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There is such a fine line between songwriting and songwriting.... Sometimes the music is an obvious given gift, and other times, although there may be a great idea, or premise... I find myself just chasing notes - grasping at musical straws.

This phenomena not only applies to the music... it's also present with lyrical content. I've penned over a hundred songs in my lifetime and it frustrates me to report that maybe 10 of them are songs that I am ecstatic to perform from beginning to end.

The one thing those ten songs have in common is that they were all conceived and written in the course of minutes or hours, as opposed to days, weeks or years. Each and every one of the 10 came to me with an undeniable quickness, lyrics and melody included.

I'm not saying I'm opposed to working on profound ideas for long periods of time, to hone them and get them sounding great - Hell, I've got tunes that are just nearing completion now after more than a decade of re-writing.... but in my experience, all my favorites have required the least amount of effort.

Is it a case of what mood I'm in, be it really good or downright awful? Is it a combination of environment and situation...? Or is this attributed to the random spin of the crooked wheel of inspiration?


How does your best material present itself to you?

Simple is often best. A song that is forced can be terrible. I read one time that songs are flooting around in space and if you are tuned into them,you just have to reach up and pull them down. I find that a simple song that takes ten to thirty minutes to write is often the one that people like the best, while a song that takes forever to write and get right,is the one that gets snubed by others. I find that the first verse and chorus come easily, but the second verse is harder to get.

10 out of 100 songs sounds like a pretty good ratio to me. I tend to write songs very quickly. But then as time marches on, I re-visit them and tweak here and there. I think very few folks can write a great song in one sitting -- but the core of a great song CAN be written very quickly.

Hi Elmore:

Welcome to Just Plain Folks. That fine line you describe comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it's fine like silken thread and sometimes as broad as the Mississippi. I agree with Kevin about the ratio. Ten percent is downright salty. As for me, I've yet to write my best song... and I'm constantly tweaking or re-cutting everything in my catalog. I have a burning desire to create at least one song that will survive long after I'm gone.

I don't think there is a magic formula. Mostly, it requires the right conditions including mood but you never know when inspiration will strike. The hardest part is taking action before it melts into thin air... at least with me.

Best of luck with your music. Glad you're here.

The lyrics come quickly
And then when they come
I’m outside myself
My heart beats like a drum
It’s kind of mysterious
How they choose to drop in
It’s not that it’s scary
I’m just curious as sin
Now melodies show
But not quite as frequent
They’re sparse in their visits
Though sometimes they’ll sneak in
And though I don’t know
How this mystery works
It’s one of the greatest
Treasures on earth!!!

Welcome Elmore,
Lynn

Can you identify what it is about these songs that makes you enjoy them and regard them as superior to the others?

A song idea sometimes needs time to incubate, for the songwriter to more fully 'get' the storyline, to conceive the singer-character's point of view, to come up with the progression of the storyline through time, the events that introduce the story, that elucidate the story, and that finalize the story satisfactorily.

Often, the creative flow dies down, sometimes out, while waiting, while pushing, trying to find that next guitar part, that next logical lyrical line. Sometimes we find rhymes instead of logic, and accept that.

A technique I recommend when you're 'in-the-zone' for songwriting is 'Sister Songs'. When "Take It For A Ride" bogged down because the rhythm and rhyme-scheme of Verse 1 were complex and hard to repeat for Verse 2, I started exploring "Leavin' You". When "Leavin' You" bogged down the same way I went back to "Take It For A Ride". I call it the Sister Song methodology.

That back-and-forth between the two songs kept the creative flow going, as opposed to 'accepting' mere contrivances of rhyme and melody and guitar, or getting frustrated by the difficulty of forcing my way through and quitting altogether.

There is an element of inspiration necessary, wherein a song just comes to you without much thought or intention. But there is also an element of craft, where you make decisions about whether the exposition of the Verse(s) has been accomplished and 'it's time' to make the point, to sum up in the Chorus, to deliver THE hook. Crafting those pivotal points, melodically, in the instrumental accompaniment, and in the ideology of the lyrical concept can play a role too in creating a good song.

Study your product and see if you can learn what you did right when you think you did it right, and what's wrong where you think a song isn't as good. You may learn to do it right more of the time, and to re-craft it where you did it wrong.

Lynn, I generally like the way you rhyme the posts I see from you - - wish I could do it - - but I think you missed an opportunity when you didn't rhyme mysterious and curious at the end of the line in this one.

Thanks Sausagelink! Maybe it's me, but I'm not hearing an identical or even soft rhyme with mysterious and curious. The two words end the same w/the ious but there's no rhyme I hear or even feel with the two words rhyming each other??? Now you have me curious in a mysterious kind of way

These are all really great responses, folks! I suppose a 10% ratio is quite good... Never really viewed it that way before. In fact, I'm taking something constructive away from each one of your replies. It's revitalizing to know I can always stop by here for inspiration and other points of view.

Keeping my songs simple, yet still original and interesting has been the biggest challenge of my career. The kind of challenge that will always bring a certain childish grin to my face.

Thanks for your input, everyone!

And special thanks to Addison Cade for introducing me to this incredible site. Great to be here!

- Elmore.