--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Songwriters can’t explain. You get an…" description: "\"Songwriters can’t explain. You get an idea and you don’t know where it’s come from. And if you’re lucky, you have a pencil or pen and can write it down..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e2/pete-seeger-1942_ideas_songwriters-can-t-explain-you-get-an-ide_943194.png" --- # Songwriters can’t explain. You get an idea and you don’t… ![“Songwriters can’t explain. You get an idea and you don’t know where it’s come from. And if you’re lucky, you have a pencil or pen and can write it down.” quote by Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e2/pete-seeger-1942_ideas_songwriters-can-t-explain-you-get-an-ide_943194.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e2/pete-seeger-1942_ideas_songwriters-can-t-explain-you-get-an-ide_943194.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e2/pete-seeger-1942_ideas_songwriters-can-t-explain-you-get-an-ide_943194.png) > “Songwriters can’t explain. You get an idea and you don’t know where it’s come from. And if you’re lucky, you have a pencil or pen and can write it down.” [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes songwriting as a mysterious process where ideas appear spontaneously, captured with a pen. **In simple terms:** Songwriting feels like a sudden, mysterious inspiration. Key Takeaway Capture ideas when they strike. Themes creativity inspiration process Mood creative reflective Type artistic inspirational When to use this quote - songwriting sessions - journaling - collaborative workshops Key Concepts artistic flow spontaneity creative block Questions to Reflect On - How do you preserve sudden creative thoughts? - What tools aid spontaneous songwriting? A Different Perspective Not everyone can easily capture fleeting ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Lucky you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky-you/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Songwriters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songwriters/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I got behind that pencil and nothing happened for many years, but since they put me in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, I've turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-blackwell/i-got-behind-that-pencil-and-nothing-happened-for-many-years-but/) [Otis Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otis-blackwell/) > [A Favorite of 863 Users When the americans went to space they quickly found out that ball point pens wouldn't work in zero G's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-favorite-of-863-users-when-the-americans-went-to-space-they-quickly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Writing with kids is an adventure. It seems like someone always has the flu or pink-eye. I mean, you don't even have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/writing-with-kids-is-an-adventure-it-seems-like-someone-always-has/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [Most rats read. Our frustration is, we cannot hold a pen to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/most-rats-read-our-frustration-is-we-cannot-hold-a-pen-to-write/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [A writer takes his pen. To write the words again. That all in love is fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-belsante/a-writer-takes-his-pen-to-write-the-words-again-that-all-in-love-is/) [Matt Belsante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-belsante/) > [“There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen to write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/there-are-a-thousand-thoughts-lying-within-a-man-that-he-does-not/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“The powerful can overpower the power of the pen but then they cannot write with water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-abraham/the-powerful-can-overpower-the-power-of-the-pen-but-then-they-cannot/) [Amit Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-abraham/) > [Give me a paper and pen, so I can write about my life of sin. A couple of bottles of gin, in case I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-a-paper-and-pen-so-i-can-write-about-my-life-of-sin-a-couple/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you die, others who think they know you, will concoct things about you... Better pick up a pen and write it yourself, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholom-aleichem/when-you-die-others-who-think-they-know-you-will-concoct-things-about/) [Sholom Aleichem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholom-aleichem/) > [I don't use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-use-a-pen-i-write-with-a-goose-quill-dipped-in-venom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“NASA spent millions of dollars inventing the ball-point pen so they could write in space. The Russians took a pencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-chabot/nasa-spent-millions-of-dollars-inventing-the-ball-point-pen-so-they/) Will Chabot > [“You don't need a big pen to write a tall story”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-bellamacina/you-don-t-need-a-big-pen-to-write-a-tall-story/) [Benny Bellamacina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-bellamacina/) > [Technology must remain a tool. It's a great tool, but technology is the pen to write the book. It's not the book. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cage/technology-must-remain-a-tool-it-s-a-great-tool-but-technology-is-the/) [David Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cage/) > [I was given a pen not to write anything but just to make me feel how it is to hold something full yet untouched.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-given-a-pen-not-to-write-anything-but-just-to-make-me-feel-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's no such thing as a writer's block. If you're having trouble writing, well, pick up the pen and write. No matter what, keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-writer-s-block-if-you-re-having-trouble/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## More by Pete Seeger > [Honest songs aren't written for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/honest-songs-aren-t-written-for-money/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [My father, Charles Seeger, got me into the Communist movement. He backed out around '38. I drifted out in the 50's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/my-father-charles-seeger-got-me-into-the-communist-movement-he-backed/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Now somebody will ask me, Pete, how can you prove these songs really make a difference? And I have to confess I can't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/now-somebody-will-ask-me-pete-how-can-you-prove-these-songs-really/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [The truth is a rabbit in a bramble patch. All you can do is circle around and say it's somewhere in there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/the-truth-is-a-rabbit-in-a-bramble-patch-all-you-can-do-is-circle/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [I was about 16 years old years when my father took me to a square dance festival in North Carolina. For the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/i-was-about-16-years-old-years-when-my-father-took-me-to-a-square/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [It was Rachel Carson's famous book 'Silent Spring' that got me involved with the environment. I read it in The New Yorker, in installments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-was-rachel-carson-s-famous-book-silent-spring-that-got-me-involved/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [When you play the 12-string guitar, you spend half your life tuning the instrument and the other half playing it out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/when-you-play-the-12-string-guitar-you-spend-half-your-life-tuning/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Folks out in the country couldn't afford to pay for anybody else to make music. They had to make their own. So the peasantry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/folks-out-in-the-country-couldn-t-afford-to-pay-for-anybody-else-to/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [If there's something wrong, speak up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/if-there-s-something-wrong-speak-up/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [This world is so full of hypocrisy, the only way you can be honest is to be a hermit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/this-world-is-so-full-of-hypocrisy-the-only-way-you-can-be-honest-is/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [There is a big, beautiful world that could be destroyed by selfishness and foolishness. We musicians have it within our power to help save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/there-is-a-big-beautiful-world-that-could-be-destroyed-by-selfishness/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [And the people in the houses All went to the University And they got put in boxes Little boxes all the same, Little boxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/and-the-people-in-the-houses-all-went-to-the-university-and-they-got/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [A good song reminds us what we're fighting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/a-good-song-reminds-us-what-we-re-fighting-for/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Most conservatives just want to turn back the clock to a time before the income tax - 100 years or so. I would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/most-conservatives-just-want-to-turn-back-the-clock-to-a-time-before/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) [Explore all 196 Pete Seeger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## More Ideas quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 24,908 Ideas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Songwriters can’t explain. You get an idea and you don’t know where it’s come from. 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