Everybody’s Sleeping – Song and a Chat

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Episode #135: Everybody’s Sleeping (Song starts at 5:02)

Hi there & welcome. I’ll tell you what, I was really relaxed when I recorded this episode.

I’ve been doing a bit of exercise… I mowed the lawns today. But apart from that, I went for a bit of a bush walk. I’ve included some audio which I recorded as I walked. So you can come for a walk with me on a peaceful track. It’s good to get out of the studio sometimes.

We have a 2 for 1 deal on this episode. You’ll hear me improvising a mellow version of the song, then towards the end I’ve included the PP and the Patient Hum version of ‘Everybody’s Sleeping’ ( from the album The Roughest Cut).

It’s fascinating to me, how much a song can change, depending on how you choose to arrange it.

I’m a painter. I’ve painted a lot of seascapes over the last decade (you can view plenty here : www.petepascoe.com). I mention this, because when you exhibit your painting, that’s it. It’s done.

The thing I love about songwriting/recording (and performing, live) is: you can present a different version each time if you like. For instance, I’ve never sung such a ‘dreamy’ sounding version of ‘Everybody’s Sleeping’ before. I really enjoyed it.

It’s fun winging a version of my songs on this podcast.

Everybody’s sleeping is song 593 in my purple book. That’s a lot of songs, isn’t it. I’d like to say there was never a day when I sat down and thought to myself I am now going to write 800 songs. It’s happened because of..passion . It’s a calling. It’s something I do for the love of it.

As a singer, I enjoy playing. The same with songwriting. This sense of play is, I think an essential part of the creative process.

To play, you need to be relaxed. Hence the bush walk… or a bit of lawn mowing ( not quite so relaxing, but it sure feels good afterwards, to know you’ve used your muscles and have done a bit of breathing outdoors).

It blows a few cobwebs away. It clears your head. As a songwriter, snippets of sentences can drift in on the ether. These are gold, in my opinion. I gather them together and see where they take me.

This happened with the lyrics of everybody’s Sleeping. Some seemingly random lines fell together and slowly a song started to take shape.

This one was a ‘words first music second song’. The piano riff (that I use with the band version ) came along and I ‘winged’ the melody.

I work quickly – there’s certainly no rush. Like my walking style -there’s definitely no rush! I pretty much sort of lope along. I like to walk at a pace that allows me to take in some details of the scene that I’m walking through. Like the tiny bird that ‘pipes up’ as I was walking on the track. You’ll hear me take the time to really enjoy his song- the moment.

It’s that same sort of enjoying the moment that happens when you’re lost, writing a song.

Ok here we go, hope you enjoy the chat, both versions of the song – and the bush walk.

By the way, the lyrics will be on my blog as usual. www.petepascoe.Wordpress.com.

You can find my music (14 albums in a variety of styles, including piano solo) on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp, YouTube , etc.