Peter Alsop‘s SONGS TO CHEW

    Today we'll listen to "It's Only A Wee-Wee, So What's The Big Deal?"  It's a song about gender, written in 1981, and it's still sweeping the Montessori schools of the country!  My old buddy Utah Phillips used to sing this one.  He called it, "a full bore, overhead cam, spoke wire-wheels, no holds barred damn kids song!"  I love playing it because it generates discussions about the ways that bo...

    My SONG TO CHEW today is"Gotta Be Somewhere", the last song on my CAMPING WITH DADS album.  I thought it would be wonderful to finish the album with a song that is both a recap of our camping adventure, and a charming existential mystery about whether or not we ever went on the trip at all!  Ever been somewhere that you wish you weren't?  It can be miserable!!  But why choose stress?  If we te...

    Today we check out "I Brought A Gorilla Home" from my CAMPING WITH DADS album.  Kids love to feel they've got control of things around them, because in real family life, they often don't have much control.  When I'd take my kids to a zoo, I'd watch the great apes behind the shatter-proof glass or surrounded by an outdoor moat.  I'd watch their eyes follow us.  Kinda like being in "the slammer"...

     This weeks song is "I Wear Pink" by Steve Denyes, from my CAMPING WITH DADS album.  The Dads on the album talk with the kids about all the "Spose-tahs" we grew up with.  We were taught that boys were never 'spose-tah' wear pink and that girls were 'spose-tah' only do girl-things", mostly with other girls!  Lots of the 'spose-tahs' have changed, but they're still there!  They come from our fam...

    Today's SONG TO CHEW is "Asleep At The Helm".  It's clear that many of the men 'at the helms' of our "ships of state" around the world have been running us onto the rocks!  It's past time for us men to put aside any of our 'dinosaur-type' thinking, and ask our feminist sisters to take over and chart some different courses to safer harbors; - where women's healthcare is defined by what women ne...

    Today's SONG TO CHEW is "Spit Ball" from my "Camping With Dads" album.  My eleven-year-old grandaughter, Quinnlyn, sings it with me.  It's about escalation and revenge.  At school, we used to chew up paper, make it gooey, then flick it on our finger at another kid, who then flicked their own spit balls back at us.  It was gross and mostly boys who did it.  Kids may not know the word "escalatio...

Today's SONG TO CHEW is "Buddies" from my UNIFORMS album.  This song is for buddies who love each other, regardless of their gender.  It works well to generate discussions about homophobia and sexual orientationism.  When I wrote this song back in 1978, there was homophobia all around us.  There have been lots of feminist men's songwriters and performers writing wonderful songs that shed light on...

   This week's Song To Chew from my CAMPING WITH DADS album is "Stronga".  I made up the word to remind us that our old stories about "male strength" don't include the concept that 'true strength' has an element of empathy for those who don't have the same strength and access that we do.  It takes real "stronga" strength to pay attention and hold back our advantage, so someone else can be lifted a...

    Today's SONG TO CHEW is "Buckdancer's Daddy".  Thought we might take a break from politics, but I know that politics isn't something "out there somewhere", away from us.  It's part of the everyday fabric of our lives.  We learn political skills watching our how our parents deal with life.  This song's based on a true story from my friend Beverly Cotten-Dillard. Byron Berline and John Hickman p...

     This week we've got another SONG TO CHEW from my new CAMPING WITH DADS album.  It's designed to help us Dads raise our own consciousness about some of the messages we inherited from our Dads; to help us do a better job of helping our boys understand the need to respect and care for our daughters, ... and ourselves.      My Dad used to say, "Peter!  You need a good talkin' to!", but I think wh...

     Today's SONG TO CHEW was inspired by "The Waltons" television show about a depression era family that always seemed to look at the bright side of things!  That's a great attitude for us these days, to help us get through the challenging stuff going on around us.  It's called "One Less Mouth To Feed" about "reframing adversity", written from the point of view of John Walton, the Dad.  Here's a...

    Today's SONG TO CHEW is the world premiere of "Skin Color"; a "hot-off-the-press" song from my new CAMPING WITH DADS album!  Helps adults talk with kids about racism.  The entire album is designed for Dads to raise our sons' awareness of the need to respect our daughters, (and ourselves!)  Gerald Rivers sings this one with me, along with some kids and the other Dads.  Singing "our choices get...

   Today's Song to Chew is my song "Uniforms", about our costumes.  Most of us pick what we wear every day.  Some of us choose to stand out, ... some of us choose to blend in.  What 'uniform' did you put on this morning? Thanks to all my subscribers!  Here's what's new and how to reach me!  Bye for now!    * NEW! CAMPING WITH DADS - "teaching our sons how to respect our daughters"~ peteralsop.hear...

   Today's SONG TO CHEW, "My Body", has actually saved some kids lives.  It's still being used to help children learn to protect themselves from abduction and sexual abuse all over the world.  We want to be a safe place for our kids to discuss ANYTHING, but if we send the message that we only want to hear “okay” things from kids, ... we may shut out a child who needs to talk to us about something...

    Today, ... we'll listen to a song I recorded in 1977 about a native American World War II veteran.  His story was like that of many other indigenous Americans.  With our current spotlight on racism and racial injustice in our country, ... I thought it would be good to "chew on" this song for a bit.  Find me on Facebook at WE LIKE PETER ALSOP, or email me at peter@peteralsop.com .  I'd love to...

   Today we'll listen to my "Homely Friend" song.  It's not about "ugly people", it's about the word "homely", which originally referred to something or someone who felt and looked "homemade".  We see their flaws, but we feel at home with 'em anyway.  As we spend more time at home these days, we have an opportunity to see how the galloping pace of our everyday life may have caused us to overlook t...

    Today's SONGS TO CHEW is "Lists", an uninhibited, non-sexist love song from my SONGS ON SEX & SEXUALITY and my ASLEEP AT THE HELM albums.  I wrote this for Ellen, my wife, ... when we first got together.  It's for all you 'list-makers' out there!     Please let your friends know about my podcast.  You can find me on Facebook at WE LIKE PETER ALSOP.  I'll be back next week, with another Song To...

    This week’s episode is a true story about a single foster parent’s struggle to adopt a child. Our current 'sheltering in place' provides many of us with an opportunity to relate to Gary's 'loneliness', and review our lives so far.  Many of us find ourselves thinking about how we might want to redirect our lives and widen our circle of care.   So here, ... from my UNIFORMS album, ...is this wee...

     This week's Song To Chew is "All Used Up", written by my old buddy Utah Phillips.  It was his birthday last week.  He was one of my teachers.  Homelessness and poverty were real important to Utah, as they are to us these days, so in his spirit and memory, ... here's his Song To Chew from my DRAW THE LINE album.       Please tell your friends about my podcast.  You can find me on Facebook at W...

    Today's SONG TO CHEW, "When You Ask Me First", is about male difficulties with relinquishing control in the bedroom; from my first feminist album, ASLEEP AT THE HELM.     You can find information on ASLEEP, or my new album, CAMPING WITH DADS at my website ~ peteralsop.com , or look for me on Amazon. Big changes going on in our old stories!  Stay safe, wear your mask, keep singin' and hang on! ...

    Almost all the songs I perform are songs that I've written, ... but today's song, "Ev'rbody's Goin' For The Money" is by Spider John Koerner.  He influenced my style of guitar playing and songwriting.  I added this line, ... "So why sing a song about money? Why think about our way of life?  Cause it’s time to face that the human race, needs something more than money to survive!"   Good song to...

    On our SONGS TO CHEW this week, we play "Ghosts", about a break-up.  With self-reflection, a painful separation can bring wisdom, ... and the hopefully the resolution to avoid the same blindness in the future.     Oh!  I have a new album coming out soon, ... "Camping With Dads", ... all new songs, not 'just for kids'!  I expect it will encourage some lively family discussions!  Please email me...

     The realization that we're mortal, gives us the opportunity to see how each one of our little moments, ... alive in this beautiful world of ours, ... is an incredible and delicate gift we each hold briefly in our hands.  This week's SONG TO CHEW is "Mr. D", from my FAN CLUB FAVORITES album. ~ Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop  ~ email me at peter@peteralsop.com  ~ for this...

     Today's "Song to Chew" is the title cut from my DRAW THE LINE album. ~  How do we make a choice about where, ... and when, to actually "draw the line"?  What will prompt us to take individual action to change the course of human events?  Our kids?  Or do we leave it up to someone else, while we "get up and go to work, ... just like everything is fine?"  From 1980, ... still very relevant toda...

     On this week’s SONGS TO CHEW we’ll listen to “Atomic Waste" from my DRAW THE LINE album, written forty years ago, and Hey!, ... still relevant today!  Oh Boy!      Please share this podcast with anyone who might enjoy chewing on a song with us, (homeschoolers, teachers, therapists, college professors?)  It's free, ~ just hit the podcast icon on your phone, or, on your computer go to:   https:...