Standing At the Sky's Edge

This urban ballad is the title track of English singer-songwriter Richard Hawley's seventh album. The poignant lyrics describes the blighted lives of three characters who in their desperation turn to crime - a murderer, a prostitute and knife-wielding hoodlum - all laid low by the system. "I can't be the only one who's thinking that the present government are using the recession to push through policies that sew it all up for the privileged few," Hawley explained to The Guardian, refraining from judgment on the trio's criminal activities. "It's like they're kettling the rest of us in every way, closing us in and closing us down – shutting down libraries, restricting access to further education, hacking away at the NHS. I'm not a soapbox merchant but what defines a civilised society for me is that we look after the sick and the elderly, educate our kids, nourish and cherish the next generation and give them ideals that are worth sticking to."

Hawley has long referenced unsung corners of Sheffield's a-z in his song titles, and this track refers to Sky Edge, a rundown area of Hawley's home city, where a row of tower blocks built in the 1960s used to stand.