“I aim to write songs in a way that you don't have to have gone to Ghana to relate to it, you really just have to have a heart.” WayWritingHeartSongGoneAimRelateGhana Author:Jason Mraz
“Doing something that you love regardless when it's a blockbuster movie or you're writing a pop song or trying shamelessly to succeed in something is not selling out. I think that's actually fine, and I would encourage that all the time.” ThinkingWritingTryingSongFineSucceedPopsSellingPop SongBlockbusterSelling Out Author:Adam Levine
“I write songs on a course of time that's comfortable for me. I would probably never write a song from start to finish in the course of a day, hell probably not even a week. My mind is always going to change and my emotional state will also change on a daily basis.” WritingMindStatesSongCoursesHellWeekEmotionalComfortableBases Author:James Vincent McMorrow
“When I was first starting out, I drove myself around the country in my Honda Civic, playing anywhere that would have me. This is a chance to strip the songs down to their roots and let the audience hear them the way I write them.” WayWritingFirstsCountrySongChanceAudienceRootsStartingCivicsStarting OutHonda Author:Eric Hutchinson
“To me, there are 3 parts of the album process: writing, recording, and my favorite part: getting to sing the songs with the fans every night.” WritingNightSongProcessFansMy FavoriteAlbumsEvery Night Author:Eric Hutchinson
“I can never tell what's going to end up being on an album until it's all finished. I'm reading the news everyday, and sometimes I just have to be away from it. And that ends up writing the songs for me a little bit.” WritingLittlesI CanEndsSometimesSongReadingBitsLittle BitNewsEverydayAlbumsFinished Author:Jack Johnson
“I write a little something every day, even though I don't write a song [every day]. Everything inspires me. I'll come up with a line, or somebody will say something that will trigger something.” WritingLittlesSongLinesInspireCome UpTriggers Author:Dolly Parton
“You have to have a plan. Everything has to be planned. For me, I start with the title of my album, before I even start with the songs. I write down different things that I want album to say, and then the songs come from the different words.” WantWritingDifferentSongPlansAlbumsTitlesDifferent Things Author:Mary J. Blige
“When I write, I don't really focus on duets or anything like that, or whether I'm going to feature this or that rapper. I just focus on just making a great song and figure out the rest later.” WritingSongFocusFiguresFeaturesRapperDuets Author:John Legend
“Whether it's a letter, song lyrics, part of a novel, or instructions on how to fix a kitchen sink, it's writing. You keep your craft honed, you acquire the discipline to finish things. You turn into a self-taskmaster.” WritingSelfSongTurnsNovelDisciplineLettersCraftsKitchenAcquireInstructionKitchen Sinks Author:Jimmy Buffett
“Actually think anybody ever approaches writing any song, I think the song approaches them, truth be told. Usually what happens is that a song arrives and afterwards you say that "I wrote the song," and it's not actually true; they find you, they write themselves.” ThinkingWritingHappensSongTruth IsApproachTruth Be Told Author:Jon Fratelli
“Your testimony doesn't mean anything if it is not your testimony. So every song that I write it happened at one point in my life or another.” IfsWritingMeanSongHappenedTestimony Author:Mike Willis
“The world has changed a lot since I started making records.I used to go into a studio and there were songs there, chosen for me to see if I liked them. I wasn't encouraged to write.” IfsWorldWritingUsedSongRecordsChangedStudiosChosen Author:Shelby Lynne
“I think that songwriting is understood from an early age that was the priority to figure out first. Learn to write a good song, and then figure out who you are as an artist because, once you know how to write a good song, you can dress it in any kind of clothing.” ThinkingKnowsWritingFirstsKindAgeArtistSongKnow HowFiguresUnderstoodDressesWho You ArePrioritiesSongwritingClothings Author:Lights
“I'm good with songs I haven't written, if I like them. I'm glad I didn't write any of them. I already know how they go, so I have more freedom with them. I understand these songs. I've known them for 40 years, 50 years, maybe longer, and they make a lot of sense. So I'm not coming to them like a stranger.” IfsKnowsWritingYearsSongKnownKnow HowWrittenHavensStrangerGlad Author:Bob Dylan
“I could write all songs all day long about what I think about the music industry or music in general. Sometimes I gotta be like, "Let's write about something else." You don't want to say the same thing over and over again. In a lot of ways, I look at records as a year or two of my life encapsulated in songs. They're almost like journal entries.” ThinkingWayWantWritingYearsLooksLongTwoSometimesSongRecordsIndustryJournalMusic IndustryEntry Author:Laura Jane Grace
“The power of music is still with me, every day. It's one of the most inspiring things available in the world. I write with music. I write scenes in movies that hopefully can earn the use of some songs that are powerful to me. But, I think it just came from being affected by strong, personal art.” ThinkingWorldWritingArtStillsUseSongStrongPowerfulSceneMusic IsAvailableHopefullyAffectedPower Of MusicStrong PersonMost Inspiring Author:Cameron Crowe
“I can write for weeks or months sometimes and edit it down to a song. I feel like it's a piece of music that will hopefully stand the test of time and hopefully capture a moment in history if I'm doing it correctly and honestly.” IfsFeelsWritingI CanSometimesMomentsSongPiecesWeekMonthsTestsHonestlyHopefullyCaptureEditsTest Of Time Author:Macklemore
“People didn't know certain things about me, which... I was out of creative writing class in school, Syracuse University; had a B.A. in English and wanted to write the great American novel but I also loved rock and roll. I was in bar bands all through college, playing fraternities and have to know all the songs in the top 10. That kind of thing.” PeopleKnowsWritingKindWantedSchoolCertainSongClassNovelCreativeRocksCollegeBandUniversityBarsRock And RollCreative WritingGreat AmericanFraternityTop 10SyracuseClasses In School Author:Lou Reed
“Domesticity is the enemy of art. I don't know if that's true. You can write good happy songs. So, I don't think it's necessarily happiness. But I think self-satisfaction is maybe the enemy. It's kind of better to think, "Tomorrow night I'm gonna sing it better." There is this forward effort. It feels to me right, it feels human.” IfsThinkingKnowsFeelsWritingHumansKindArtSelfNightSongEffortEnemyTomorrowSatisfactionTrue YouSelf-satisfactionDomesticity Author:Paul McCartney
“I'm mostly inspired by relationships and things that are going on in my everyday life. It's hard for me to write songs about things I don't experience firsthand, but most of the time it's about relationships - things that are going on in my head.” WritingHardSongInspiredEverydayEveryday Life Author:Meiko
“I write with music. I write scenes in movies that hopefully can earn the use of some songs that are powerful to me.” WritingUseSongPowerfulSceneHopefully Author:Cameron Crowe
“I'm writing songs with the hope someone can get behind my feeling.” WritingFeelingsSongBehindsWriting Songs Author:Andy Biersack
“It's a dangerous game to write a song for a person you don't know. It feels disingenuous.” KnowsFeelsWritingPersonsSongGamesDangerousDisingenuous Author:Andy Biersack
“Me personally, I side more with punk rock bands. I grew up with The Misfits, The Dead Boys, The Damned, Dropkick Murphys, and early AFI. That was the stuff that really got me into music. Song writing wise, bands like Alkaline Trio were very important to me for beginning to write songs.” WritingImportantSongStuffSidesBoysWiseRocksGrewBandGrew UpPunkPunk RockRock BandsMisfitsTrios Author:Andy Biersack
“When I'm writing [songs], some days the pen just goes. I'm not in charge and I'm almost listening outside of it. That's when I realize that we all have to start looking at life as a gift. It's like listening to a color and believing that these colors have soul mates and once you get them all together the painting is complete.” WritingBelieveSoulTogetherSongRealizingColorPaintingListeningPensMatesWriting SongsSoul Mate Author:Prince
“I write songs very quickly, so the 20 minutes of joy I get out of writing a song doesn't compare to the two months of joy I get engaging with the people who like my music.” PeopleWritingTwoJoySongMinutesMonthsCompareEngagingTwo Months Author:Halsey
“If I start writing a song and you try to have a conversation with me, you're a bad person.” IfsWritingTryingPersonsSongConversation Author:Halsey
“It usually takes me 20 to 90 minutes to write a song because once I start, I don't stop. I like when it's really organic, so I try to knock it out in one shot.” WritingTryingSongMinutesShotsTake Me Author:Halsey
“If you're not inspired and you're working hard to pull inspiration from somewhere and make a song something it's not, then it's very contrived and I don't like to write music that's contrived.” IfsWritingHardInspirationSongInspired Author:Halsey
“I feel like a lot of people look at pop music with a very formulaic perspective in numbers and patterns, but an outsider would think that the process is very natural. It is, but there are a lot of times where people treat it like a sport - there are tricks you can pull, different combinations that make something better. I don't really think I approach it that way, but I definitely have a love for the science that is pop song writing.” PeopleThinkingWayFeelsWritingLooksDifferentSongSportsProcessNaturalNumbersPerspectiveApproachTreatsPatternsPopsTricksCombinationOutsidersSomething BetterPop MusicPop Song Author:Halsey
“Sometimes you're writing a song and you have an image whilst writing a song. I don't think you ever base a songwriting process around a video, but when you're writing a song sometimes it'll be a very visual song.” ThinkingWritingSometimesSongProcessVideoVisualsSongwritingWriting Process Author:Luke Hemmings
“I think one artist to another artist, the best compliment you can pay one another, because the part of you that is inspired or creates something, to write a joke or a song, that's like the God-like part of a person.” ThinkingWritingPersonsArtistSongPayJokesInspiredComplimentCompliments You Author:Dave Chappelle
“I think it's fine for a singer to sing someone else's song. But the thing I don't like is when a singer that can write songs starts getting someone else to do it for them.” ThinkingWritingSongFineSingers Author:Howard Lawrence
“Songs will always become a story in some way. I think it's my strongpoint as a writer musically. I don't shy away from it. It's not really an effort. It's how I write songs.” ThinkingWayWritingStoriesSongEffortShy Author:Mike Stud
“Writing songs always trumps whatever else was on the schedule, it really is the most important and can be so fickle, you have to grab it when it's there.” WritingImportantSongTrumpSchedulesWriting SongsFickle Author:Beth Moore
“I started writing songs in high school and always wanted to have a band, and eventually my creative endeavors developed into Theocracy. So in some ways, you could say the vision has been there since I started writing songs.” WayWritingHas BeensWantedSchoolSongVisionCreativeBandHigh SchoolEndeavorWriting SongsTheocracy Author:Matt Smith
“When I write, I'm writing as a fan, and trying to come up with songs that I would want to listen to.” WantWritingTryingSongFansCome Up Author:Matt Smith
“I do get labeled as a guitar band, but the only reason is that's the instrument I know how to play. The guitar is serving the song I'm writing. But I'm learning how to play keyboard better now so that'll start serving the song as well; it'll be another flavor. I'm not going to switch it up with big, fat drum machine beats and real swoopy synths, but yeah...” KnowsWritingWellsRealReasonPlayBigsSongKnow HowBandBeatsMachinesYeahInstrumentsGuitarFatsServingFlavorKeyboardsBetter Now Author:Mac DeMarco
“The songs that I'm able to write are the songs I'm able to write, whatever they may be. The path I've cut for myself is pop music - love-y pop music. That's what I enjoy doing. And I don't think I'm going to get sick of it anytime soon.” ThinkingWritingMayAbleSongEnjoyPathCuttingSickPopsPop MusicMusic Love Author:Mac DeMarco
“I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through my friends and fell in love with it.” WritingYearsSongListeningMy FriendsHip HopHipsHopsWriting SongsRhyming Author:Hoodie Allen
“I've been writing songs and making music since I was probably ten years old...so my inspirations back then, I don't know - I guess it was something that was innate. I was really shaped to make hip-hop music and love hip hop.” KnowsWritingYearsInspirationSongTenAnd LoveHip HopHipsHopsInnateWriting SongsMusic And LoveHip Hop Music Author:Hoodie Allen
“I've always thought, it's the artist that write the songs and make the records. And it's our responsibility to set the tone for what's happening in the industry. And I take that seriously.” WritingArtistSongResponsibilityRecordsIndustryHappeningsTone Author:Eric Church
“You do try to write songs that you feel like people can relate to and you try to be as honest as you can so that people hear your records and they feel like, "Oh, my god. This is exactly how I feel. I went through this."” PeopleFeelsWritingTryingSongRecordsHonestRelate Author:Sevyn Streeter
“As a musician, you write and make music as you go. It's definitely in a great sequence. When you release songs, you think, "Let me make sure this goes with this so it's like a story."” ThinkingWritingStoriesSongMusicianLet MeReleaseSequence Author:Juicy J
“I've got a lot of songs about having fun and partying, but it's a lot of work. Sometimes, I make 50 songs and pick out the best 10. I've been in the studio all day, all night, making the beat, writing the raps.” WritingSometimesNightSongFunPartyBeatsPicksStudiosRapHaving FunAll Night Author:Juicy J
“I write songs for myself, songs come out of me, I get enjoyment out of it. Basically, that's it - I get enjoyment out of my songs, I know they're good songs, and know that the people around me who I respect are all getting up on these tunes, and the feedback is really good, so that's it. There are people who will receive them, and don't receive them. Not in a spiritual sense, but in a commercial sense - do these songs treat people, and so far they're working.” PeopleKnowsWritingSpiritualSongTreatsEnjoymentTunesFeedback Author:Creed Bratton
“I'm not one of these people who sits down and writes to say I'm gonna write a song about this or that, or a specific subject. The songs actually kind of write themselves.” PeopleWritingKindSongSubjectsDown And Author:Creed Bratton
“If I write songs and I think they sound good, then that's it. That's what I do. I'm not a technical musician, which is fine for rock and roll.” IfsThinkingWritingSongSoundRocksFineMusicianRock And Roll Author:Creed Bratton
“To reach the highest level you have to not just have a dream and focus but you also have to make sure you are writing great songs, and if you feel they're what you want to represent you, that is key. But getting out on the road is key. And get your music out there. Maybe something catches, maybe it gets picked up and used on television, you just never know.” IfsKnowsWantFeelsWritingDreamUsedSongLevelsFocusTelevisionKeysHighestWhat You Want Author:Joan Jett