Best Songwriting Sayings

652 Songwriting quotes by 379 unique authors

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,… — 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… — 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,… — 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… — 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. — 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.… — Robbie Robertson
I don't write songs, songs write me. — 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 How could it become outdated?...We are trying… — Robert Plant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,… — 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. — 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… — 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… — Todd Rundgren
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… — 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… — 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! — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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… — Kid Rock

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