Lonely Path
Episode #110: Lonely Path (Song starts at 7:03) I enjoyed singing and playing Lonely Path live for today's episode. I do this sometimes. Other times I'll select an old demo or maybe an album track. It adds variety along the way. It's all a work in progress. I played a gig today - and yesterday - at the village green. It's a small village. A very nice community farmers market was on today. I'd shut my eyes as I started off singing and opened them after a couple of songs. I found myself pretty much surrounded by a decent crowd. They’d materialised very quietly, drawn by the music and were listening very closely. It's the most rewarding thing when you get that response as a songwriter. What it means is: because these people don't know the song they're listening too, it had better be engaging emotionally and have whatever it takes as a performance to draw the listener in… and that’s what happened. Yesterday, on the green, the same thing happened but on a smaller scale. This time when I shut my eyes to start it was just myself, a few sculptors, a human performance artist coloured gold, being a statue. Interesting gig! I was hired to attract attention to this public art demonstration/event. And... The ‘extra’ listener I drew in first was a fellow who had obviously had a big night out and hadn't gone home. He came right into my personal space...I sensed him before I opened my eyes.. When I did he looked at me menacingly and said " do I look angry to you? " I said "No, man, you look like you could do with a lie down.” Which he did. He promptly lay down and appeared to pass out. After that, during the gig, every now and then he'd wake up appreciatively declare " %}^% ing brilliant", "Beautiful music”. The sun shone and we looked after him. He was safe with us, the artists. So I played music rather like a soundscape for what was going on around me. I mention all this because the subject of today's song. Lonely path. The fellow asleep next to me on the green yesterday was alone. I was alone playing. We are all alone, in a sense. The song came about when one of my students asked me what it's like to be a songwriter. I told him the usual stuff (rewarding, exhilarating, hard at times, a joy, etc). Immediately after he left, with a quiet laugh, I said to myself "It's a lonely path.” So that's where the song started. As an artist, there is a sort of a price to pay, somehow. It's well worth it. But it does require long periods of contemplation, which requires solitude. A lonely word in itself, yet there is solace here. Times of regular reflection sure has its rewards. So here we go, with a ‘heart my sleeve’ episode... here's how I feel, being a songwriter, painter and poet. And.. of course, on this episode you'll get to find out about more about how a song comes together. Here we go… As usual, the lyrics are on this week’s blog post : www.petepascoe.worpress.com (plus Seascapes, Cartoons and more).