About Us
The Swan Song Project is a UK music charity using songwriting to support people facing terminal illness, end of life and bereavement.
Founded in 2017, we help people write and record original songs that celebrate their lives, express their feelings and create lasting memories for themselves and their loved ones.
Our work brings together music, songwriting, creativity and compassionate support to help people tell their stories in a way that can live on beyond them.
“Our vision is for everyone to have the opportunity to write their Swan Song and for every family to have songs to remember their loved ones by. The Swan Song Project provides comfort and joy through celebrating life and providing a soundtrack to legacy.”
The Swan Song Project gives people planning the end stages of their lives and those surrounding them the opportunity to write and record their own original song. A professional songwriter provides support to guide each person, through finding the initial idea to the completed recording. No previous musical experience or abilities are required. Everyone has a unique way of expressing themselves and this is what makes great songs. With the right support everyone can do it.
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Where It All Began
The Swan Song Project was founded in 2017 by songwriter and community musician Ben Buddy Slack.
The idea came from Ben’s own experience of losing his Grandma. He regretted not having written and recorded a song with her while she was alive.
That experience led to a simple question:
What if everyone had the opportunity to write a song with the people they love before they die?
The Swan Song Project grew from that idea.
We began working with people facing the end of life and their families, helping them turn memories, stories and feelings into original songs.
“It’s given a different perspective
to saying goodbye”
“It kept me from weeks of worries and many scary events out of my control“
What We Do
Our core work is providing free songwriting support for people living with terminal illness, approaching the end of life or experiencing bereavement.
A professional songwriter works alongside each participant to develop their ideas, write lyrics and create a song that is personal to them.
Sessions can take place in person or online, allowing us to support people in different locations and circumstances.
The finished song can become a lasting musical legacy for the person who created it and the people who love them.
A Lasting Legacy
Every Swan Song is different.
Some are joyful. Some are funny. Some are heartbreaking. Some are full of memories. Some say things that have never been said before.
Participants can choose whether their songs are shared publicly or kept private. Every song shared on our website has been shared with the permission of the person who created it.
Why Songwriting?
Music can help us express things that are difficult to put into words.
A song can bring memories to life, capture a person’s personality, tell a story, express love or provide a way of saying something that might otherwise remain unsaid.
For someone approaching the end of life, a Swan Song can be something they leave behind for their family.
For someone experiencing bereavement, writing a song can provide a creative way to remember and celebrate someone they have lost.
We don’t tell people what their song should be about. We listen to what matters to them and help them turn their ideas into music.
A Yorkshire Music Charity Supporting People Across England and Wales.
The Swan Song Project was founded in Yorkshire and continues to have strong roots in the region.
Our ambition is to make songwriting support available to people wherever they are, including through online sessions.
Our Vision
Our vision is for everyone to have the opportunity to write their Swan Song, and for every family to have songs to remember their loved ones by.
Celebrating lives. Making memories. Leaving legacies.
The Swan Song Project Podcast
In 2020, we launched The Swan Song Project Podcast, a podcast about songwriting, music, grief and bereavement.
Hosted by Swan Song founder and songwriter Ben Buddy Slack, each episode features a different songwriter talking about their craft, their experiences and the relationship between music and memory.
Our guests have included acclaimed songwriters and musicians from across the UK and beyond, including Mike Scott of The Waterboys, Frank Turner, Emily Barker, Larry Love of Alabama 3, Justin Sullivan of New Model Army, Ron Sexsmith, Boo Hewerdine, Ruth Lyon, Duncan Lloyd of Maxïmo Park and many more.
Each guest is invited to:
- Share one of their own songs and talk about how it was written.
- Share a songwriting tip that could be useful to new and aspiring songwriters.
- Share a song that has personal meaning to them in relation to bereavement, and talk about why it is significant to them.
The podcast explores the creative process behind songwriting while also opening up conversations about grief, loss, memory and the ways music can help us through difficult experiences.
With more than 100 episodes featuring professional songwriters, musicians and people with personal experience of bereavement, the podcast has become an important part of The Swan Song Project’s work to explore the connection between songwriting, music and end-of-life experiences.
Listen to The Swan Song Project Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.
If you would like to support more people to write their Swan Songs, please consider donating to The Swan Song Project.
Every donation makes a big difference and helps more people to celebrate life in a song
Donate with Just Giving
Latest Swan Song News
“Our song writing journey has been the most wonderful, cathartic, sensitive and uplifting experience. We have laughed and we have cried – and now we have a part of Meg with us forever.” Blog by Val Jackson.
Hi, my name is Val. On 3rd October 2025, my precious - and only - daughter, Meg, died only 3 months after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Her diagnosis came as a complete shock to us. Although she had suffered with Ulcerative Colitis for a number of years,...
Latest Podcast Episode
Swan Song Podcast #118 – David Bennett
Episode 118 - David Bennett This episode of The Swan Song Podcast features David Bennett....
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