A few years ago, I had the chance to visit St Kilda, and it left a lasting impression. It’s haunting to think that people lived there until such recent times—walking the island, you can almost feel the echoes of their lives. That sense of history became the inspiration for The Lovers of St Kilda, which I finally wrote a couple of months ago.

Photography has always helped me connect with stories of the past—it dissolves the distance of time in a way words often can’t. Even old black-and-white photographs remind us just how close we really are to the lives that came before ours.

I’m hugely grateful to the National Trust for Scotland for allowing me to use their images to create the video accompany this song. Their work caring for St Kilda and keeping its stories alive is incredible.

Please give the video a watch—and take a moment to think about how, only 95 years ago, the islanders left St Kilda for the very last time.