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The Black Book Is based on a poem by Martin Newbold

📂 The Stealing of Emily — group list

“The Black Book” by Martin Newbold is a dark, haunting poem and song about buried truths, silenced children, and the systems that hide injustice behind official records. It speaks through images of black books, courts, contracts, signatures, sealed pages, and failing traffic lights — turning bureaucracy into something almost gothic, where every document feels like a door closing on the truth.

At its heart, the song is about what was known, what was written down, and what was still allowed to happen. It explores the shame of records that exist without justice, of children whose voices are hidden inside systems, and of families left to search through paperwork for answers that should never have been buried.

The song was inspired in feeling by “Feint” by Epica, one of my favourite songs. That atmosphere — sorrowful, powerful, dramatic, and almost operatic — helped shape the mood behind “The Black Book.” I have written to Amy and offered her this version to sing for free, as a genuine tribute and because I believe her voice could carry the grief, grandeur, loss, and truth at the heart of it. I truly hope that one day she may hear it and sing this version.

“The Black Book” is not only a song of sadness. It is a song of exposure — a demand that what was hidden, filed away, or declared “not meant to be” is finally read aloud.

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