Pigs Flying – Song and a Chat

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Episode #144: Pigs Flying (Song starts at 5:00)

On this episode, I take you down to the beach. It’s the place I go to relax, before I head home and do something creative – like composing a song.

I also love being beside rivers, but since I’m lucky enough to live the near the ocean, that’s where I head.

When I come home, I feel the creative mood come over me.

Back in 1997, when I recorded the demo that you’ll hear on this episode, I was living not far from Melbourne’s CBD, a long way from the water. We did have a park nearby, so we were lucky.

I mention the feeling that comes upon me when I realise I’m in the mood to compose: It’s a bit like when you’re catching a train at an underground station in Melbourne, you feel the rush of air that the train is pushing before it. Then the train comes out of the tunnel and pulls up at the platform and away you go.

It’s a bit like that when I’m composing, there’s the feeling, then it’s almost like I get to sense the melody and chords that are coming through. The momentum is there – and away I go.

Like when I wrote ‘Pigs Flying’, for instance. Back in 1992 I was often getting home at about 3am from a piano bar gig and some night clubbing. I’d get into my nice warm water bed… yep they were popular, back then(very welcome warmth if it had been a long wintery frost walk home in the night).

I’d often pick up my pen and paper and write a few pages of lyrics. They were often complete, not requiring too much editing.

A day or two later, the feeling of songwriting would hit me, so I’d sit at my old upright piano, pull out a page of lyrics and see what chords and melody came through.

It’s a habit – a positive, creative one. I’ve never been one to just whack out a song for the heck of it. I only compose when I feel I’m really in the zone – and I write for the pleasure of writing.

There’s an element of performance when you’re writing a song, the words and music seem to put something in motion and you pick up on the energy and steer it through to the end. It’s a real pleasure.

It’s also a pleasure talking about this sort of process on these episodes – there’s a few online now (144!).

I hope you enjoy hearing about how this song came together, what inspired it, plus the song itself – and a visit to the beach.

Sound good? Here we go….