Rosa Walton spent over 18 months getting one song right.

On this episode of The Hardest Part, Rosa opens up "Halfway Around the World" from her album Tell Me It's a Dream, her first attempt at a "straight-down-the-line" love song, and the hardest lyrics she's ever had to write.

It's a conversation about craft: why literal songwriting scares her more than abstract imagery, how she knows the moment a lyric is finally right, why she refuses to explain what her songs are about ("it takes away the magic"), and the new ending she wrote just the day before this stripped-back session.

Rosa performs "Halfway Around the World" live and stripped back for the show at the end of the episode.

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Guest: Rosa Walton
Host: Kieron Banerji
Song: Halfway Around The World
Album: Tell Me It's a Dream
Creative: Callum Baker

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00:00 Intro
01:43 Why "Halfway Around the World" was the hardest
02:22 18 months to get the lyrics right
03:33 Her first "straight-down-the-line" love song
04:48 A song that works on one instrument
06:06 What the song is really about
09:48 How she knows when a lyric is right
13:00 Why she won't explain her lyrics
16:51 The new ending she wrote for this session
18:09 A song as something that lasts forever

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The Hardest Part is a podcast and live-session series where artists open up the one song that cost them the most, the story behind it, and a stripped-back performance. Hosted by Kieron Banerji.

Rosa Walton spent over 18 months getting one song right.
On this episode of The Hardest Part, Rosa opens up "Halfway Around the World" from her album Tell Me It's a Dream, her first attempt at a "straight-down-the-line" love song, and the hardest lyrics she's ever had to write.
It's a conversation about craft: why literal songwriting scares her more than abstract imagery, how she knows the moment a lyric is finally right, why she refuses to explain what her songs are about ("it takes away the magic"), and the new ending she wrote just the day before this stripped-back session.
Rosa performs "Halfway Around the World" live and stripped back for the show at the end of the episode.
-
Guest: Rosa Walton Host: Kieron Banerji Song: Halfway Around The World Album: Tell Me It's a Dream Creative: Callum Baker
-
00:00 Intro 01:43 Why "Halfway Around the World" was the hardest 02:22 18 months to get the lyrics right 03:33 Her first "straight-down-the-line" love song 04:48 A song that works on one instrument 06:06 What the song is really about 09:48 How she knows when a lyric is right 13:00 Why she won't explain her lyrics 16:51 The new ending she wrote for this session 18:09 A song as something that lasts forever
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The Hardest Part is a podcast and live-session series where artists open up the one song that cost them the most, the story behind it, and a stripped-back performance. Hosted by Kieron Banerji.

Hosted by Kieron Banerji, The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every two weeks, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection.

Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time.

Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

Hosted by Kieron Banerji,&nbsp;The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every two weeks, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection.
Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song&mdash;raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time.
Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

The Hardest Part

Hosted by Kieron Banerji, The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every week, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection.

Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time.

Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

Hosted by Kieron Banerji, The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every week, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection.
Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time.
Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

HP #49: Rosa Walton: "Halfway Round The World"

Tenderness didn't find "Playing Country Roads" hard to write, she found it almost impossible to hold. On this episode of The Hardest Part with Kieron Banerji, she opens up the closing song from her album: written on her late father Ivor's guitar, built on a voice memo she couldn't bring herself to re-record, and carrying two griefs at once.

It's a conversation about turning loss into art without letting the performance swallow the feeling — the "healthy middle place" every songwriter has to find. Along the way: the hidden thread of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (via the Mountain Man version), the ELO "Mr Blue Sky" memory from just before her dad's funeral, and why she refuses to change the line "it's been three months since the funeral," even six years on.

Tenderness performs "Playing Country Roads" live and stripped back in full at the end of the episode.

Tenderness didn't find "Playing Country Roads" hard to write, she found it almost impossible to hold. On this episode of The Hardest Part with Kieron Banerji, she opens up the closing song from her album: written on her late father Ivor's guitar, built on a voice memo she couldn't bring herself to re-record, and carrying two griefs at once.
It's a conversation about turning loss into art without letting the performance swallow the feeling &mdash; the "healthy middle place" every songwriter has to find. Along the way: the hidden thread of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (via the Mountain Man version), the ELO "Mr Blue Sky" memory from just before her dad's funeral, and why she refuses to change the line "it's been three months since the funeral," even six years on.
Tenderness performs "Playing Country Roads" live and stripped back in full at the end of the episode.

HP #48: Tenderness: "Playing Country Roads"

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Julia Cumming to discuss “Please Let Me Remember This,” one of the most personal songs from her debut solo album Julia. 

What began as an attempt to write about the smallest possible moment gradually became something much bigger. Julia describes songwriting as visiting her subconscious, placing a cup into a flowing river, and seeing what comes back. But while writing this song, she found herself confronting thoughts she wasn’t ready to face. 

As the writing process intensified, so did the pressure. Weeks of obsessive thinking, creative paralysis, and mounting anxiety eventually culminated in a moment that changed everything. The experience led Julia to seek help, receive an OCD diagnosis, and better understand what had been happening beneath the surface for years. 

Rather than abandoning the song, she returned to it months later with a new perspective. The result became not only one of the defining songs on the record, but a reminder that sometimes the hardest songs reveal something we weren’t ready to know about ourselves. 

Guest: Julia Cumming

Host: Kieron Banerji

Creative Team: Callum Baker

With thanks to Emily Connick at Toast Press and Crista Simiriglia

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Julia Cumming to discuss &ldquo;Please Let Me Remember This,&rdquo; one of the most personal songs from her debut solo album Julia.&nbsp;
What began as an attempt to write about the smallest possible moment gradually became something much bigger. Julia describes songwriting as visiting her subconscious, placing a cup into a flowing river, and seeing what comes back. But while writing this song, she found herself confronting thoughts she wasn&rsquo;t ready to face.&nbsp;
As the writing process intensified, so did the pressure. Weeks of obsessive thinking, creative paralysis, and mounting anxiety eventually culminated in a moment that changed everything. The experience led Julia to seek help, receive an OCD diagnosis, and better understand what had been happening beneath the surface for years.&nbsp;
Rather than abandoning the song, she returned to it months later with a new perspective. The result became not only one of the defining songs on the record, but a reminder that sometimes the hardest songs reveal something we weren&rsquo;t ready to know about ourselves.&nbsp;
Guest: Julia Cumming
Host: Kieron Banerji
Creative Team: Callum Baker
With thanks to Emily Connick at Toast Press and Crista Simiriglia

HP #47: Julia Cumming on the Song That Scared Her to Write

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Ava Joe to break down the making of “Am I a Dreamer”, a song inspired by one of the most complicated emotions she experiences: nostalgia.  

Unlike most of her songwriting, which begins with a specific experience and the feelings that follow, this song started with an emotion. Ava set out to write about nostalgia itself, drawing together memories, places, films, relationships, and moments that all carried the same emotional weight.  

This episode explores why nostalgia can feel more painful than comforting, the strange experience of feeling nostalgic while living through a moment, and the fear of time passing too quickly. From watching the sea in Greece to reflecting on her teenage years, Ava explains how “Am I a Dreamer? became a meditation on memory, growing up, and the moments we know we’ll miss before they’ve even ended.  

Kieron and Ava also talk about songwriting, collaboration, creative blocks, and why some of the best artistic breakthroughs happen when you stop forcing them.

Guest: Ava Joe
Host: Kieron Banerji

Mix Engineer: Max Walker
Recording Engineer: Giovani Alimonte
Creative: Callum Baker

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00:00 Intro
00:55 Why nostalgia is so difficult to write about
02:00 Starting with a feeling, not a memory
02:45 Why nostalgia feels painful
03:40 Feeling nostalgic in the present moment
05:25 The memories behind the song
07:10 Why time is her biggest fear
08:40 Building a song from emotion
10:15 Writing with producer Eddie George
11:00 Finding the right collaborators
12:30 The writers who ask the right questions
14:00 Why she chose the nylon-string guitar
15:00 Creative blocks and losing her voice
16:20 Learning to stop forcing creativity
18:20 How listeners hear the song differently
19:50 Full session

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Ava Joe to break down the making of &ldquo;Am I a Dreamer&rdquo;, a song inspired by one of the most complicated emotions she experiences: nostalgia. &nbsp;
Unlike most of her songwriting, which begins with a specific experience and the feelings that follow, this song started with an emotion. Ava set out to write about nostalgia itself, drawing together memories, places, films, relationships, and moments that all carried the same emotional weight. &nbsp;
This episode explores why nostalgia can feel more painful than comforting, the strange experience of feeling nostalgic while living through a moment, and the fear of time passing too quickly. From watching the sea in Greece to reflecting on her teenage years, Ava explains how &ldquo;Am I a Dreamer? became a meditation on memory, growing up, and the moments we know we&rsquo;ll miss before they&rsquo;ve even ended. &nbsp;
Kieron and Ava also talk about songwriting, collaboration, creative blocks, and why some of the best artistic breakthroughs happen when you stop forcing them.
Guest: Ava Joe Host: Kieron Banerji
Mix Engineer: Max Walker Recording Engineer: Giovani Alimonte Creative: Callum Baker
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00:00 Intro 00:55 Why nostalgia is so difficult to write about 02:00 Starting with a feeling, not a memory 02:45 Why nostalgia feels painful 03:40 Feeling nostalgic in the present moment 05:25 The memories behind the song 07:10 Why time is her biggest fear 08:40 Building a song from emotion 10:15 Writing with producer Eddie George 11:00 Finding the right collaborators 12:30 The writers who ask the right questions 14:00 Why she chose the nylon-string guitar 15:00 Creative blocks and losing her voice 16:20 Learning to stop forcing creativity 18:20 How listeners hear the song differently 19:50 Full session

HP #49: Rosa Walton: "Halfway Round The World"

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