Highly regarded songwriter Don McGlashan wrote the song Bathe in the River for Toa Fraser's film No. 2.
McGlashan spoke with Trudi Nelson on Sunday Café about the inspiration for the infamous song.
"I think it had been sort of living inside me for a really long time," said McGlashan.
"I've always loved gospel music, but I've always not been able to connect with the notion of an external divinity.
"I knew I wanted to write something with that sort of depth of feeling.”
The songwriter and band member of Blam Blam Blam stated that the film's story and script were what sparked the song.
"Sometimes when I write a song, I sort of gather a whole bunch of notes that I've written, that says, this is what it feels like.
"I'm not writing the lyrics first, but I'm writing a whole lot of ideas first.
"In this case, the film was that, and the script to the film.
"Toa Fraser's wonderful script is filled with life and energy and the desire of this old matriarch to get her family to throw her a party.
"It was pretty easy. It was almost as if my subconscious had already written it."
Originally Bathe in the River was not sung by Hollie Smith but the director of the film, Toa Fraser, insisted McGlashan record her instead.
"She flew up to Auckland. She was very shy and kind of hardly said anything to us in the studio. And we had this sort of little studio in Queen Street.
"We started the backing track, and she just started singing. And those first sounds she made, that's what you hear on the record."
Listen to the full interview between Don McGlashan and Trudi Nelson above.
You can also download the full interview on the Sunday Café podcast, and listen on the go. Download the rova app on apple or android to listen to this podcast on the go, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
