The artist was sitting in the shade with his guitar watching water roll past whilst he reminisced.

“I grew up in Collarenebri and so much of my childhood was spent at the river.

“Pre social media days we used to fish, swim and make rope swings at the river,” he said.

The song flowed in his brain like the water of the Mehi and before long he had created a children’s song signifying freedom and fun.

“Some songs take 15 minutes to create and some take 15 years,” he said.

The song was first used in a Beyond Empathy project, part of destigmatising social issues, but now the ‘I Saw A Fish Art CD’ has turned into so much more.

Simon is collaborating with Matt Westhorpe and Anh Do to “change the world”.

Through Magic Electricity Box, a social enterprise music publishing company, he hopes to crowdfund the art CD and raise money to assist remote Australia.

Every dollar over their target from the ‘I Saw A Fish Art CD’ will go towards their mission of creating songs and arts opportunities for children in rural and remote areas.

“I’ve been writing songs for about 30 years and to be brutally honest I prefer working with children so much more than adults.

“They’re minds are clear, creative and inspiring.

“It is rewarding when you write a song and play it to children. You can tell how engaged they become,” he said.

The first community project site will be Karuah in May 2017, and Simon hopes locals will support the crowdfunding campaign.

For more information visit the Ready Fund Go website and search I saw a Fish Art CD.

He quoted B. Niemeyer from 2006.

“Music provids opportunities for children to learn, connect with emotion and express themselves as individuals.

“This type of learning helps children to develop deep understanding of how things work and how they as individuals fit into their world.”