“It's not like I'm looking to describe something that's only true of my own circumstances. It's beyond. It's way inside, you know. It's reaching inside to something that you have in common with many.” KnowsWayMy OwnCommonCircumstancesReachingSongwriting Author:Jackson Browne
“I write songs. Then I record them. And later, maybe I perform them on stage. That's what I do. That's my job. Simple. I don't feel comfortable doing interviews. My profession is music, and writing songs. I like to do it, but I hate to talk about it...Music is spiritual. The music business is not. Being famous was extremely disappointing for me. When I became famous it was a complete drag and it is still a complete drag.” FeelsWritingStillsJobsSpiritualHateSongSimpleRecordsStageComfortableMusic IsI HateProfessionInterviewsSongwritingDragMusic BusinessDisappointingWriting SongsBeing Famous Author:Van Morrison
“If getting on the radio was a major motivation, I'd be one of the worst writers of all time. I admire people who do it, and I think it's a nice way to work, but I try to do the best I can and write what I like. I don't worry about it.” PeopleIfsThinkingWayWritingTryingI CanMotivationWorryNiceWorstMajorsRadioAdmireAll TimeSongwritingDo The Best Author:Randy Newman
“I really, really like writing songs. Capote wrote every day. He said that's the only way, you have to sit down every day and do it...Something that's written out is okay, but it's not always a clear indication of what a person means.” WayWritingMeanPersonsSaidSongClearWrittenOkaySongwritingIndicationWriting Songs Author:Debbie Harry
“I was washing dishes at the Greyhound bus station at the time and I said, 'Awap bop a lup bop a wop bam boom, take 'em out!'” SaidEmsStationsSongwritingBusDishesWashingGreyhoundsWashing DishesBopsGreyhound Bus Author:Little Richard
“It turned out so well because it was the first album that I could identify with in terms of lyrics. ("Captain Fantastic") It was passionate...I could associate myself with every song...It's a unique album in our history. This was the story of us..."Curtains", the lyrics to that are so beautiful because it sums up our friendship so much, and our relationship.” FirstsWellsStoriesBeautifulSongTermUniquePassionateAlbumsFantasticSongwritingOur RelationshipCaptainsAssociatesCurtains Author:Elton John
“It just seems like musicians want to sell a few records and put out a perfume line, and I think it's so sad that there are so many musicians who don't want to change the world.” ThinkingWorldWantSeemsChangeLinesRecordsMusicianSellsChanging The WorldSongwritingPerfumeSo Sad Author:Moby
“You're dealing in magic-it's this intangible thing that has to happen. And to seek it out too much might not be a good idea. Because, you know, it's very shy, too. But once you've got the essence of them, you can work songs and improve them. You see if there's a better word, or a better change.” IfsKnowsIdeasMightHappensSongToo MuchMagicEssenceShySongwritingGood IdeasIntangible Author:Tom Petty
“Often I don't know what the song means until it's finished. Sometimes months later. I don't think that's bad. It implies that I don't know what I'm doing but-I think if you're able to follow your instincts, then that's knowing what you're doing.” IfsThinkingKnowsMeanSometimesAbleSongKnowingMonthsInstinctFinishedSongwriting Author:David Byrne
“I am nervous that the craft of songwriting is taking a nose dive...And since I'm a songwriter and I connect with an interpretative, you know, interpretation of a song, I miss it. I just miss it.” KnowsSongMissingNervousCraftsNosesInterpretationSongwritingSongwriters Author:Barry Manilow
“Sometimes my boyfriend would write the lyrics and I would write the melody, and other times I would start from scratch. Or sometimes I would take a local poem and put that to music...I always sang standards because the songs I wrote for myself weren't as easy to sing.” WritingSometimesSongEasyStandardsLocalsMelodySongwritingScratchesMy Boyfriend Author:Carly Simon
“I write a song because I want to. I think the moment you start writing it to make money, you're starting to kill yourself artistically.” ThinkingWantWritingMomentsSongStartingMaking MoneySongwritingSongwritersWriting SongsKilling Yourself Author:Pete Seeger
“It would be nice to abandon the verse-chorus-bridge structure completely, and make it so none of these things are definable...Make up new names for them. Instead of a bridge, you can call it a highway, or an overpass...Music should never be harmless.” ShouldWould BeNamesNiceStructureBridgesAbandonSongwritingVersesBeing NiceHighwaysChorus Author:Robbie Robertson
“I don't write songs, songs write me.” WritingSongSongwritingSongwritersWriting Songs Author:Sammy Cahn
“The essence of my lyrics is the desire for peace and harmony. That's all anyone has ever wanted. How could it become outdated?...We are trying to communicate a fulfilled ideal...I am a reflection of what I sing. Sometimes I have to get serious because the things I've been through are serious...The way I see it, rock n' roll is folk music.” WayTryingSometimesWantedDesireRocksSeriousReflectionIdealsEssenceHarmonyFolksCommunicateSongwritingRock N RollFulfilledFolk MusicPeace And HarmonyOutdated Author:Robert Plant
“It's very helpful to start with something that's true. If you start with something that's false, you're always covering your tracks. Something simple and true, that has a lot of possibilities, is a nice way to begin.” IfsWaySimpleNicePossibilityTrackHelpfulSongwritingSongwritersCoveringWriting Songs Author:Paul Simon
“Everybody wants to write a hit song, but in Nashville people want to write the best song, which was my original intention as a singer/songwriter.” PeopleWantWritingSongOriginalsIntentionSingersSongwritingSongwritersSinger SongwritersNashville Author:Melissa Manchester
“What I took back, because of my exposure to the Jewish music of the 30s and the 40s in my upbringing with my father, was that kind of theatrical songwriting. It was always a part of my character. This desire to make people laugh...Songwriting is best. It's the hardest-finest-tightest. It also requires the most discipline.” PeopleKindCharacterDesireFatherLaughingDisciplineHardestSongwritingFinestExposureUpbringingMaking People LaughTheatrical Author:Pete Townshend
“I don't have the same restrictions that other people do because I never painted myself into a corner. I've always done things that didn't necessarily fit the form. I've never felt limited in that respect in terms of songwriting.” PeopleDoneFormFeltTermFitCornersSongwritingRestriction Author:Todd Rundgren
“I can't draw. But I can draw with sound. That's the most useful thing I learned in terms of what my craft is... The arrangements were mine. They were little lines and stuff that I had written myself... And I was locked into this idea that vocals didn't count, melodies didn't count, songwriting craftsmanship didn't count. The only thing that counted was high arching guitar solos...” LittlesI CanIdeasStuffSoundTermLinesWrittenMinesDrawsGuitarCraftsMelodySongwritingLockedArrangementsSoloVocalCraftsmanshipUseful ThingsGuitar Solos Author:Linda Ronstadt
“For years I walked around with the phrase "Green River" because I had seen that on a soda fountain drink when I was probably 8 or 9 years old, and I went, 'Gee, I like that.' Another one was "Lodi", which I thought sounded really cool. I got this cheap little empty plastic notebook at my local drugstore, and bought a little slab of filler paper and the very first title I wrote in it was "Proud Mary". I had no idea what that title meant.” YearsFirstsLittlesIdeasProudDrinkPaperRiversEmptyGreenLocalsNo IdeaTitlesPhrasesSongwritingPlasticMaryFountainNotebookReally CoolSodaSlabsFillers Author:John Fogerty
“You don't think it was because a white man wrote it, a black man wrote it, a green man wrote it. What-doesn't make a difference!” ThinkingMenBlackDifferencesWhiteGreenMaking A DifferenceSongwritingWhite Man Author:Cab Calloway
“I'm a songwriter first...In my career I have never felt that my being a woman was an obstacle or an advantage. I guess I've been oblivious...Sensitive, humbug. Everybody thinks I'm sensitive...There is a downside to having one of the biggest-selling albums ever.” ThinkingFirstsFeltCareersAdvantageAlbumsObstaclesSellingSensitiveSongwritingSongwritersBeing A WomanObliviousHumbug Author:Carole King
“All the songs that were written for that album are just all our first sophomore songs. So they're all from real life. Very sweet and very innocent.” FirstsRealSongWrittenSweetAlbumsReal LifeInnocentSongwritingSophomoreVery Sweet Author:Ann Wilson
“I just tried to come up with some honest songs. What I was writing about was real plain stuff that I wasn't sure was going to be interesting to other people. But I guess it was...I've never had any discipline whatsoever. I just wait on a song like I was waiting for lightning to strike. And eventually-usually sometime around 3 in the morning-I'll have a good idea. By the time the sun comes up, hopefully, I'll have a decent song.” PeopleWritingIdeasRealSongStuffWaitingInterestingMorningSunHonestDisciplineCome UpStrikesHopefullyDecentSongwritingGood IdeasLightningSongwritersWriting Songs Author:John Prine
“Martin, Dave, and I get together and rough out a few songs and put them on cassettes for some reference...With the actual music, I'm not interested in objectivity, quite the opposite. I want a solely and totally subjective experience...A lot of pop music is about stealing pocket money from children.” WantChildrenTogetherSongMusic IsOppositesPopsStealingPocketsRoughSongwritingNot InterestedSubjectiveObjectivityPop MusicGet TogetherDaveCassettes Author:Ian Anderson
“I don't force it. If you don't have an idea and you don't hear anything going over and over in your head, don't sit down and try to write a song. You know, go mow the lawn...My songs speak for themselves.” IfsKnowsWritingTryingIdeasSongSpeakForceDown AndSongwritingSongwritersLawnsWriting Songs Author:Neil Young
“I've done lots of songs for film soundtracks and things like that-stuff I'm not ashamed of, but that doesn't represent my legacy with the Pretenders...I think domesticity certainly doesn't make it easy to write, you know, because you've got a lot of distractions and I think a writer is always looking for distractions.” ThinkingKnowsWritingDoneFilmSongEasyStuffLegacyAshamedSongwritingDistractionSoundtracksPretenderDomesticity Author:Chrissie Hynde
“I could never be a country person, sitting around trees trying to write a song. I would rather be in the middle of society, whether it's growing or crumbling.” WritingTryingPersonsCountrySongGrowingTreeMiddleSittingSongwritingSitting AroundCrumbling Author:Ric Ocasek
“I was sleeping in the woods one night after a gig we'd played somewhere, when I saw this girl appear before me. That girl was Emily. (on how he wrote "See Emily Play") "Chapter 24"-that was from the "I Ching", there was someone around who was very into that, most of the words came straight off that. "Lucifer Sam" was another one-it didn't mean much to me at the time, but then three or four months later it came to mean a lot.” MeanPlayNightGirlThreeSleepSawsFourMonthsWoodsSongwritingChaptersGigsOne NightEmilyThat GirlLuciferThis GirlSleeping In Author:Syd Barrett
“I never sit down to write. When I'm moved, I do it. I just wait for it to come. You just hear it. I can't really describe writing. It's in my head. I don't think about the styles. I write whatever comes out and I use whatever kind of instrumentation works for those songs...A lot of people don't listen to the lyrics, really. A lot of people pretty much only listen to the chorus.” PeopleThinkingWritingKindI CanUseSongWaitingStyleMovedSongwritingSongwritersWriting SongsChorusInstrumentation Author:Lenny Kravitz
“I've just really been into melody and lyrics and songwriting. Writing a rap, to me, is easy. I could write a rap like that. But writing songs and melodies and s**t that's hopefully going to stick around for 30, 40 years is f**king hard...If you have good songs and you're talented, people will eventually come to your shows, people will buy your music.” PeopleIfsWritingYearsHardShowsSongEasyKingsSticksRapHopefullyMelodySongwritingWriting Songs Author:Kid Rock
“I write the vocals last, because I wanted to invent the music first and push the music to the level that I had to compete against it.” WritingFirstsWantedLastsLevelsCompetitionSongwritingVocal Author:Axl Rose
“If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call an American standard, an American original.” IfsMusicStandardsOriginalsJazzSongwritingJazz MusicArmstrongEpitomeJazz Band Author:Duke Ellington
“I didn't want to be the crippled songwriter or the crippled singer. I wanted to be the singer or the songwriter who was crippled. I wanted to be larger than life and a man among men.” MenWantWantedSingersSongwritingSongwritersCrippledLarger Than Life Author:Doc Pomus
“If I have any regrets, I could say that I'm sorry I wasn't a better writer or a better singer...When I was younger, I felt it was my duty to wake people up. I thought poetry was asleep. I thought rock 'n' roll was asleep...An artist may have burdens the ordinary citizen doesn't know, but the ordinary citizen has burdens that many artists never even touch.” PeopleIfsKnowsMayArtistFeltRocksRegretDutyCitizensOrdinarySorryBurdenSingersSongwritingRock N RollI'm SorryOrdinary Citizens Author:Patti Smith
“We would turn everything into songs in those days...A lot of people think "Alice's Restaurant" was an anti-war song. It's not.” PeopleThinkingWarSongTurnsRestaurantsSongwritingAnti War Author:Arlo Guthrie
“I'd hate to be a songwriter starting a career today...Al Stanton walked in one day and said, 'Otis, I've got an idea. Why don't you write a song called "All Shook Up"?' Two days later I brought the song in and said, 'Look, man, I did something with it.'” MenWritingLooksSaidTwoIdeasTodayHateSongCareersOne DayStartingSongwritingAlsSongwritersWriting SongsTwo Days Author:Otis Blackwell
“My songwriting and my style became more complex as I listened, learned, borrowed and stole and put my music together.” TogetherStyleComplexesSongwritingRock N RollSongwritersBorrowedWriting Songs Author:Boz Scaggs
“When you tune your guitar in a different way, it lends itself to a new way of looking at your songwriting.” WayDifferentGuitarDifferent WaysTunesSongwritingNew Ways Author:Sheryl Crow
“Music has a power of forming the character, and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young.” ShouldCharacterYoungSongwriting Book:Politics Source: Politics
“All those songs are totally timeless. They'll always stand up because they came from a real place. They weren't crafted songs. They were written from the heart.” HeartRealSongWrittenSongwritingTimeless Author:Shooter Jennings
“It's just the more you do it the better you get, or at least that's how I feel in my case. I think it's a combination of confidence and just having done it this long and just learning. I'm always learning. I'm still honing my craft.” ThinkingFeelsLongStillsDoneCasesCraftsCombinationSongwritingAlways LearningHoning Author:Lucinda Williams
“Sometimes an unexpected chord change can be the difference between a good song and a great song.” SometimesSongDifferencesUnexpectedSongwritingChords Author:Gary Talley
“I had more verses . Owen Bradley said, 'Loretta, there's already been one El Paso and we'll never have another one. Get in that room and start taking some of those verses off.' Yeah, I took six verses off.” SaidRoomsSixYeahSongwritingVersesEl Paso Author:Loretta Lynn
“Sometimes they work, and sometimes they just won't. Sometimes you get hung up on them. When that happens, you just throw it back, and maybe come back to it two or three weeks later.” TwoSometimesHappensThreeWeekSongwritingHung Author:Loretta Lynn
“Write about the truth. If you write about the truth, somebody's living that. Not just somebody, there's a lot of people.” PeopleIfsWritingSongwriting Author:Loretta Lynn
“Poetry is a solitary process. One does not write poetry for the masses. Poetry is a self-involved, lofty pursuit. Songs are for the people. When I'm writing a song, I imagine performing it. I imagine giving it. It's a different aspect of communication. It's for the people.” PeopleGivingWritingDoeDifferentSelfSongProcessImagineCommunicationInvolvedMassAspectPursuitPerformingPoetry IsSongwritingSolitaryLofty Author:Patti Smith
“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.” IfsThinkingWayLittlesAbleSongLinesProveFindingsMethodMake SenseTitlesSongwriting Author:Merle Haggard
“I think the more the listener can contribute to the song, the better; the more they become part of the song, and they fill in the blanks. Rather than tell them everything, you save your details for things that exist. Like what color the ashtray is. How far away the doorway was. So when you're talking about intangible things like emotions, the listener can fill in the blanks and you just draw the foundation.” ThinkingSongEmotionTalkingColorDrawsFoundationDetailsSongwritingFar AwayListenersDoorwaysIntangibleAshtrays Author:John Prine