Song and a Chat

Episode #202:    Sideways From A Paper Bag    (Song starts at 3:55) On this episode I’m going to take you back in time, with a demo recorded in the year 2000. Quite a bizarre title, isn’t it. Something I’ve noticed on this podcast is that as lyricist, if I’m not really too sure what to write about, I’ll look around and see what’s happening around me. My eyes will generally focus on a object and I’...

Episode #201: Sleeping On A Wish (Song starts at   4:08) I’m in a fairly relaxed state of mind. I’ve been holidaying, camping beside a stream In Bright, Vic, Australia. The sound of the stream is what I’ve brought back with me, it just sort of permeates the whole being, the sounds of the stream and birds. So when I came into my studio, I thought to myself I’m not going to do a rock n roll song…I’m...

Episode #200 :   One Thing We Know. (Song starts at 4:26) Welcome to episode #200! It’s such a great feeling, because I honestly wasn’t sure I’d get past episode #1. It’s become like a ‘Songwriter Speaks’ sort of an online gig for me – something I really look forward to each week. Whether you’ve been here from the start with me, or a new arrival, or perhaps you pop in from time to time, rega...

Episode #199: Song For August    (Song starts at 3:08) Welcome to another song – and another 30 mins of observations, humour, with a particular focus on songwriting. For this episode, as it happens, I found a couple of different of versions of Song #396, Song For August, using the same lyrics. Both done in 1994. One was written on the piano by myself. The version we went with ( and quite rig...

Episode #198:    Only Love Is Real    (Song starts at 4:29) This one, Song #660, popped up in amongst a dozen or so songs I had a sing and play through, earlier today. I thought ‘Aha!’ this would be a good one to have a look at for the podcast. It’s a seemingly simple song. A ‘big day’ was the topic of my blog this week. And it was a big day, the day I took the hand of the person who turned out to...

Episode #197:   Let Her Know    (Song starts at 5:19) Song #156, Let Her Know, was composed in 1990. Back then, I was starting to think that’s a reasonable amount of songs. The demo on this episode was recorded a decade later. And here we are in 2024. Wow. 34 years later, I find myself with 800 songs. It was fun, as always, listening to the demo, playing parts of ‘Let Her Know’, talkin...

Episode #196: Home Straight  (Song starts at   2:40) This episode’s song would be a ‘protest song’ about the way we are not looking after the world & how out of touch with nature we have become. Every now and then a song like this sneaks up on me. When it happens, I just go with the flow. It’s a great way to let off some steam. It’s also a very creative & effective way of dealing with some...

Episode #195: White Angels  (Song starts at 5:51) On this episode we are looking at the 2nd song I wrote after I arrived in Melbourne in 1997. I’d already written 385 songs in New Zealand before this one. I came to Melbourne as it was a rite of passage, of sorts, for kiwi songwriters to jump the ditch. I was here to set up camp, to be here for some time, to continue on – or perhaps mor...

Episode #194: Parachutes    (Song starts at 4:40) Back in 1993, I had a residency as a pianist at a resort in Wairakei, near Taupo, in New Zealand. To rejuvenate myself – and lift my spirits – while I know I was very lucky to have this sort of gig, being a pianoman has it’s ups and downs. During the daytime, I’d often get out into nature. I’d play golf or go trout fishing. I wrote the...

Episode #193: Soul Yo-Yo      (Song starts at 5:08) Ever wondered about all the personal ups and downs we have and how   – in some of the more extreme moments – we seem to bring to light aspects of ourselves we perhaps don’t regularly access? I wonder why we wait for those times of crises to express and act on more of our potential? That was the inspiration for the words of song #43 So...

Episode #192: When I Was Young  (Song starts at 4:52   ) When I Was Young is song #554, composed in 2010. I remember it was a fun piece to write. Lyrically, as the title suggests, it’s an older me, looking back at my youth. It’s a reflective lyric. It’s about hanging on to the childhood optimism, the magic that can be found in life. I strive to hang on to those sorts of feelings. I think because I...

Episode #191:   Goodnight  (Song starts at 4:20) Here’s another half an hour of music and gentle chat. This isn’t a left brained sort of dry presentation eg: “ and here we have the verse, you’ll note… blah blah”. No, it’s more relaxed. I’m on stage – in my mind. Well, I’m sitting at my piano, in my a studio in Melbourne, Australia, and you are my audience and I’m here to entertain and...

Episode #190: Driving Home Blues      (Song starts at 3:00) I’m really enjoying producing these episodes – it’s a live online gig, really. That’s what it feels like. Thanks so much to those of you who are tuning in regularly. If you’re new here: I’m looking to shine a light on some aspects of how I compose a song. I’m certainly not to looking take away the mystery – as if I could do th...

Episode #189: Finding This City.  (Song starts at 3:42   ) Hi there, this episode was a fun one to put together. To start with, Finding This City came into my mind as I went into my studio. I went over to a large box of old cassettes and selected one completely randomly. Amazingly, the tape that said Peter ’94 , was teed up and ready to play the uptempo rocker that is: ‘Finding This City&#82...

Episode #188: Weather Girl    (Song starts at 3:48) Back in the day, when I wrote this one, there used to be a weather girl on TV after the news. She used to have a stick and point out the highs and the lows on a weather map. Also back in the day I was getting to know a young lady. It was a little bit of an up and down time. I wasn’t sure quite how a lunch date was going to go, from day to day. I...

Episode #187: Not Here At All        (Song starts at 4:42 ) People ask me: “why do you do a podcast, Peter?” and I just say well I really, really enjoy it. Life is to be enjoyed. Plus, I’m really enjoying rediscovering songs which I’ve written a while ago – like this episode’s song, ‘Not Here At All’. It was written in the year 2000. It’s fun to sit behind my piano and entertain...

Episode #186:   Song For You.  (Song starts at 3:38) This is a love song. Just words and a simple tune. It can be a powerful combination. Written in 2000, song #475 sums up the grateful feeling I’d found by deciding to commit to my girlfriend who became my wife. Lucky me. It’s been an incredibly enjoyable process – our relationship – and rediscovering songs over these last 180 odd week...

Episode #185: Lonely Tune (Chase Those Blues Away).  (Song starts at 3:20) It’s been a nice few days. Yesterday was a cracking ‘blue sky day’. I was sitting outside and I decided to go inside and sit at the piano and sing a song. I picked up the old purple book, flicked it open and there it was: Lonely Tune. I thought ‘why not…’ I enjoyed singing it so much I thought I’d choose it for this week’s...

Episode #184: Strange Town      (Song starts at 4:41 & 26:00 ) If it’s your first time here, thanks for dropping by. You’ve picked an interesting one – this is a bit of a wild and whacky episode. I’ve picked on an old song from 1987. I was a ‘piano man’ back then, Paul Dredge ( co-writer / long time buddy ) and I were performing as a duo in the evenings, presenting dining music. But we w...

Episode #183: Brilliant Sunshine    (Song starts at 4:43) I started this song as I was travelling to piano teaching one morning. I was sitting at the bus stop on the busy road. The sun was so hot and bright I could barely read the words on my page. That is literally what the first few sentences of the lyrics say. So pretty much, no matter where you are, or what you’re up to, it can be done. We all...

Episode #182: Hit The Sun    (Song starts at 6:00) Where did ‘Hit The Sun’ come from? Well, as soon as I read through the lyrics, like a poem, it took me right back to the day I composed it. It was a beautiful Spring day. I went outside to hang out some washing ( my cat followed me, waiting for his customary ride in the washing basket, back inside). Then I sat on the front porch and st...

Episode #181: Gone Too Soon  (Song starts at 4:12) Here’s one from 2014: song # 620, ‘Gone Too Soon’ It was inspired by a neighbour who lived across the street from us. She always had just the right amount of time to chat. She wasn’t one of those you’d have to duck and run from, (through the fear of losing 15mins). Nope. She was positive & interested in what you were up to, bright...

Episode #180: Crossroads  (Song starts at 4:04) I wrote crossroads, Song #119, in 1989. When I saw the title of the song in my old green songbook, I remembered it was based on an old memory. Reading through the first verse, a vivid scene sort of played out in my mind, like recalling a dream: I was I about 3 or 4. My mother and I had gone to visit an old lady. We sat in her lounge, and cups of tea...

Episode #179: Can’t Sing You A Song    (Song starts at 3:38) I had a bit of fun with the demo on this episode. Earlier today, I was supposed to be recording some piano for a song. The session got cancelled at the last minute. Turns out I was really in the mood to record, so what started out as a piano/vocal take ended up having the kitchen sink thrown in ( strings, guitars, bass, Rhodes – al...

Episode #178:   Inside    (Song starts at 4:21) This episode’s song is #630, written in August, 2015. It was one of those ‘words first, music second’ sort of songs. It’s interesting this song should float to the surface for this episode…this week I had a bit of a wobbly moment, we all have them: I was wondering how much would it really have changed things, had I stayed in NZ   (at 30 I moved to Me...