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Quote by Merle Haggard

“I think it was Tommy who told me, 'When your song is called 'XYZ' or whatever, every line has got to make sense against your title.' He showed me little methods of proving to yourself whether the line belongs, and ways of finding out whether you were able to get more out of a line if you tried.”

Quote by Merle Haggard

Author

Merle Haggard was a highly influential American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born on April 6, 1937, and passing away on the same day in 2016, Haggard's career spanned over five decades. Known as the 'Poet of the Plains' for his storytelling and narrative songs that often depicted the struggles and triumphs of rural life, Haggard's distinctive voice and personal connection with audiences have solidified his status as an iconic figure in country music history. more

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Thinking Song Emotion Talking Color Draws Foundation Details Songwriting Far Away Listeners Doorways Intangible Ashtrays

Author:John Prine

“Some of the songs come so fully, it's like they are pre-packaged. There have been a couple that came in the middle of the night. And I thought, jeez, I'll never forget that. And went back to sleep, and it was gone. You'll hear something years later that another songwriter that you respect writes, and you go, jeez, I think that was the remnants of that song that got sent to me.”

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Author:John Prine

“I edit as I go. Especially when I go to commit it to paper. I prefer a typewriter even to a computer. I don't like it. There's no noise on the computer. I like a typewriter because I am such a slow typist. I edit as I am committing it to paper. I like to see the words before me and I go, "Yeah, that's it." They appear before me and they fit. I don't usually take large parts out. If I get stuck early in a song, I take it as a sign that I might be writing the chorus and don't know it. Sometimes,you gotta step back a little bit and take a look at what you're doing.”

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Author:John Prine

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Thinking Writing Feelings Song Stage Shapes Evolve Consistent Songwriting

Author:Richard Thompson

“Writin songs is like a mystery. The most difficult thing to do is have a good idea. If you have a decent idea, the songs are the easy part. Actually having something to say is the hard part. If you get an idea for a song, then it pulls you along. There are just some ideas that you get that are really hard to edit out; it's hard to stop thinking about some bad ideas. So you just finish it and you end up putting it on a record.”

Ifs Thinking Ideas Ends Hard Song Easy Difficult Records Mystery Things To Do Decent Songwriting Good Ideas Difficult Things Edits Bad Ideas

Author:Lyle Lovett

“You know, it's a pretty mysterious thing still, why you start the songs you start, and the specific flavor of them, the nature of them. I don't know about other writers, but, for me, it's still somewhat out of my control. It's not really a logical process.”

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Author:Gillian Welch

“A lady asked Dr. Franklin Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy - "A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it."”

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Author:Benjamin Franklin

“You give me a credit to which I have no claim in calling me "the writer of the Constitution of the United States." This was not, like the fabled Goddess of Wisdom, the offspring of a single brain. It ought to be regarded as the work of many heads and many hands.”

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Book:1829-1836

Source: 1829-1836

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Source: Journal of the Federal Convention

“The example of changing a constitution by assembling the wise men of the state, instead of assembling armies, will be worth as much to the world as the former examples we had give them. The constitution, too, which was the result of our deliberation, is unquestionably the wisest ever yet presented to men.”

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Book:Thomas Jefferson: Thoughts on War and Revolution : Annotated Correspondence

Source: Thomas Jefferson: Thoughts on War and Revolution : Annotated Correspondence