I think Bruno Mars is a great example of a great voice and classic songwriting with a twist that makes it contemporary.… — Kara DioGuardi Copy Share Image
It turned out so well because it was the first album that I could identify with in terms of lyrics. ("Captain Fantastic")… — Elton John Copy Share Image
As a teenager I started painting and playing guitar...Music has been my playmate, my lover, and my crying towel...This song ("Until It's… — Buffy Sainte-Marie Copy Share Image
It is the haunted premises of longing that the true love song inhabits. It is a howl in the void, for love… — Nick Cave Copy Share Image
I blame it [never taking a break] on my mother. She was a born entertainer. Leave the songwriting, the singing and all… — Stevie Nicks Copy Share Image
Sinclair Lewis was asked one time to give a talk to class of students about writing. When he got there he asked… — Tom T. Hall Copy Share Image
My favorite song he ever wrote was 'Cold Cold Heart.' If you think about it, the lyric to 'Cold Cold Heart,' see… — Don Helms Copy Share Image
Music is entirely subjective. I was thinking that for myself, for songwriting and what I like to listen to, to help motivate… — Marnie Stern Copy Share Image
When Eric Clapton cut 'After Midnight,' he sold so many records and it was so big at the time, I decided that… — J. J. Cale Copy Share Image
I criticized the whole American songwriting industry and the pop side of it and I was bitter about it. And I stepped… — Marina and the Diamonds Copy Share Image
[Non-performing songwriters] climb the mountain the first time, take their successes in stride, and when they tumble down the mountain, they just… — Michael Kosser Copy Share Image
Taking a song and bringing it to life in a professional recording studio can be an intimidating process at first; I know… — Colbie Caillat Copy Share Image
Something like going to get the newspaper can increase your writing efficiency by taking you away from the material. When I'm doing… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
The essence of my lyrics is the desire for peace and harmony. That's all anyone has ever wanted. How could it become… — Robert Plant Copy Share Image
I don't really know why an idea comes to me. But all of a sudden, an idea comes and from experience I… — Paul Simon Copy Share Image
It might be a meaningless moment, but those sparks that ignite the song… It's mystical maybe, those magic moments. And to make… — M. Ward Copy Share Image
Anything that happens after I write a song...that's fine with me. It's up to the listener to read into it what they… — Guy Clark Copy Share Image
I sort of recognize it, as opposed to shaping it. Oh, that's a good idea, that's a good line. I wonder where… — Paul Simon Copy Share Image
I think Bob Dylan showed us that songs can rise to the level of literature, and he proved it over and over… — Mary Gauthier Copy Share Image
I feel like I kind of earned my stripes working with The Stereotypes. It was maybe my 6th songwriting session I've ever… — Kim Petras Copy Share Image
I think if you sing a song for the first time to your mom and dad, or your friends, and they go,… — Dierks Bentley Copy Share Image
I say to my students that I can't teach them how to write a good song, but I can teach you how… — Andy Wilkinson Copy Share Image
In making movies, time is so short-because it is so expensive-that we tend to neglect the place from which the best ideas… — Mike Nichols Copy Share Image
We need to have music that contributes to the well-being of the spirit. Music that cradles people's lives and makes things a… — Merle Haggard Copy Share Image
Wherever inspiration comes from, it's like I'll hear a melody and chords, almost a rough structure of the whole thing [song]. I'll… — Chris Wyse Copy Share Image
Songwriting is a craft. Writing good songs on a a consistent basis doesn not happen spontaneously. In fact, most of our best… — Michael Kosser Copy Share Image
We have this really retro vibe and style of songwriting and, personally, I wasn't embracing the current state of music until I… — Nate Ruess Copy Share Image
You know, a song is like a kid. You bring it up. And sometimes something you thought was going to be fantastic,… — Phil Collins Copy Share Image
The melodies were melodies that anybody could sing or hum or whistle. And the words were just about that simple. I think… — Don Helms Copy Share Image
I started with the chorus of that song, kind of like a fun bouncy thing to play, and then one of the… — Jorma Kaukonen Copy Share Image
Starting is hard so I really need to give myself permission to do a bad job. I always give myself leave to… — Ann Brashares Copy Share Image
I don't really premeditate what I write my songs about; you know, they just kind of happen, and I can't start writing… — Conor Oberst Copy Share Image
I've always been very politically interested from a very young age and I hadn't felt that was something I could begin to… — PJ Harvey Copy Share Image
I got into songwriting because I'm not very good at communicating sometimes, just my true words, so music was always my way… — LIZ Copy Share Image
I've always thought that a lot of really good writers go wrong by getting so into the craft and the technique and… — Patterson Hood Copy Share Image
Most songs I write are spur-of-the-moment-type things. I have to be spontaneous. If not, songwriting can bore me. There is no pre-design… — Anthony Hamilton Copy Share Image
It was my 16th birthday - my mom and dad gave me my Goya classical guitar that day. I sat down, wrote… — Stevie Nicks Copy Share Image
When I get all focused on songwriting, I get into all the marketing and promotion that we do to make it happen.… — Ronnie Dunn Copy Share Image
Even when there's not a joke or a hook, the first line has to be good and snapem to attention. Songs ain't… — Dan Bern Copy Share Image
A lot of my writing is not terribly civilized. Sometimes I listen to songs by very smart writers who assume that the… — Suzanne Vega Copy Share Image
![“I blame it [never taking a break] on my mother. She was a born entertainer. Leave the songwriting, the singing and all that behind, and I still would have found some way to be an entertainer. I would have never been an actress, though, because I realized early in my life, in like sixth grade, I…” quote by Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/stevie-nicks-2817_actresses_i-blame-it-never-taking-a-break-on-my-mo_1493190.jpg)
![“[Non-performing songwriters] climb the mountain the first time, take their successes in stride, and when they tumble down the mountain, they just consider the tumble part of their profession and don't even waste time mourning their slump. They continue to write, make new connections, and move…” quote by Michael Kosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/michael-kosser-56737_climbs_non-performing-songwriters-climb-the-mou_2692731.jpg)
![“Wherever inspiration comes from, it's like I'll hear a melody and chords, almost a rough structure of the whole thing [song]. I'll just hear it and chase what's in my head. The rest comes from jamming with band, improvising, seeing what comes up as well. I'll come up with it off the top of my…” quote by Chris Wyse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/chris-wyse-47819_band_wherever-inspiration-comes-from-it-s-lik_348061.jpg)
