Setting Sun – Song and a Chat

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Episode #204: The Setting Sun. (Song starts at 4:12)

In the studio, I opened the songbook book and thought ‘Hey, why haven’t I featured Setting Sun on on an episode yet? It’s been sitting there since 2013’. So here we go.

I thought I’d have a sing and play through the song, but I did a quick search of my hard drive and found an old piano vocal demo. It’s got lots of energy. A snapshot of a moment in time. That’s what makes demos great.

So where does a song come from? Looking at my song book, I see the songs immediately before and after Setting Sun are quite serious in a sort of a social conscience/ political style.

I must’ve been reading the news paper too much (something I don’t do much)…there’s a line in the song: This news ain’t news …and it’s driving me to tears.

So there’s been some bad news happening for some time. But there’s been good stuff as well.

Setting sun is about acknowledging the situation and needing/choosing to rebuild – rebuilding society, connection, all the good stuff.

It’s also about going too fast. ‘Been on the run like an Apple stealing boy…’. Speaking of apples, they must’ve been still on my mind on because late in this episode as I relate an anecdote about an airborne apple (perhaps it was me that threw the apple)..I particularly enjoy sharing some of the memories that pop into my mind as I talk about the songs.

This song is also about (potentially) evolving ‘ I’m on the brink of new dimension….(with a dose of reality): : or maybe having a drink ( perhaps not the most helpful coping mechanism), and did I mention….the setting sun.

The setting sun is a fairly cliched (cliched for a reason) image of a rather gloomy view of humanity.

But I’m an optimist. I believe we can turn things around.

People see the world as a storm of threats. If you’ve been watching the news, we’ll you’d be entitled to think that was the case.

I think the reality is: there’s a lot of good stuff going on in the world too, it just doesn’t make the news very often.

To draw attention to all these ‘heavy’ things, I’ve chosen to deliver ‘the news’ in an up sort of rocking song.

Then, unexpectedly, the chorus drops back into halftime feel to acknowledge the gravity of the situation, and the same for a reflective quiet end, allowing time for reflection on what might be.

This is the power of music and words. Wrapping the heavy news in a somewhat lighter manner makes it more palatable, allowing for the message to get across – like it’s inside some sort of Trojan horse, I suppose.

I haven’t set out to do this consciously. It was more of an automatic decision…my optimistic self appears to be tied closely to my entertainer self: art and music can entertain and inform…

Speaking of which, that’s exactly what I’m setting out to do each week on this podcast…and my weekly blog: lots of good news here folks: art and music on offer here each week. www.petepascoe.wordpress.com . Enjoy.

And I hope you enjoy this episode’s song and chat as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together. Here we go: Setting Sun.