Policy

Lyrics: Jo Trim

Coils and springs in front of my eyes
No-one believes what I say
My muscles wasting away
Currents alternating in my head
Can’t help myself
Can’t defend myself

When I worked as a messenger
Because I was very light
They classified me white
And my language was well refined
Suited the neighbourhood
Looked just like I should

Not a person any more,
Just a body on the floor
Thoughts spiral to decay
It’s eating me away
No progress for the people like me
What more could I do?
I just fell through the policy

“Why are you crying?”, he said to me
“Aren’t you pleased with what you’ve done?”
“Now you’ve upset everyone”
I didn’t agree with the policy
I wasn’t the only one
But our protest came undone
Those in power made the ideology
they said it was immoral too
And there’s nothing we can do
I have the wrong anthropology
No power to set the policy

Sent to a country I had never seen before
It was not a small mistake
And a black heartache
Not to feel a freedom anymore
Without a country
No nationality

Not a person any more,
Just a body on the floor
Thoughts spiral to decay
It’s eating me away
No progress for the people like me
What more could I do?
I just fell through the policy

So how can I care about the consequence
The only one who wanted to marry me
didn’t have the right identity
What was my offence?
There’s no democracy
For inferiority policy

Not a person any more,
Just a body on the floor
Thoughts spiral to decay
It’s eating me away
No progress for the people like me
What more could I do?
I just fell through the policy
I just fell through the policy
I just fell

ABOUT DEEP DOWN RED and JO TRIM

In  2013  Jo Trim joined Tripp Hazard, an alternative rock band, to release her pent up creativity having worked as an IT analyst in London for over 30 years. Jo quickly realised a passion for song writing and her curiosity led her to explore various styles in her search for her own self expression. Even now, Jo’s music defies labelling as a specific genre; her album is a mix of folk, alternative rock, electronica, dance, right through to lounge. The lyrics are often about serious topics (I Swear, Mules) but there are also homages to love. Garden of my Dreams reflects on love, Silver Warrior is love of the open road and Hope and Fear passionately describes  love of humanity, and the risks taken to protect lives.

Jo left Tripp Hazard and joined a new short-lived band, Deep Down Red, that soon disbanded. Now, in 2023 Jo has adopted  Deep Down Red as a solo singer songwriter label, you might say as a reference to her fiery red hair and the association of a ‘hot head’. However it’s  a double entendre, denoting the anger we should feel about many of the topics Jo is writing and singing about. 

INFLUENCES

Jo grew up in the ’80s and 90s musically and the styles of Joan Armatrading, Chrissie Hynde, Annie Lennox, and Amy Macdonald have heavily influenced her sound.  

Jo would like to acknowledge the many people who have introduced her to favourite artists

• Rod Trim for Joan Armatrading and Fleetwood Mac
• Keith Done, for Rainbow, Pink Floyd and Ultravox
• Andrew Schlitz for Seal and Pendulum

Acknowledgements

Many people have helped Jo on her musical journey...

• Rachael “Raie” Bennett, Jo’s vocal and song-writing coach; her talent and encouragement are unbounding.
• Cole Toury, musician and producer who gave Jo many ideas.
• Naz Mighty, who led the community choir Jo belonged to; her lively spirit and sense of fun make the world a better place.
• Paul Miles, producer at Select Recording Studios whose professionalism made this possible.
• Graham Jackson, musician and lyricist taught Jo a lot about song writing.
• The members of Stress Test Dummies and Tripp Hazard in their various forms: Paul Manson, Robert Stell, Richard Tarvin, Chris Croft, Eric Busnel.
• The members of the original Deep Down Red band, who made it fun to make music together, Richard McLeod, Jim Smith, Keith Ravenhill.
• Rod Trim, Jo’s  husband who is always encouraging.
• All Jo’s fans, friends and family not mentioned who supported at gigs along the way.