Episode #223: Changing Times (Song starts at 4:18 )

The featured song on this episode is song #7 on the album ‘River Walking’, by Paul Dredge and myself. At the time of recording this episode, the album has not long been out and I’m working my way through the songs.

I’ve actually skipped one in the sequence the song ‘Gone Too Soon’ is song #6 on the album. I’ve already recorded an episode featuring this song (do a search on the platform you listen to your podcasts to and you’ll find it – or follow the link below).

I’m an album man, generally, when I listen to music. I like to really immerse myself into the vibe of an album. So I think a lot about how I decide on the song order.

In this case, it made sense to me to place ‘Changing Times’ after ‘Gone To Soon’, which has a gentle groove.

The blues with a swing beat of changing times (which Paul came up with) kicks in nicely and the album cruises on in yet another music style. Good fun.

Changing Times started one morning at the cafe where I can often be found, first thing in the morning, opposite the school where I teach piano on Mondays and Tuesdays.

I take a breath, have a coffee and consider how things are going. Most often I’ll write a blog post. And sometimes I’ll write lyrics.

On this particular day, I sat ‘outside by the roadside…a little uncomfortably close. Summer Breeze was (Is) on the radio inside, out here I sniff(ed) the air as it blows’…

These were the words I started off with.

Paul received my lyrics while on holiday (in fact, I think it was the same holiday that Paul came up with the start of River Walking). You can hear the audio on this episode which I received back from Paul. He’d written the verse and chorus with a bluesy cool groove.

I then wrote the bridge. (which you can also listen to – so you get to hear the to and fro of our international writing style).

Blues tends to write itself, once you’ve made the decision to go down that path. It’s fun. Paul said “The lyrics just said blues to him”. And I agree. It was fun to add the bridge, and that was that.

Arranging the song was next. I’ve shown how we did this by including some isolated tracks of the instruments. We both lobe this process.

The lyrics are about how suddenly you realise you’ve reached a crossroads – and it’s time to make some decisions and make some changes.

This was a a couple of years ago, when I wrote the lyrics. I realised I’d been doing way too much, each week, for way too long. Passionate as I was (still am) about the arts, I needed to reel in my work load a bit,

Fast forward a couple of years …and I’ve sort of slowed and down,,,and sort of not. I’ve chosen to go down a few different artistic paths over the years. I’m enjoying string my art and music – and the processes.

You can read about it all on my blog  www.petepascoe.wordpress.com  where you can find the link to the ‘Gone Too Soon’ episode –  and read the lyrics of the song featured on each podcast episode…)

Ok, Changing Times, here we go – rollin’ !