Damian Lewis felt ‘comfortable’ writing songs about late wife Helen McCrory on his album and reveals their ‘lovely’ children championed his change in music career

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Damian Lewis has revealed he felt a sense of comfort last year when he released his debut album Mission Creep, which featured lyrics about his late wife Helen McCrory.

The actor and singer’s wife Helen passed away in April 2021 at the age of 52 after being diagnosed with cancer, and Damian was sure to pay tribute to the Peaky Blinders star in his music.

Damian, 53, is currently touring the album and reflected on the writing process during an appearance on Tuesday’s This Morning.

Asked about the writing process by presenter Cat Deeley, he explained: ‘Once I wrote a song, it went on a record. I wrote 10 songs and that felt hard enough.

“I looked at some of my old songs and they were so terrible!”

Damian Lewis has revealed he felt a sense of comfort when he released his debut album Mission Creep last year, which featured lyrics about his late wife Helen McCrory.

Damian’s wife Helen died in April 2021 aged 52 (pictured 2020) after being diagnosed with cancer, and Damian was sure to pay tribute to the Peaky Blinders star in his music

Damian continued, “But I felt comfortable with Mission Creep. There are some personal songs on there, people will know about my late wife Helen.

“So there are some personal things in there.”

The Billions star and Helen shared daughter Manon, 16, and son Gulliver, 15, who Damian revealed supported his decision to quit acting and pursue music.

He explained: ‘They’re very sweet about it and they’re really talented musicians themselves.

“I think it can be a bit annoying to have your dad making music when you want him to, but they’re more talented than me so I told them to get on with it.

“There’s no chance they ever will [perform] with me.’

Although Damian has not confirmed which songs are about Helen, his emotional song She Comes appears to speak to his grief.

The text reads: ‘She comes like a blackbird, she comes like a fox. She sits by the window and sings from a rock.

‘She is the moon by day and the sun that shines in the dark. She rests in me and she rests in the shadows. She is my joy, she is my pain and she rained on me.”

Damian, 53, is currently touring the album and reflected on the writing process during an appearance on Tuesday’s This Morning (pictured in March 2023)

The Billions star and Helen shared daughter Manon, 16, and son Gulliver, 15, who Damian revealed supported his decision to quit acting and take up music (pictured 2018)

Is this Damian’s ode to Helen? Full text of Here She Comes

[Verse 1]

She comes like a blackbird, she comes like a fox

She sits by the window and sings from a rock

She is the moon during the day and the sun that shines in the dark

She rests in he, and she rests in she

She smells like the ocean, she holds you like the sea

She rings like a bell, and she smells and tastes of cheerfulness

[Chorus]

She is the wind, she is the sun, she is the reason it was fun

The laughing rain

She is the wind and the storm

What I was protecting from

She is my joy, she is my pain, and she rained on me

[Verse 2]

She’s a bag on the floor, she’s a hat on a hook

She’s never really bad, but she’s not always good

And her lip curls and unfolds like the leaves in a book

She’s a no, she’s a yes, it’s anyone’s guess

She is the click of a heel, an abandoned dress

She’s driven me crazy, but she’s in my head, I must admit

[Chorus]

She is the wind, she is the sun, she is the reason it was fun

The laughing rain

She is the wind and the storm

What I was protecting from

She is my joy, she is my pain, and she rained on me

She is the wind, she is the sun, she is the reason it was fun

The laughing rain

She is the wind and the storm

What I was protecting from

She is my joy, she is my pain, and she rained on me

Damian started writing the songs during lockdown, when Helen was ill, and told the Cambridge Independent: ‘It’s quite a personal collection of songs.

‘Many people will know that I lost my wife about three years ago. This album was written during that time. So it’s inevitable that there’s a reflection of that time in the songs. One or two of the songs are undeniably directly about Helen.

“The rest is storytelling. I love telling stories through songs. Little short stories about events, imagined or real.

‘The very first song I wrote was She Comes. That’s kind of the anthem of the album. That was the one that came out and just kind of flowed.”

Before finding fame as an actor, Lewis walked the streets of London with an acoustic guitar and still plays the instrument as a pastime.

He is also undoubtedly inspired by another musical presence in his life, girlfriend Alison Mosshart, who is best known as the lead singer of the rock bands The Kills and The Dead Weather.

The pair were first spotted together in the summer of 2022, and Alison’s mother Vivian gave the relationship her seal of approval shortly after.

She told MailOnline: ‘They have mutual friends. I don’t know exactly how they met, but I’m fine with it. If she’s happy, we’re happy too.’

The romance blossomed a year after Damian’s wife of 14 years tragically passed away after a secret battle with breast cancer.

When Helen died, the actor revealed how his late wife had urged him to find love again, telling him and their son and daughter that she wanted “daddy to have lots of girlfriends.”

Damian added in the social media post: ‘She died the way she lived. Fearless. God, we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She shone so brightly. Now, Little One, take to the air.”

He is also undoubtedly inspired by another musical presence in his life, girlfriend Alison Mosshart, who is best known as the lead singer of the rock band The Kills.