Episodes

Episode #35: Pot of Gold (Song at 5:38) Here’s a slice of life, another 30 minute ‘yarn with a songwriter’. Once again this week, I’m delivering a song, and lots of chat. In a relaxed manner, as if you’re in a intimate audience and I’m the piano man introducing a song. I take it a step further on these episodes, analysing the lyrics, talking about where the song came from, looking at musical aspects… What makes a song special. Pot of Gold is really about some of the big aspects of life. …death ...

Episode #34: (There’ll Always Be) Another Day – (Song at 9:10) Hi there, welcome! How would you like to sit back and have a listen to a songwriter speak? Now’s your opportunity. I’m sitting at my piano – which I noodle away on – sometimes a little absently, as I speak. I also use the piano to demonstrate aspects of what I’m talking about. And what I’m talking about this week Is song #584: Another day.. Where did it come from? Neil the lead guitarist in our band suggested it: “Pete, there’s so m...

Episode #33: Time Won’t Wait – (Song at 7:55sec) Where does a song come from, where does it start, how does it build? These are some of things I talk about and demonstrate, as I chat and play my piano each week. Music plays such a big role in our life. I remember hearing John Lennon’s Imagine for the first time, on the radio. What a recording (what song, of course).. but there was something about the actual recording. Very cool. So I enjoy songs and recordings that have a certain feeling. Becau...

Episode #32: Madman’s Preoccupation – (Song at 7:48sec) Welcome to another episode. Hi there, my name is Pete, I’m a songwriter. I’m enjoying introducing a song I’ve written each week. I also talk about where the song came from, the lyrics, the music. So you might like to tune in to pick up some song writing tips. Or you might like to just hear a songwriter speak about a song his life, observations. Information and entertainment – that’s what I’m offering. It’s as if I’m on a stage, talking in ...

Episode #31: End The Game – (Song at 8:42sec) Where did this song come from? What caused me to write these lyrics? Without giving too much away, sometimes the world can seem a bit too …intense. The news can be a bit grim. …that’s what can cause artists to sit down and create something that hopefully lifts their spirits – and the great thing is, it has the potential to lift other people too. That’s the power of the arts. Today the weather report would had you believe a deluge was imminent. I ign...

Episode #30: Game Plan – (Song at 2.58) We all have Rough days. The cat in the first line of the song in this episode was having a rough day…a cat left out in the rain can look so abandoned and bereft. When I wrote these lyrics, that was exactly how I felt. What I thought was starting to look like a very promising romantic relationship suddenly took a sudden turn for the worse, from my point of view…. Lost and lonely alright… Oh well, at least these sorts of feelings can be the reason a song li...

Episode #29: Breathe and Realise – ( Song at 10:04) This week in my blog and this podcast, Im drawing attention to – and celebrating – the sense of freedom that can be found by going out for a walk in nature. Song number 442 from 1998, Breathe and Realise is about taking that Moment to realise how free we really are. In Melbourne, the lockdown has been slightly changed – I’m now allowed to go…. Fishing. And fishing is my way of letting go of my worries, particularly when I do a cast with my rod...

Episode #28: My Picture – (Song at 9:22) Welcome to another episode. Time is whizzing by in lockdown, here in Melbourne, it’s been about 28 weeks (with a brief respite mid way). And it’s been about 24 years since I wrote the song ‘My Picture’. This song is about a breath you take as you go within and allow room for some self reflection. Speaking of stopping, the world used to stop for me whenever Elton John came on the radio. Elton John and Bernie Taupin were a huge influence on my music – and ...

Episode #27: In The Scheme Of Things – (Song at 7:35) Welcome back again to another episode. I’m going to endeavour to give you an insight into how it feels to write a song, the sort of thoughts a songwriter has. It was peaceful this morning, here in Melbourne – just little light drizzle, no wind. I found I’d woken in quite reflective state of mind. This particular song came to me as I thought about my place in the scheme of things. This time last year I was on the Pohangina river in the Manawa...

Episode #26: Fair New Day – (Song at 6:33) It’s springtime here in Melbourne. Today was indeed a fair new day. Tune in again this week and catch another song. If it’s your first time here, welcome! You are now part of an intimate listening audience. Let me entertain and inform you. I want to give you an insight as to where this song came from, how it came into being. This one started to come through on the night of a big rock roll band gig, featuring yours truly on lead vocals. This particular ...

Episode #25: Run Away (It’s Never Easy) – (Song at 8:10 & 25:00) Songs take you right back to what you were up to at the time when they came into your life, don’t they? When you write a song, a heartfelt song, it seems the effect increases tenfold. Particularly if you are writing from the heart. And that’s what I do… Listening to today’s song Run Away (I.N.E.), song number #176, it took me right back in time to when I wrote it. It’s a song about a relationship….if you like lyrics, we dip into t...

Episode #24: Walk By The River – (Song at 6.14) Welcome to another podcast episode – a big show again, this week! Picture me on a stage, with my piano. You’re the intimate audience. Yes, you’re going to a get a song- song# 385 as matter of fact. But that’s far from all you’ll be hearing about. Come back in time with me and we’ll see where the song came from. At the time I composed this song, I was reading Tolkien by candlelight, listening to De Ja vu by Crosby Stills Nash and Young. It was a pe...

Episode #23: Winter Blue – (Song at 11.43) Hi there, Welcome to another episode of Song and a Chat. If it’s your first time here, well, I hope you’re in for a treat. You’ll get to step into the shoes of a songwriter. You’ll hear a bit about how the song came together. I had ski gig – playing piano in an old restaurant in the evenings, skiing all day when it was fine. When it rained I wrote songs, drew cartoons ….and I went trout fishing. I tell a yarn about the time I was asked to take a party ...

Episode #22: Everyone Falls – (Song at 1:40) This podcast is a bit like a songwriter speaks type of gig. I’ll talk about an old demo, well look at it from a songwriting point view. Plus – and perhaps more so – I’m talking about episodes from my past – you’ll get a slice of the life of a songwriter. Recording these episodes, I fly by the seat of my pants. It’s a casual presentation each week. I talk honestly about my work. I also talk the featured song of the week – what I was feeling at the tim...

Episode #21: Don’t You Ever Give In – (Song at 12:03 & 28:51) If you streamed this episode, what would you hear about? Well… Hi, my name’s Pete Pascoe, I’m a songwriter with a lot of songs. Each week I talk about a song I’ve written & what I was thinking when I wrote the song. I relate anecdotes from around time as well & include observations about life in general – all delivered in a laid back manner with a dose of humour. So this week, song number 368, ‘Don’t You Ever Give In’ … the title say...

Episode #20: Photograph – (Song at 5:40) Welcome back to to another episode of Song and a Chat. This week’s song talks about the idea of how a photograph – or a single memory can then bring into your mind a bunch of memories from the same time, and then you discover you’ve actually remembered much more from that particular time than you thought you had. Music has a way of bringing back memories, doesn’t it. The song Photograph also explores how we ’cast a line’ into our possible future. ..and t...

Episode #19: A Moment In Time – (Song at 7:10) Hi, Welcome to another Song and a Chat episode. Before we shut down with Covid 19, I used to commute on the train. I can’t say I miss the commute, but I did make the most of the time on the train. Sometimes I wrote lyrics. The words to this song were written on the train. Of course it wasn’t always as productive on my commutes. I used to ride my bike part the way. I won’t give it away, but often on a commute, weather plays a part in proceedings. An...

Episode #18: Cathedral – (Song at 6:08 & 28:50) Hi, If you’ve been here before, welcome back for another dose! If you’re here for the first time, thanks for having a listen. What I’m doing is offering you an insight into the song, where it came from, how it came together – plus of course you get to hear a demo of the song. I particularly enjoy looking back at the time I when I wrote the song, seeing what springs to mind… It’s amazing how a song is like a bookmark in time, for your memory. This ...

Episode #17: God’s Wish – (Song at 11:32 & 29:40) In this episode, I recount a couple of slices of my life back when I first came to Australia to live – including an exchange during evening in a bar, outdoors in St Kilda, Melbourne. Right then I discovered I was in a big city – a big change for someone who from New Zealand. I also talk about what I’ve been up to during the week I record the podcast episode. This week, I’ll take you on a walk in a coastal national park, you’ll join the band in a...

Episode #16: Balcony – (Song at 4:03) A demo from my past – Feb 1994, written in Hamilton NZ, you’ll hear some anecdotes from my time there. As I describe these experiences, you’ll get an insight into places I’ve been and people I’ve met and you’ll also see how they find their way into song lyrics and music. I also talk about the song in terms of what it means to me today. If you like the idea of stepping into the shoes of a songwriter for half an hour, you’re in the right place. These episodes...

Episode #15: This World Offers You – (Song at 5:24, 19:36, 28:47) A bit of fun this week, a departure in music style… I won’t give too much away. Go behind the scenes, get the inside ‘goss’ on how the song came to be, how it got recorded, what it’s about. This song, number 34, written in 1998, is from the first ever album by myself and Paul Dredge (NZ) – an independent release of about 20 cassettes! This was the 1st time we got to use a 4 track recorder, a drum machine and reverb FX. It was a v...

Episode #14: How You Mend A Broken Heart – (Song at 15:55) Welcome back! If you’ve come back again this week, if you’re new here, welcome along! Be entertained, informed and you get a song to listen to part way through – another demo this week. Written in 2000, It was a time in my life when things were fairly settled. My song writing perhaps wasn’t in a golden sort of patch, but you keep going (I’m passionate) and songs like this one seem to come along. You get the background of what I was up t...

Episode #13: Sunset Journey – (Song at 9:43 & 22:55) I’m really enjoying recording these episodes. This song came about after a drive down to the beach with friends. We wanted to catch the sunset. It was early winter. As it turned out, we timed it really well. The tide was out, the sun was about to dip over the horizon. The sky was reflected in the wet sand. A black swan appeared out of the deepening dusk, flying – a silhouette against the stars as they started to appear. I was completely lost ...

Episode #12: Who’ll Forget – (Song at 4:10) A political song this week. I wrote this one back in 2002. It’s popped up again now. It was released once as 100 CDs, a booklet with lyrics and watercolour / pen paintings. But it always felt like a demo. I’m going to re-record this album. I have repainted the original watercolour / pen sketches in acrylic and developed them some more. I’ll include these with the new release. In the intervening years since I wrote the song, it only seems to have becom...