How Do You Write a Song, Anyway?

Step one: Pick an instrument!

I write a lot of songs. Or at least, I go through periods when I write a lot of songs, and periods when life, the universe and everything happens and I don’t, but in any case, I know that there are at least as many ways to write a song as there are people who write them. This, despite the mini cottage industry of how-to books that claim to tell you how to do it (I read a decent one by Jeff Tweedy recently).

I know some songwriters are lyrics-first: they start with the words, a concept, some lines, work it into a poem and then set it to music. But me, I’ve always been a music- firster. I need to hear a melody, catch a vibe, create an atmosphere before I go populating my sonic worlds with words. This leads to me strumming along to a new idea and mumbling syllables that gradually turn into recognizable bits of the English language with every go round. I was validated in this approach reading Keith Richards’ Life- an entertaining read, as long as you keep in mind that it’s Keith’s and only Keith’s version of things (required reading: journalist Bill Wyman’s satirical response from Mick Jagger). Keith describes coming up with guitar riffs and handing off some garbled nonsense syllables for Mick to fill in the blanks- something that felt familiar to me, except that I have to be my own Mick Jagger. You know, “na-na-nah-na-nah-na-nah…MEMPHIS…na-na-na-na-nah-na-na….RIDE…can you figure something out there, mate?” Paul Simon has similarly said he lets the music guide him in writing his songs. In any case, there are no “right” or “wrong” ways to do it- everyone has their own method.

The funny thing is, when I sit down to write a song, often the only real starting point I give myself is what instrument to do it on. I play several instruments, some decently, some not. And I consider little variations in how you play each one to be different instruments, too- a ukelele strummed is different than a finger picked one, an electric bass plucked is different than using a pick (my song Living For You was written after I decided to write a song using a pick on an electric bass), and so on. Sometimes it’s easier to be inspired by conditions than by the unlimited possibilities of a blank page. When I write a song, I’m often not done with it on the first try. I let it sit, come back to it, decide if it needs another verse or a bridge or anything. And this is where playing it on different instruments sometimes helps me hear it better.

For example, here’s a new one I’ve been working on that I wrote on the upright bass, called “Rosetta Stone.” I think it’s a song about writing a song, about searching for creativity, or the muse, or whatever you want to call that weird thing that happens when you’re inspired to create something.

When I wrote it, I felt like it was ok, but I wanted to hear it a little differently, so I played through it on acoustic guitar. I still don’t think it’s done, but hearing it sound different helped me work on some of the lyrics.

In the end, I might record this one totally differently if I record it at all. Some of my songs end up on record (or tiny chunk of radioactive wi-fi, or whatever is really happening there when we stream music…!) more or less like they were when they were “born.” But a lot of them don’t, and I go through stages with each of them trying to hear them differently and figure out what they really are. Strange, since I’ve written the damn things and should probably know that stuff, but that’s how it is.

Anyway….thanks for reading this far if you have. This is my first stab at a Substack post, and I don’t really know exactly what I’ll do with this in the future. More music, more videos, more works in progress, more opinionated pontificating on rock operas, comic books, and whatever else comes to mind, certainly. But like a mysterious emerging song or creative endeavour, I don’t really know exactly where this will go. And that’s ok. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

If you’re moved to comment, I’d love to hear about your methods for creating, and which version of this new song of mine you like (if any!!), and whatever else is on your mind.