As Is Where Is

Many years ago in Wellington I saw Bill on his postie round and asked if I could borrow a Robert Johnson album. We had a go at writing together and 'Can't Get Back' came from that first session.

40 years later and it's not very different. We make a cup of tea. We sit in the kitchen or out under a tree in the garden and Bill picks up his guitar. I can't really sing or play but Bill is a bottomless well of beautiful music. We just try different ideas and in an hour or so we've found a song.

We know each other pretty well and we try not to write the same song twice. Some of them are about Bill's interest in philosophy but he doesn't go on about it. He leads a very simple life and reads a lot of books and I think that helps our lyrics.
If he likes a song he'll play it. In 'Grandma's Music' he's a woman trapped in a rest home and it's become a favourite in his live set. 'The King of France (LGBT Blues)' is a song we wrote from the point of view of a stroppy young woman. I wasn't sure about it but he wanted to have it on the album and he plays it live as well. One of the reasons I love him.
Arthur Baysting