift. I will include links to the RNLI donation page below where 100% of the money will go to support them, I will be travelling to the UK later this month to make a music video, and have carved out a couple of days where I will travel to my home town on the isle of Anglesey to present the royal national lifeboat institution with a cheque of all the money raised."
It speaks to both sides of suicide in the final words it gives pause for thought on how suicide impacts those left behind. Could save someone just by making them think.
Ren has a lot of songs that make u feel some things! If u haven't done Chalk Outlines with Chinchilla yet, that should definitely be next! If u want to know who he's talking about in this song, go listen to Freckled Angels or For Joe! And Ren IS the genre! 😁
Loving the helpline addition. I hear the voice in my head telling me to kill myself everyday, assuring me everything will be better when I am dead. But I don't listern to it anymore. My last attempt was when I was 17, I'm mid 50's now. But it never really shuts up. I know it's lying to me, so I've learnt to ignore it I have a wonderful life now, the kind I could never have imagined in my youth, but it hasn't stopped that damned voice from trying to bring me down to hell. I know who he is now so I hold all the power. 💞🐷
Please check out the song for Joe. It’s sort of a mashup of the end of this video and some new things by run with an old tribute song to Joe called freckled Angels. It’s a must do. Thanks for your sincere reaction to this.❤✌️🫶🏻
Ren made the Internet cry the night this dropped
He made me ugly cry!!
Every time i (we) hear this...🥺
Each time ..... tears
I cried for a week watching people cry reacting to this, but now I can listen without crying unless I'm having an emotional day.
Fact!!!!!!!!
Rens friend took his life. its true. makes me tear up every time.
You might like to check out "For Joe" after this. Good reaction. As far as defining a genre, don't waste your time. Ren transcends all genres. Edit: Oh, and check out Chinchilla's "Bounce Back" for her opinion on genres.
Actually for context you might do 'Freckled Angels' and 'Dominoes', then 'For Joe'. The are the hidden 4-part series along with 'Suicide'.
I just posted an almost exact sentiment about genre 😂
@@im2yz4u17 Yes, absolutely! Thanks for adding Dominoes into that series, many don't think about it
"What kind of genre..." probably one of the most asked questions to people listening to Ren.
Bardcore 4 real
Yes. Aside from who the f is Violet?
@mikkoheikka9579 It's a trilogy.
Firstly: Jenny's Tale, Secondly: Screeches Tale and Thirdly: Jenny's Tale. If you listen to the trilogy of the tales in that order you will know exactly who Violet is.
A Marvelous constructed Tale of 3 tragic lives lost in stunning poetry sung in storytelling mode with a twist ❤️👌🏼.
awesome reaction. Renegades would say that the genre you're looking for is called "Ren" :)
Yup, genre is REN
There are 3 Ren songs that have references to, or are about Joe, “Frecked Angels”, “Suicide”, and “For Joe”. Ren’s song “Mackay” is another tribute to a friend who unfortunately died in a tragic accident.
You forgot "how to be me"
@@jamiereed6080 You’re right, but I did say Ren songs. That’s a Ren and Chinchilla song 😉
@@Is.this.thing.on-technicality
Also Ren n Chinchilla’s ‘How to be Me’ is how Ren felt after Joe died.
For Joe is rhe next follow up song to this
Both insomnia and depression were written at a time when ren was still very sick. Check them out 😊
He's never got over it but he has learned to live with it 💔
The genre is Ren. 😁
Chapter 1 of Ren's story will tell you all about this. Also his interview with Knox Hill.
His first interview with Knox. There have been a few now
A mutual friend called Ren and told him they Joe was on the bridge and she was afraid he would jump. Ren lived about 15 minutes run away from the bridge. He ran at fast as he could the whole way there, but couldn't find Joe. By Ren's estimate, he was five minutes late.
Just heartbreaking. I can’t imagine how it must have felt to get there and not find Joe… knowing you couldn’t make it in time 😢
This ending STILL FKN CRUSHES ME. I would say its Indie pop. Ren crosses off nearly ALL genres. Clearly a progressive artist.
Next Freckled Angels which is about Joe who jumped. (Also How to be me with Chinchilla.). And then For Joe live picking parts of both songs too.
This is a shocker when you first see it. Joe used to learn all the words f Ren's songs he wrote when he was a kid. He supported Ren big time. Ren also wrote freckled angels for Joe and there is now a cafe called Frecked angels in the town they grey up and later he did a song to piano "For Joe"
Freckled angels was his very first song about losing his friend !
Yes, I always love Rens songs. Even if it is a heavy topic they have something beautiful to it.
You’re in for a treat diving down the REN rabbit hole… one of the most humble, versatile, genre bending, storytelling independent artists. Not to mention his collaborations and band The Big Push. I’m going to enjoy watching your REN discovery 😊 Fantastic reaction and looking forward to seeing more. 👊🏻 ❤
If you watch his live version he does break down a bit. A few months after Joe died another friend mentioned in the song Callum drown . Ren raised thousands for the marine boat rescue that looked for joes body and presented them with a check. He presented a gift to Joes mom too.
And introduced the song at his funeral iirc?
The genre is called Ren. He’s his own universe
You should definitly listen to For Joe... Ren and his piano ... Wonderful tribute ❤️
Powerful song, great reaction
🎧 🔥🔥 Ren keeps it real 🩵🙏 for him to have peace.
Have heard that song so many times and it still brings tears to my eyes
Ren is the Genre
The following songs "For Joe", "Freckled Angels"(live version), "How to be Me"(Live version)
After that please check out "Dominoes"
Renre is the genre 😂. Ren really transcends genre. Thanks for the reaction!
TBH, Ren's music doesn't fit into other genres - what ever he creates is unique and new ...
WOW!!!! 😮
Prada, great reaction again, bro.
So Joe and Ren grew up together in Wales, the island town of Anglesea in northwest Wales.
Joe had phoned a friend to say he was on the bridge that connects Anglesea to the mainland, and they phoned Ren.
Joe had been up on that bridge before and always changed his mind and climbed back down off the railings.
However, on the fateful night, it was blowing a hooligan of a storm. They think a gust of wind knocked Joe off balance, and he lost his grip.!!!
The bridge is very high off the water, and the tide rips through the channel at some pace, Joes body was swept out into the Irish sea, never to be seen again.!!!
The lifeboat crew searched for days looking for Joe, but to no avail.
Ren went back up to Anglesea ( some time later )to donate a cheque to the RNLI that's the Royal National Lifeboat institution ( a charity ) for 10k to show his appreciation for their help looking for Joe.
For Joe was written for Joe's memorial, Ren performed it in front of Joe's parents.
Ren also gave Joe's mum enough money so she could buy the motorhome she'd always wanted.
React to the chapters and some of the interviews that other reactors have had with Ren. BP,Knox Hill, charismatic voice, etc.
Great reaction again, dude.
🇬🇧🏴🇬🇧👍👌❤️🇺🇲
210000
Prada Bro. Much love. You have to start at the beginning truth!!!! Right at the start.... Hi Ren is the beginning 2 years ago. Everything is linked? We are now, ha ha ha he's is saying it as we all live it...
I could physically see the visceral reaction you had at the end. Like the words were hitting your skin. Insane. Thanks for covering this because I think it's an important song. 💜
Yes real tears and it gets me hard every time I hear it!
Ren has no Genre its just ART! ❤
That was tight
You just made me cry again
This makes me choke every time so sad, he missed his friend by minutes, give the man credit for putting it out there ❤😢
Please check out the "Chapters 1-8 " to understand from where he is coming !
You might like to try For Joe- live performance about the loss of his friend. He also lost another friend and wrote Mackay- an instrumental piece.
I'm so glad you're learning his history. It makes his lyrics so powerful to know the connection behind. Back to the vid ... only 1/3 in. :)
The segment at the end of 'Suic*de' ... is the inspiration for "For Joe". Here is one of my favorite Ren interviews but be careful ... the (chopped short) video is at the end ... "For Joe".
UA-cam ... Behind the Song - 'Suic*de' with Ren
He mentions the Swanton Bomb a lot as well as when he first met Joe that was the first thing he did.
As a comedic side comment... Ya know, it just came to my attention that on occasion a song shouldn't be followed with joyous cheers, ha!
The genre is Ren lol.
This song still makes me cry every single time
Yep, every single time 🥹
your reaction made me tear up again even though I have watched it 20+ times. He is so emotional and true to himself
Such a hard hitter & tragically beautiful in its entirety - RIP Joe 🙏 Thank you for your lovely, respectful reaction x
Genre = “Ren”
RIP JOE HUGHES
It is good to hear an artist like yourself appreciate Ren's song Suicide! The message is powerful and heartfelt Ren is not afraid to make songs about taboo subject matter, especially since he lost his friend Joe to suicide! The visuals and beat are nice too! Thanks for the shout-out! I love your channel❤
This is one of my favorites- ever. Ren has mastered mixing genres, that vibe to such a dark topic👏👏 Ren can not be stopped 💕💯💅
It is part of the genre of Ren. He is his own
I remember reading a comment from someone at the time that stayed with me ‘The day this was released was the day that Ren made the internet cry! Still chokes me up everytime. Lovely reaction thank you!😊 Much love from the UK 😊xxx
Also for suggestions I have a sweet spot for the retakes and covers that Ren released . ‘Nas ‘halftime’ for rap, ‘Fred Again’ for deep and ‘Back on 74’ for smooth and funky! My guess is that you’d enjoy them all. Much love 😊xxx
❤
Could see how it impacted you. Thanks for doing this ❤❤❤
Loved your reaction ❤ let us know if you don't know the story of Joe. Freckled Angel's was written for Joe's funeral. For Joe was written for Joe's parents. This song was not supposed to be about Joe, more Ren. It didn't feel finished, so the end was written for Joe ❤
How to be me ft Chinchilla (live) it’s also good to follow after For Joe
Much love Prada 🫶🏽
The song was finished when ren was interviewed by Knox Hill and after talking and remembering about Joe, he went back to the song and added the last monolog portion. They had to make an additional graphic and thats why its so much different than the first portion. Somewhere Knox discusses this change with Ren
it was for his friend joe. the piece at the end is also used in the For Joe song, it combines that piece, freckled angels and another piece ren wrote about his friend.
It is a full body chills song..
Beautiful but so sad.
Glad you reacted to it…
Definitely try Song for Joe (Live) Deeply moving but so so good.
That last verse is pure poetry and so poignant. Thanks ❤
Well, now you have to do For Joe, which is the follow up to this song..
@PradaWest That was Real tears and heartache from Ren. After his interview with Knox Hill he went back and added the ending to this track.
Style = BARDCORE
I just realized recently that this vid reminds me of the movie A Scanner Darkly.
Genre for Ren songs? 🤣🤣😂
Heartwrenchingly beautiful
Ren is such an amazing artist he really is.just a heart renching song😢
🔥🔥🔥💜💜💜
That was deep brought tears to my eyes 😭
Loving this❤💯👊🖖🎯😍
Thanks for your reaction. Yea this is a hard one.
The tragedy is that he really was on his way to the Menai Bridge to rescue Joe. But halfway there, Joe's mobile phone went silent. He was a few minutes too late. This happened on 28th of December 2010 (My 44th birthday, but of course I didn't know anything about it back then). Ren added the last part to the song after an interview with Know Hill. In the interview he talked about Joe, which he hadn't done in a long time.
Six month later Rens friend Callum drowned in an accident. The song Mackay is about him. The video description explains why it took Ren so long to create that song. It's piano only but nonetheless very emotional.
Loved how we could see how this hit you. Great reaction brother. Subbed.
🔥♥️✌️i would call the genre Ren lol
Hey mate, I’m not too sure if someone else has explained, or if you know, but REN raised money for the search and rescue unit who searched tirelessly, day and night for JOE. It was also the first time that REN had returned to the region and he said that visiting JOE’s mum was exceptionally emotional. During this time , REN was forced to confront a whole new wave of emotions, emotions that not only REN, but many of his fans could identify with.
Ren is good shit …. Different but good I like “hi ren” the councillor at the treatment center I went to played it
For Joe and How to be me live with Chincilla would be a good follow up after this one.
There’s no way you can put it into a genre. It’s just vibrations and sound that are uplifting and very in depth.
In my opinion
It's for his friend that jumped off a bridge. He got a phone call from him and he ran as fast as he could to try to make it there but he didn't make it in time.
For more context go to the comment section of the original video and Ren pinned a comment about the situation with a little more context. Great reactions! New sub! Look forward to your next!
❤❤❤
The follow up is For Joe 🦋
Freckled Angels were written for Joe, beautiful but gut wrenching 💔😢 song...
Really enjoying your reactions, keep up the good work. Ren is so talented and his song are so powerful.
Ren posted this when he posted the song "Today I want to write something beautiful and eloquent but I’ve been staring at my computer screen for the past 10 minutes blankly. So I’ll just write.
Today, the 1st of June is my friend Joe’s birthday.
I first met Joe when I was 8 years old, my friend Josh said I had to meet this guy, so we both walked over to his, it took about 10 minutes from my house. I was greeted by this kid covered head to toe in freckles, he grinned at us, climbed onto the back of his sofa and screamed “Swanton Bomb!” then front flipped off the top and landed right onto his back on a stone floor. He lay still for a moment, twitched a few times, then got up, grinned at us, brushed himself off, and did it again.
This was Joe. He’d do anything to make people laugh. He ended up becoming one of my best friends. He was there when we stole our first cigarettes out of his mums pack, way too young. He was there when I had my first kiss, with a girl twice my size on the back of the 42 bus. He was there when I first got so drunk I threw up in the woods after drinking as much white lightning Cider as we could. I was there when he did his first backflip on skates, and saw him do a 720 off of the pier cave, that moment became legendary.
Joe was the funny one in our friend group, he’d make us laugh till it hurt. No one had a bad word to say about him. It was impossible not to like him. Usually we put celebrities, athletes and actors on pedestals, turn them into role models and admire them from a far. The person I admired was Joe.
Him and Sagar knew every word to the songs id write, we’d get drunk at parties and they’d be singing along as loud as they could. It gave me a lot of confidence back then.
On Christmas Eve 2010 I was sitting in a pub with Joe, he’d been feeling low after a couple of consecutive break ups. He tried to check himself into a mental health outpatient facility a few weeks earlier but they turned him away because he didn’t have an appointment. He turned to me and said that sometimes he wished he could just walk into the sea and keep walking. He said it in a kind of half joking throw away comment type of way, then took a sip of his drink, walked over to the juke box and put Dig by Incubus on. If I knew that was the last time I’d see Joe id have hugged him, told him how much I loved him, how much I looked up to him, how much we all loved him, and I wouldn’t have left that pub. I didn’t know that, so I finished my drink, said happy Christmas and left.
Two nights after Christmas I got woken up by a phone call at 3am, it was my friend Ella. She told me Joe was on the Menai Bridge, a large suspension bridge connecting the main land to the isle of Anglesey where we lived. He’d been on the phone to her in tears saying goodbye. He told her to tell everyone he loved them. I pulled on my clothes as fast as I could and started running toward the bridge. It was up a hill. I lived about a ten minute walk away, I could run it in five. As I ran I started dialling then redialing his number. The line was busy, which was a good sign, it meant he was still on the phone to someone. As I got about halfway, the busy tone changed. It told me the line was out of service. I got a sinking feeling and picked up my speed. I arrived to the bridge minutes after I left my house. It was deafeningly quiet. I was the first person to arrive. I got there probably about 2 minutes too late.
Joe’s body was never found.
Initially we refused to believe he was gone. The coastguard came out that night, with boats, and helicopters. Me and my friends spent the next 10 days putting up missing posters everywhere we could, walking up and down beaches with flashlights, getting about 3 hours sleep a night. When you’re walking up and down a beach with a torch when its dark everything looks like a body. We still haven’t found Joe.
As his birthday came around, I wrote a song, freckled angels, a song I dedicated to Joe which I sang in front of his friends and family. A charity football match was put on for him, raising money for the RNLI where I won two bottles of wine in a raffle, I drank them both as quickly as I could, naturally, turned to my friend and probably slurred something along the lines of “This is the last time I ever drink” That was 12 years ago, I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since.
My first ever album I named Freckled Angels in tribute of one of the best people I ever knew.
Skip forward some years. I’d been sitting on this song I wrote a few years ago. It always felt a little incomplete. It was going to be my next release, but I was dreading it because of this feeling of incompletion. I decided, very last minute, to do something about it. I sat by my piano, and the rest of the song fell out of me. I hadn’t thought about Joe in a little while, and the song initially wasn’t going to be about him, but the words all fell out of me. I wrote and recorded a whole 2 minutes extra, recording each part as I wrote it. Tears spewing out of my eyes pretty much the whole time, and decided not to do my usual thing of perfecting each line, I just recorded every line as it came.
During this campaign I will be raising money for the RNLI, the group of brave men and women who spent hours tirelessly looking for Joe after the night he went missing. I'll also be donating 50% of the profit on all copies of the 'Freckled Angels' album directly to Joes family as a nice surprise gift. I will include links to the RNLI donation page below where 100% of the money will go to support them, I will be travelling to the UK later this month to make a music video, and have carved out a couple of days where I will travel to my home town on the isle of Anglesey to present the royal national lifeboat institution with a cheque of all the money raised."
Wow. I’ve never seen that one. Tears. Oof. Tears heal. We’ve all got tear ducts.
R.I.P. to all of our freckled angels
Ren is the genre ❤
It speaks to both sides of suicide in the final words it gives pause for thought on how suicide impacts those left behind. Could save someone just by making them think.
beautiful
Ren has a lot of songs that make u feel some things! If u haven't done Chalk Outlines with Chinchilla yet, that should definitely be next! If u want to know who he's talking about in this song, go listen to Freckled Angels or For Joe! And Ren IS the genre! 😁
The genre is Ren!
His friend Joe in this one. He also had one Mcakay, youre a rapper so cyeck out The Hunger , Animal Flow , Halftime & Sic Boi
love that there another song for joe it goes with that FOR JOE ANOTHER SONG
Sad, tears, feeling very word and visual ❤❤❤
Rens genre is.... Ren 😂🥹💜
Watch his chapters 1-8 which were released daily before "troubles" was released he explains a lot about his life.
Ren bend genres, you can't label it :)
Loving the helpline addition.
I hear the voice in my head telling me to kill myself everyday, assuring me everything will be better when I am dead. But I don't listern to it anymore. My last attempt was when I was 17, I'm mid 50's now. But it never really shuts up. I know it's lying to me, so I've learnt to ignore it
I have a wonderful life now, the kind I could never have imagined in my youth, but it hasn't stopped that damned voice from trying to bring me down to hell. I know who he is now so I hold all the power.
💞🐷
Thank you so much for posting the suicide hotline!! 😊
The last part was from his song For Joe his friend
Please check out the song for Joe. It’s sort of a mashup of the end of this video and some new things by run with an old tribute song to Joe called freckled Angels. It’s a must do. Thanks for your sincere reaction to this.❤✌️🫶🏻
'For Joe' and 'How to be me' next!
Its about his best friend Joe, another song for more context is Freckled Angels!