Patrick Jones’ A Constellation of Sorrows: A poetic call for peace

Neil Collins
“The album is my small act of resistance and solidarity with the Palestinian people who have been subjected to so much death, destruction, pain, and oppression.”
This key statement encapsulates the intent behind A Constellation of Sorrows, the new spoken word release from Patrick Jones – one of Wales’ most powerful poets of the last 30 years.
Launched last weekend at Tangled Parrot in Swansea, the album is a collection of poignant reflections on the conflict in Gaza and the broader struggle for peace.
“It’s an immersive experience of truth-telling made up of soundscapes, audio samples, music and poetry that acts as a mirror of the past year, and the past 75 years of occupation and apartheid,” said Jones.
“It sings of beauty, resilience, and hope, but also marks the evil atrocities, the blatant lies, the gaslighting of Israeli politicians and the rabid indifference of western governments.”
Transformative
The album’s creation stemmed from Jones’ transformative trip to Palestine in June 2023, where he travelled with Welsh musician Martyn Joseph’s charity, Let Yourself Trust.
What he witnessed during his time in the West Bank and Gaza reshaped his worldview. “It was life-changing. I was very conscious of us going over there as western tourists, as if we going to be voyeurs,” he said.
“But we met ordinary people, who were just trying to get on with their lives.
“We went to see a family whose house had been demolished by the Israeli Defence Forces, but with the help of the Amos Trust, it had been rebuilt.
“Could you imagine having your house demolished? You wake up one morning with soldiers outside for no reason apart from you’re Palestinian.’”

The album opens with its lead single, After Niemöller. Inspired by Pastor Martin Niemöller’s 1946 poem, First They Came, it’s an instantly unsettling listen permeated by a sinister soundscape.
It’s also bookended by two contrasting audio samples – the empty platitudes of former US President Joe Biden and the heartbreaking last phone call of a six-year-old girl.
Separated from her family, Hind Rajab pleaded for help from the Palestinian Red Crescent, but was murdered by the IDF in January 2024.
“After Niemöller is an indictment of all the celebrities and politicians who say nothing about the genocide in Gaza,” said Jones.
“By ignoring all the signs of genocide committed in plain sight, we are complicit.”
Devastating
Equally devastating is the next track, Minor News Story, which focuses on a Palestinian boy trying to find his school satchel; only to find there is no longer any school, bag or home.
As the innocence of youth clashes with the ruthless realities of war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heard downplaying the loss of life.
The Heart is a Security Risk speaks of Jones’ personal experience at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport where his locked suitcase was broken into under the veil of being a security risk.
Instead, just containing gifts from Palestine, Jones reflects on this invasion of privacy as a metaphor for control and oppression, concluding ‘the heart is the one thing Israel will never occupy’.
Under the Rubble juxtaposes the forces ‘draped in medals and flags and blood’ with the innocent loss of life left ‘amputated, cut, demolished and desecrated.’
The poem’s title derived from a repetitive phrase heard in news reports. “Every journalist I listened to on Al Jazeera would say they’re still “digging under the rubble,” and those words became almost normalised,” said Jones.
“But I thought of the people’s lives just gone in seconds that existed before the rubble. It was my attempt to try to de-normalise that phrase.”
On The New Crucifixions, Jones takes aim at the travel permits and checkpoints in the occupied West Bank.
Written in the style of an echo, it was intended to replicate shouting into the void and mirrored the disbelief Jones encountered from people upon his return home.
“What people don’t realise, is that when you your boot is on the neck of an enemy, then you are actually imprisoned too,” he said. “If you’re trapping someone, you can’t move either.”
Collaborations
The album contains collaborations with sound artist Jilliene Sellner and Cardiff-based, Palestinian oud player Salih Hassan, whose speech concludes the final track Khalas (an Arabic word meaning ‘enough’).
Also featured amongst the cameos are Jones’ son Ethan with programming on Masters of Misery, and his friend Martyn Joseph’s Edge-like guitar-playing on the title track.
Plus, the album is packaged within a goosebump-inducing artwork by Isabella Rosa Griffiths depicting a white Dove of Peace; albeit saturated in blood.

Perhaps Jones’ longest lasting collaboration though is with Richard Rose, who released the album via Repeat Records. The pair have worked together since the early days of Manic Street Preachers (Jones’ younger brother is the band’s bassist and lyricist, Nicky Wire).
Recorded on a shoestring budget, the album’s creation was the essence of Jones’ beloved DIY aesthetic.
“It really didn’t cost anything. I started off just babbling bits of guitar on my phone and putting it through GarageBand,” Jones laughed. “Who needs these big recording studios?”
A Constellation of Sorrows is the latest in Jones’ prolific release schedule in recent years including collaborations with John Robb and James Dean Bradfield on Renegade Psalms and Even in Exile; poetry collections in My Bright Shadow and a 20th anniversary reissue of Fuse, plus another album of touching reflection with Inviting the Light.
Last October, artist and long-term Super Furry Animals collaborator Mark James unveiled an art installation in the heart of Cardiff called Under Neon Loneliness. It reflected the Tokyo skyline and the classic chorus line of the Manics’ 1992 single, Motorcycle Emptiness – some of which was borrowed from Patrick Jones.
“I didn’t even know if I still had that poem (Neon Loneliness), but I found it in the attic,” he said. “It’s never been published because it’s not the greatest poem, but it’s got that resonant line of “under neon loneliness,” which came to me after living in America. I still like that phrase.”
“An act of protest”
Still raging against the dying of the light on the brink of his 60th birthday, Jones continues to speak his truth.
“I should be with my pipe and slippers by now,” he joked. “But time is against me, and I just want to get out there as much as possible and speak about things that matter. I don’t try to please anyone any more, I just do the things I really believe in.”
Not just a work of art, A Constellation of Sorrows is also a call to action. All proceeds from the album go to the UNICEF Gaza Appeal, demonstrating Jones’ ongoing commitment to support those affected by the war.
“My plea is to try and find a peaceful solution,” he said. “Why can’t we all live together peacefully? I’m so sick of the conflict everywhere.
“Hopefully the listener dives in and comes out changed, and questions things. It’s an act of protest, and ultimately an anti-war album.
“Hopefully, A Constellation of Sorrows can connect with people, and p*ss people off.”
A Constellation of Sorrows in on streaming platforms now.
The album is available to buy on CD (including two exclusive demo tracks) and on very limited 12” vinyl from Repeat Records at www.repeatfanzine.bandcamp.com
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