Best Songwriting Quotations

652 Songwriting quotes by 379 unique authors

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… — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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. — 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… — Otis Blackwell
My songwriting and my style became more complex as I listened, learned, borrowed and stole and put my music together. — Boz Scaggs
When you tune your guitar in a different way, it lends itself to a new way of looking at your songwriting. — Sheryl Crow
Music has a power of forming the character, and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young. — Aristotle
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… — 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… — Lucinda Williams
Sometimes an unexpected chord change can be the difference between a good song and a great song. — 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… — 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… — 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. — 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… — 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… — 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… — 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.… — 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… — John Prine
I think you can refine what you do, and become more consistent. And you write better songs that have a better shape and a better… — 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… — 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.… — Gillian Welch
Apropos, is not the Scotch phrase 'Auld Lang Syne' exceedingly expressive? I shall give you the verses on the other sheet. The words of 'Auld… — Robert Burns
I sought to reform minstrelsy among refined people by making words suitable to their taste, instead of the trashy and really offensive words which belong… — Stephen Foster

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