For Graham, some of his earliest memories are of music filling the home.

“I remember it was not unusual for our living room to be crammed after the evening service,” Graham recalls. “The upright piano that sat against the wall would be pulled into the middle of the room. Young and old would crowd around it and begin to call out songs they wanted to sing. Dad would flex his fingers, and then off he’d go, playing arpeggios up and down the keyboard in the popular style of the day, the room filling with voices and harmonies. It was joyful, it was heartfelt, it was fun and all the songs were variations of one story, old but ever new: Salvation Songs.”

Sometimes these singalongs took place in the church hall, other times right there in the family living room. Graham and his siblings would sit on the floor, completely enveloped in the sound of voices rising together. His father even used to remove panels from the piano so it would play louder! People would call out their favourites, and the room would come alive with worship, laughter, and the hope of the gospel.

When Graham’s father passed away, those memories returned vividly. He wanted to honour his dad with a song; a tribute that carried both the joy of those gatherings and the deep hope his father lived and died with. Graham wrote Salvation Songs, and together with his two brothers singing harmonies, they performed it at his father’s Thanksgiving Service.

On his gravestone are the words that summed up his faith: ‘In sure and certain hope of the resurrection.’

Salvation Songs is more than a personal memory, it’s a reminder of the power of worship to shape faith, build community, and carry us through life with hope.