Give It Back – Song and a Chat

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:28 — 22.3MB)

Episode #142: Give It Back (Song starts at 3:29)

Welcome to a very relaxed episode. I was in a mellow mood, the evening I recorded it. I’d just finished a commissioned painting – predictably, it took me a bit longer than I thought it might. So it was after midnight when I started recording.

As a creative person, something I really keep an eye on is: I like to get things done. Finished. Sooner than later. Then I can move on.

That’s the creative way. It’s in the process, where the action happens. Speaking of which…

As I talk about how I composed ‘Give It Back’, I draw attention to the need to be your own secretary, somehow, & yet remain in the flow.

In these days of phones and recording devices, that’s a simple matter. Back in 1987, when I wrote ‘Give It Back’, I was sitting at the piano with the handwritten lyrics, pen in hand.

I came up with music for the verse, scrawled a very loose bunch of chords and a hurriedly notated melody (just a few lower case notes – letters above the syllable).

The next part of the process is (and was) I’d re-sing and play the part and aim to flow directly on into the next the next section, and so on.

Staying in the mood is crucial. It’s fascinating that it is possible to start and stop and stay ‘in the zone’. It’s a necessary skill to develop early on, in any creative activity.

I wrote ‘Give It Back’ for my grandparents. I was lucky to have grown up with 4 grandparents around me.

It struck me then that my grandparents wouldn’t be around forever, so I thought I’d write this song for them. I also wrote it to share, in the hope that others might pick up on the idea that at we should make the most of our time with our grandparents while they are around.

Before I composed the music, I wrote the lyrics. The first verse came to me first:

The words ‘He’s sitting alone, in his chair, wondering where all the years have gone. There’s nothing like a visit from a friend’.

Through writing this, I found myself way into a possible future, in the shoes of an older version of myself and it really brought home to me how it might feel to be older, reflective – and to be alone.

That gave me ‘the feeling’, so that’s all I really need. A feeling and a start, and away I go.

It’s a warm, fuzzy subject, and it became that sort of a song,

Hope you enjoy having a listen to the song – and the chat again this week. I enjoy playing my piano as I talk. It’s great for demonstrating what I’m talking about… and it takes me places. It certainly seems to help with the creative flow, which I enjoy so much.

This is my blog which I mention: www.petepascoe.wordpress.com. Each week I write and upload a blog post. I generally include a new seascape, the lyrics to the song featured on the weeks podcast episode. There’s also s cartoons – and writing, of course – and links to lots more music and art. Enjoy.

OK, here we go, come back to 1987 with me – and hear a younger me singing an older demo.