The piece is a setting of a poem by Louis MacNeice of the same title. It was originally written for a Forum London Composers’ Group workshop with Deirdre Gribbin, and was performed at a Forum concert in September 1999, by COMA Voices, conducted by Dominic McGonigal
The pieces requires the performers to whisper, sing, chant, and shout parts of the text, and accompanying vocalising.