Song and a Chat Pete Pascoe

Episode #181: Gone Too Soon  (Song starts at 4:12)

Here’s one from 2014: song # 620, 'Gone Too Soon'

It was inspired by a neighbour who lived across the street from us. She always had just the right amount of time to chat. She wasn’t one of those you’d have to duck and run from, (through the fear of losing 15mins). Nope. She was positive & interested in what you were up to, bright in the eye and in voice and spirits.

Consequently, I chose to write this song for her in an up sort of manner, which I think is a reflection of her character.

The version on this episode is somewhere between a ballad and something more (Piano vocals). If it were played in a band, you could push it along with a bit more energy and groove.

It’s interesting to me how these sort of songs about mortality all seem to be coming to the surface for me right now. Perhaps it’s like when you buy a certain brand of car with the right colour and then you start seeing them everywhere…or maybe it’s something I write about more than I perhaps imagined.

It’s not a subject I’m going to shirk away from. It’s as much part of life as anything. And lives need to be celebrated - the good bits carried on with.

I think that’s a great way to help make sense of someone close to you passing away.

I think a song like this can be a comfort someone. It was for me this week. I’m glad I found it in my songbook.

This was another ‘words first, music second’ sort of song. When I composed the music, it was fun singing along to the chords that came through as I sat at the piano.

The opening line of the song is:

Summers come early, it’s that time of year… the temperatures rising with the early birds tune.

It’s a great way to wake up, listening to the dawn chorus.

Speaking of birds, I sat outside having breakfast a the table in my back yard. It was so peaceful…except for the lorikeets ( mall Australian parrot) I include a snippet of audio, so you’ll join me at the table.

Then we see where the song 'Gone Too Soon' is going to take us.

I’m looking forward to recording this one properly one day.

‘Why wait for tomorrow? do it today'. Is another line in the song. I can still hear my neighbour saying this. I’m glad it’s in this song.. her voice, in a sense.

As I look at how the song came together, sitting at the piano with the mic, I really enjoy demonstrating the changes, the bits of melodies and talking about the way they came through. All you need is the feeling and a start, really - and away you go.

And away we go…so here’s another song & lots of chat. I hope you enjoy this episode.

You can read the lyrics on my blog: www.petepascoe.wordpress.com, plus there’s links to more music and my art. Enjoy.

Episode #180: Crossroads  (Song starts at 4:04)

I wrote crossroads, Song #119, in 1989. When I saw the title of the song in my old green songbook, I remembered it was based on an old memory.

Reading through the first verse, a vivid scene sort of played out in my mind, like recalling a dream:

I was I about 3 or 4. My mother and I had gone to visit an old lady. We sat in her lounge, and cups of tea were served (not for me).

My eyes wandered along the old mantelpiece, past the old ticking clock which occasionally chimed. My gaze fixed on a toy car sitting there.

got to play with these cars as the adults talked. The old lady kindly gave me the car to take home.

All the details are clear as if it were yesterday. That’s the power of art. It can convey so much.

The first verse was about the old lady and her room. So for the 2nd verse, I moved on to an (imagined) old man carrying his bags home.

That’s when the word crossroads came through my pen, and I thought Aha - that’s what this song is about.

The 3rd verse was like an imagined scene from the distant future: the bright sun sinking behind the darkened sign posts, the road disappearing into the fast approaching night.

Yep, the cross roads.

This was a ‘words first , music second’ song.  It’s often a surprise to me, when I analyse the chords and melodies of these older songs. They quite often appear to break all the rules of theory, the harmonic changes, the way the melody dips to unexpected slightly unsettling notes and then back to more expected ones.

Shooting from the hip like this with the words and music  (which both come through very quickly) is fun and natural for me. I think the result is something almost disarmingly real at times.

It’s based on something real, then it becomes something more, ultimately returning to the image of the dark unknown of the crossroads. Which road is right?

And creatively speaking, which road is right? You just go with instinct. I let the fingers fall on the keys and the I float your voice up to wherever the feeling takes me.

It’s like being in a woken dream, writing a song. It was fun to rediscover this one, as I ‘winged’ the version on this episode. I improvised a piano instrumental section on the fly.

It was definitely the feeling from that afternoon that came to me all those years later.

Join me now and we’ll find out where crossroads came from . Perhaps you’ve got a cup of tea handy? A mantlepiece? ….

Here’s my blog. www.petepascoe.wordpress.com You can read the lyrics there + there’s lots more music and art to be found here.

Enjoy.

Episode #179: Can’t Sing You A Song   (Song starts at 3:38)

I had a bit of fun with the demo on this episode. Earlier today, I was supposed to be recording some piano for a song. The session got cancelled at the last minute.

Turns out I was really in the mood to record, so what started out as a piano/vocal take ended up having the kitchen sink thrown in ( strings, guitars, bass, Rhodes - all done on the keyboards. Good fun.

Can’t Sing You A Song is a different style for me. Every now and then I write something left of field. I never block ‘the voice’.

Songs do come along that I can’t ever see myself singing - perhaps this is one of them (on the other hand, now the demo has been completed, maybe it could end up on a solo album of mine).

It was fun to compose in this sort of groove based song. It did write it on the piano, but after just a few bars,I realised the sort of song it was going to be.

So I kept the beat firmly in mind and I phrased the vocals accordingly, emphasising certain syllables. Also, I didn’t introduce any unusual chord changes, in fact I did some repetition 2 chords, three times in a row, this would generally suit a guitar/ band more than just the piano.

So I wrote this song with a certain intention - that was suggested very early on. I didn’t fight it.

I wrote the words first, then the music just flowed easily, around the feel and the chords that came through.

The gist of the lyrics is: I can’t sing you a song or paint a picture without the feeling being there in the first place.

And the song is saying: I can show you I’m having fun - and I hope you do, too - but it’s not my place to tell you how:

Can’t make you laugh, it’s not up to me

But I’ll show you a path where there’s loving free

Everyone’s on their own journey, so it’d be wrong of the lyricist to try and twist the listeners arm.

This song is about love, first and foremost - the idea that we’ve really just started on this next phase of humanity: connectedness as a species, to proceed.

We’ve analysed things so much over the centuries and as a result, we’ve dis - integrated.

So I think art and music are the key…laughter, connectedness and healing and that’s what this song is about. It’s a happy song.

As a songwriter There’s a real joy when the full circle happens and an audience responds positively .

On the episode, I didn’t end up talking about how I produced the demo too much. To create an arrangement like the demo (full band sort of sound), I started with a basic piano track and guide vocal, recorded to the drum beat. Then I added bass on the keys, muted the original piano and replayed a more precise simplified piano part, leaving room for the other instruments (recorded in this order):

Rhodes piano, guitar pad L, guitar pad R , nylon string guitar, lead vocal, 2 backing vocals and then the strings, which I added afterwards to bring it all together. I thought the strings would suit the song.

So this is the very first demo. Eventually, the parts would be recorded on real instruments, dropping elements in to give the arrangement some space.

Perhaps the tempo is a bit quick. If it were just a bit slower, there’d be more groove and that would also make it easier to get a few of those lyrics out.

I describe how I came to play the blues in a piano bar. Then it occurs to me this song might work in that sort of style , so I demonstrate that, on the spur of the moment.

Picking a style and arranging a song..it’s actually a big part of the process. But most often I think it helps to have the song finished in it’s own right. If you’re recording it, you’re going to be listening to it a lot. 

Also, as this song says, there has to be feeling and message in my art and music. Our days are few, when also said and done - and we need to have fun along the way.

Episode #178:  Inside   (Song starts at 4:21)

This episode’s song is #630, written in August, 2015. It was one of those ‘words first, music second’ sort of songs.

It’s interesting this song should float to the surface for this episode…this week I had a bit of a wobbly moment, we all have them: I was wondering how much would it really have changed things, had I stayed in NZ  (at 30 I moved to Melbourne and started again).

Self doubt was the feeling that caused me to pick up a pen in 2015. A couple of things happen when you’re in the creative flow. The worries fall away, any murky worrying feelings seem to lift. On this occasion, an answer appeared on the ether, ‘inside’.

So the answer can be found within - that’s been said many times. I was just thinking of the great movie Shawshank Redemption, how the small rock pick was hidden inside the bible. Brilliant ..freedom lies within.

I’m not one to jump on a soapbox and speak my mind to one and all. I’m far more inclined to drop big themes into my lyrics in a more laidback manner.

Which is why, for these words, I thought I’d pick a key that would suit a quietly finger picked guitar.

Mid way through, t sort of came the full circle, back to piano, when I improvised a far more keyboard sort of a bridge, with counter bass. Notes with strong harmonies…perhaps they’ll be vocal harmonies

Most often the chords come to me intuitively. I was doing my usual thing, when I came to the point where the chorus needed to happen.

I’m very pleased I stopped and checked my ‘relative chords’, which I’d written down before I started the music. The chord G# minor had net been used yet. So I stopped and matched a melody note with the chord and put the sung note right on the first count of the bar.

It’s all a learning curve, life. We are all going to have our doubts, this song is suggesting the listener might consider go ing within to find some answers.

When I was a youngster, I took a less trodden path. A creative one. And I’m pleased I did. I’m still on it. If I’d taken a more expected path, (There’s a line in the song:) ‘would the lone cry of nature still call to me?’

Leading a creative lifestyle, being fully reliant on the arts to make a living, sure has its uncertain moments. It keeps you on your toes. You’re effectively ‘living in faith’, I would say.

So I find peace when I go out in nature - and when I go within. So that’s the quiet message in this song… you know, so if you’re in pain, life’s not going great for a moment, go for walk at the beach or sit down and just breathe easily, freedom awaits…

I hope you enjoy this episode. I certainly enjoyed recording my thoughts and I had fun rediscovering ‘Inside’, as I recorded the piano vocal demo.

Here’s my blog: www.petepascoe.wordpress.com you can read the lyrics here, plus there’s lots of art  -and  way more music, each week…. Enjoy!

Episode #177: Evening Hours   (Song starts at 3:34 &16:22)

'Evening hours' starts out with a slightly unsettling discordant bell (sounds like the end something) set against a quiet piano riff.

This particular introduction has always brought to mind a potential rough story and an opening scene in a play or possibly a movie or stage show, for me.

The bell represents ‘the end’ (also the start) and the arpeggio is like a child music box dancer - ‘the beginning’. A music box is also something that may be equally enjoyed by a young person or an older person…perhaps it’s a keepsake, a childhood memory. And now this older person can’t quite believe the years have passed by - but passed by they have and now it’s time….

Yes, 'Evening Hours' is a deep song, about the end of life. We don’t talk about death much here in ‘the West’, at least. I think we need to. Perhaps a song is a good place to start.

It’s not a morbid song, to me. Spooky, sure, but there’s a couple of uplifting lines that say ‘Why not reach a highlight here tonight?’. Life is to be lived, regardless of one’s age.

This song was really determined to get a voice tonight, when I came out to my studio to record another episode. It popped into my mind as a contender and that’s generally the moment I go “ok, let’s do it”…

I picked up an old cassette from the stack and there it was, the title track from an old 4 tracked home recorded album by Paul Dredge and myself. I recognised the art work on the cassette.

Beneath it was another cassette. The 3rd song in my handwriting on the inner jacket that caught my eye straight away was …'Evening Hours'.

I thought: ‘Ok, it’s a sign’.. ha.

Evening hours was written in 1987. It’s song number 18. Now in 2023, as I find myself writing about the song, I’ve written 800. Bizarre. It’s great yo be rediscovering the old songs - and sharing them - on the podcast.

I’ve chosen to include both versions of the song. You get to hear the piano vocal version. And then the other more involved arrangement. I wanted to show what I hear in my head as I play ‘ just ‘ the piano and sing.

I was using very basic gear in 1989 and 1991 when these 2 versions were recorded. We are so lucky in this day and age to have wonderful recording gear at our fingertips in our homes. I say: go for it, make the most of it and see what you come up with - if you’re so inclined.

Recording is so much like the songwriting process. One happy accident leads to the next. I think the opening riff was due to me pacing my left hand in the wrong position on the piano keys, for instance.

What composing Evening Hours did for me was: it made me feel like i could do this thing. I could write songs with feeling and mystery and I could record a version of something that was in my mind. 1987 was a big year for me. It was when I began writing at least a song a week, which I then continued to do for many years.

It’s like discovering you can draw. I’ve been lucky to do be doing that in my life as well.

I hope you enjoy this episode. You can touch on deep themes with music and somehow ‘get away with it’. I think that’s perhaps what’s happened with 'Evening Hours'.

I’d sure like to perform it one day on a stage. It’d have to be the right setting! And I’d like to record it properly. That’d be fun.

You can find the lyrics, more music  - and art here on my blog  www.petepascoe.worpress.com. I have 12 albums online (solo, and with others), www.petepascoe.com 

Here we go….

Episode #176: Just Can't Keep It Inside  (Song at 4.06)

Just can’t keep it inside sounds like it was written by another song writer.

It didn’t surprise me when it came through though. Every now and then a song in this sort of ‘soft ballad with a swung rhythm style’ comes through for me.

I haven’t thought of this song for a long time. It’s from my first book, song number 62, written in 1987, in New Zealand.

After writing it, I played the song from time to time over the next decade, but I just sort of didn’t have a use for it. I couldn’t imagine what I’d do with it. It didn’t fit in with 80s music for a live gig, that’s for sure.



Also, this: there was one line that I didn’t like. One line and I let the song get buried for what 36 years. Ha. Oh dear.



Many times on this podcast I’ve spoken of the need to be free enough to let go of certain parts of a song and rewrite. For some reason, I never did with this line.



The line that didn’t sit with me was: ‘while you step on my broken heart and grind it In The ground.’ Yeek ! A little bit gruesome, wouldn’t you say.. and the words just don’t fit the gentle ballad. They might be at home in the middle of a ( really) angry rocker, but not here.



As I recorded the song for this episode, an answer floated in on the breeze: ‘while you step on my heart. And that all just reminds me.how I can’t expect you…’



And just like that, like the wave of a magic wand, it was fixed.



I’m only partly joking about the magic wand. This creative realm comes up with some amazing stuff in the twinkling of an eye. What was broken is now fixed…and I can share this song now.



Recording these episodes has been a really good thing for me to do (that’s what I think right now). Why not put these songs here? Sure, they could be making me some money streaming online…on a paid service.

I’m thinking eventually some well. Actually, a lot already are streaming, I’ve featured songs that I’ve previously recorded and released.



It just struck me a s thing to do, a few years a go - and here we are.



I mention something at the beginning of this episode, something along the lines of: ‘you imagine something and you create a version of it’ That is the creative process.



I couldn’t help myself when I recorded the version as part of this episode, I stopped and added bass with a ride cymbal, Rhodes and a very rudimentary strings sketch - suggested orchestration.



What happens when you give something form is: you create momentum…and that leads on to the next bit ( eg verse to chorus, and so on, with the actual writing process).



With the recording process, you start to hear other possible elements. A low subtle trio of horns interjecting the vocals would be nice…. maybe one day.



For now, you have the sketch that I winged as I sat at the mic and piano in my home studio, where I record these podcast episodes.



It’s such good fun, and I’m discovering it’s been very helpful to have my piano at the ready, to demonstrate what I’m trying to put into words.



Just Can’t Keep It Inside came about when I was younger. My first big romantic relationship had just ended. I was casting about at the time for different songs styles. I did have a style, but at this stage I guess I was fairly unsettled and it took me a while to calm down.



Music is such a healing force. Putting ego aside and letting the creativity lead the way is such a healing thing to do, potentially.



And the rewards keep growing. Sure, it’s great to write a song like this. But it’s even better when you keep rediscovering it, performing it slightly differently and then you think of more you could add…



Ok hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it.