Burdens – Song and a Chat

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Episode #139: Burdens (Song starts at 7:16)

Looking at another original song on this episode: Song #238. ‘Burdens’ came about when a friend passed away, back when I was 24 or so.

Us songwriters are lucky. We can get a mountain off our shoulders from time to time, by putting our feelings down in words and music. It releases tension, allows for healing – and it becomes more than therapy in the process: it becomes art.

Something about the feeling of the song touches us and we find meaning in the lyrics and music – which, by the way, may mean something else completely to another listener.

Walking out and about in nature soothes me. I like to do this. This episode, I’ll take you for a gentle walk down a bush track, here on the outskirts of Melbourne.

The bird calls, the vibe, ‘fills the well’ for the artist side of me. I get out in nature so I can go deep within easily later, get into ‘the zone’, that dreamlike state, where you almost observe yourself in the process of writing a song.

You kind of have to do this, because in the moment that you’re composing, you are also being your own secretary and you catch, to the best of your ability, everything that happened in the moment and archive it.

This song started when I picked up a pen and just jotted down a few free sentences. The gist of what I wanted to say Is: life is a gift, a joy. We need to make the most of each and every moment. If we feel like things are getting on too much for us (our burdens), it can be a good idea to share our worries…share the load, if you like.

When you write from a deep place, you bring strong feelings to the surface and they can become a tangible touchstone for yourself and others to reflect on.

Other strong feelings can come through pretty quickly and pretty soon you find your mind has been taken somewhere else completely.

This is the transformational, magic quality of the arts.

It’s great to be in the arts.

The record which ‘Burdens’ is on (Lost In Time – on Bandcamp) happened over 2 days. Paul Dredge, Earl Pollard and myself recorded 12 songs in 2 days in a studio. This included a quick mix, which became ‘the’ mix.These were songs we’d not played for 20 years in some cases – some barely played at all & a lot we’d never played with Earl. So we were flying by the seat of our pants, collectively arranging the music on the fly. I love doing this.

It sure is a joy being a songwriter. I hope you’re enjoying hearing a new song each week. It’s such a pleasure looking back at these songs.

I mention my blog again here it is www.petepascoe.wordpress.com …lots of music and art here. More at: www.petepascoe.com (Seascapes, Cartoons, all sorts of Music).

Ok, Here we go. On with the chat – and the music, enjoy.