Episode #214: Trust To Receive. (Song starts at 7:12)
Hi there & welcome to another episode. Here we are, looking at another song again, in a ‘songwriter speaks’ style - inclusive, casual fun, entertaining.… this time it’s Trust To Receive, song #105. Composed in 1989!
Again this week, this song popped into my mind. I knew it was in the ‘green book’ (my 1st old book of handwritten songs)…as an experiment, I held the book upside down and back to front, flicked the pages once - and it opened, sure enough - on Trust To Receive. Amazing, to me. Go figure. I take it as a 'nod that I’m heading in the right direction’ when this sort of coincidence happens.
Then I opened the cupboard, dug up the cassette (which I knew the song was on, in this case). And it was all but teed up - just the end of a nice song by my co-songwriting buddy, Paul Dredge, to listen to (I’m loving producing this podcast. I’m rediscovering more music each week). The cassette was a recording of an album Paul and I wrote and recorded way back in the the early 1990s.
And here I am, in 2024, finishing our 6th ‘proper’ album which will be steaming shortly.
Determination would be the key.
The demo you’ll hear was recorded on a 4 track machine. It’s fair to say I was really just finding my way as a song writer, with 105 songs under my belt.
There’s something about Trust To Receive that I really like. It’s different. Sort of a reggae influenced song - unusual for a pianist to write this sort of song, but immediately you can hear I was hearing in my head more than just the piano and voice, as I wrote this one.
The whole band arrangement came along as I wrote the music to the lyrics for the first verse.
From there, it really is about following the feeling, the story, if you like.
Each musical phrase is related to the preceding and the one that follows.
Just like each line of the lyrics.
I can’t tell you where this snap shot of series of images came from: 'silent stare, a motionless vigil.’… a dream? Set against a cold city, a feminine character emerges. Obviously having been through some trials, the narrator sees beauty, sees fragility but also senses underlying strength ..potential. Trust is required for love to be received and that’s the message of the song. I would say for the both the character in the song - and the narrator (and of course the listener).
It was fun to listen back to this old demo. What would I go back and do differently? …well, pretty much everything. But it remains a document of it’s day. It captured a feeling, a groove, with the gear I had. And if I hadn’t recorded that, the song would’ve disappeared.
I’m glad I recorded it and I’m glad I thought to feature it this week.
I hope you enjoy hearing a bit about how Trust To Receive came together,
On this episode I’ll also take you for a walk down to the beach, as I take photos to use for references for a seascape painting which is going to an exhibition this week. I’m busy…..
2 new albums so close to being finished now. I really enjoyed doing some mixing last week (lots to listen to online streaming on the usual platform.
blog: www.petepascoe.wordpress.com
Ok, on with the show…hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording this episode.
‘Trust To Receive, rollin’!…’