The Long Haul

Episode#129:  The Long Haul    (Song starts at 5:05) It’s been a long time since I wrote the song Secret Lullabies. I use the riff as my theme music for these episodes. That particular song was song number 3. The long haul is song number 614. I wrote it in 2014. Yes, there’s been a few years & a fair bit of water under the bridge. It’s been a long haul. What inspired this song?… yep, you guessed, it: a feeling. And the feeling was: I’d realised I was in for the long haul for the relationship I found myself in. I like to add lines of character. ‘Old dog, new trick’ is, I believe, exactly that - a good way to start a song. Something that catches the ear. Unexpected, perhaps a bit humorous - nothing wrong with that. So with a song, you’ve only got about 3mins each word counts. And so it moves on. ‘You can count on me ….for the weekend…. In about 20 years’. Yes, the songwriter is initially pulling his lovers leg - and then he’s finally admitting it. Ok I’m in for the long haul. I think it was a nice concept for a song. I felt it needed some of the leg pulling, to come across as real, not gushy, something worth listening to. And it was written with the idea that perhaps someone (like me, back then) who found the words didn’t come easy, might be able to play this song to someone whom they thought might be ‘the one’. It’s a nice feeling, just cruising out, playing an instrumental section of a song you’ve written. There’s time for reflection, it’s good fun… as a painter, you get to present the painting once, really. With a song, each time you perform it, you might find something else in there to feature. It might be melodic phrase, a particular group of chords that you just feature a bit more. It’s also nice to write a song about a subject that you feel so strongly about, but by talking about old dogs, the wind blowing, the dawn, the story can be delivered in a relaxing, yet entertaining manner, without getting too worked up about it all. This isn’t a power ballad. I’m not that sort of writer - or singer. I’m more your understated sort of gentle presentation sort of songwriter, generally speaking. Well, there’s a variety check out 14 albums here: www.petepascoe.bandcamp.com - 7 of these albums are streaming on other platforms like Spotify, etc. In amongst talking about the song, you’ll get to hear about a old house I lived in; owls, possums, carting a table home with car and no trailer; my cats waking me up way too early, etc. all sorts of things pop into my mind as I talk. It’s all pretty relaxed. I do like having a yarn and I do like letting the song lead the way as I record each episode. It’s all off the cuff - no notes or prep. So its relaxed and fun. It’s also fun for me to read through the lyrics, analyse where they’ve come from, the underlying meaning, what may make the odd line comes across a little stronger than some others, etc. The music always amazes me, where it comes from, how it comes through,. At the end of this episode, to demonstrate this, I describe the scene I was part of, fishing at sunset the other night. The feeling that I felt that evening, I talk myself into that state again and allow it to sort of move my fingers on the piano keys and improvise a piano piece - which could easily become a song. I hope you enjoy this episode, if you do, and you’re new here, there’s plenty more episodes…120 odd waiting for you. Then there’s the 14 albums ( currently ) online, videos, lots of paintings, cartoons, etc. I’d love you to sign up to my email list. You won’t miss a thing that way. [email protected] Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this episode. Pete