HP #51: Jamie Webster: "Small Town Life"

Jamie Webster joins Kieron Banerji on The Hardest Part to break down the writing, meaning and performance of his song “Small Town Life.”

Jamie explains how years spent touring through towns across the UK inspired him to write a song celebrating the people, characters and communities that exist beyond the country’s biggest cities, places that might look imperfect from the outside, but mean everything to the people who call them home.

Jamie takes us inside his songwriting process, from keeping fragments and ideas in his phone to beginning “Small Town Life” with a musical manifesto: make it anthemic, make the chorus immediate and write something people can sing together.

Jamie also discusses how growing up in Liverpool shaped him as both a person and songwriter, the passion and defiance he associates with his hometown, his working-class identity, and why speaking from the heart remains central to his music.

This episode also features an intimate live performance of “Small Town Life.”

Subscribe for more conversations and exclusive live sessions from The Hardest Part.

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00:00 Jamie Webster on Working-Class Life

01:16 The Story Behind ‘Small Town Life’

05:20 Turning Where You’re From Into a Strength

08:50 Jamie Webster’s Songwriting Process

09:36 Building the Perfect Chorus