I’m not really a songwriter – I’m an interpreter. So in a sense I am an actress first and foremost. I act out the songs, and I lead with my heart.
‘Clown’ was written when I couldn’t find anyone who believed in me as an artist. Maybe those labels will think twice next time a young songwriter comes along.
If you’re making a film about a band or a songwriter or whomever, there’s a publisher, there’s a record label, and there are people who are vested interests in that film. But with back-up singers, because they did stuff for everybody, there’s no one party that has any vested interest in seeing the story told.
If you want to be a songwriter, you’ve got to obsess over it.
One of my first songs I ever got a decent cut on was with a songwriter out of Xenomania, called ‘All Fired Up’ for the Saturdays.
Being a songwriter, you are accepting that this isn’t about you. If you do want it to be about you, you’re going to be really miserable.
I think with any songwriter the first 1,000 songs are always terrible.
We’re both getting older, our children are starting to leave home. But I can say that I’m just as passionate a songwriter now in my 50s as I was in my 20s. But instead of talking about the general kind of angst that I felt as a teenager, I’m writing about more specific issues.
I would love to work with Calvin Harris because I think he’s a really good songwriter and producer and he does everything, which I like.
I feel like my whole life I’ve been searching for what I want to do, searching for my identity as a musician and a songwriter, and my band’s identity.
What is qualified? What have I been qualified for in my life? I haven’t been qualified to be a mayor. I’m not qualified to be a songwriter. I’m not qualified to be a TV producer. I’m not qualified to be a successful businessman. And so, I don’t know what qualified means.
My brother was a fantastic cheerleader for my development as a musician. He was almost 10 years older than me and would really push me to develop as a songwriter.
I’m English, and I started off as a songwriter, so I can’t really escape that – it’s there.
I wanted to become a better songwriter, so it seemed like a no-brainer to move to Nashville, where some of the best writers in the world live.
I was like, ‘Josh Tillman, you are not a songwriter. You are an ape. Stop thinking of yourself as a songwriter.’
The immediacy of the technology of the web allows us, as songwriters, to write something very sharp and quick. That has a lot to do with helping a songwriter be more reflective of reality, instead of being in an area where you have to process things. It’s the difference between processing fish and catching it in a boat.
I wanted to be so many different things in the beginning – I wanted to be a rocker, I wanted to be a great songwriter, I wanted to be a great melodic singer.
I don’t analyze songs because I think it will make me a better songwriter, I just do it out of sheer curiosity.
I think my legacy is important because my songs – perhaps more than those of any other songwriter I know – cover every movement from 1965 on, socially and artistically. If you want songs about ecology, I’ve got ecology songs; if you want songs about spirituality, I’ve got spiritual songs.
I think I’m a songwriter. I grab an instrument to make my body a song, but I’m not a player as such, maybe a little more on guitar, but certainly not piano.
As a songwriter who uses lyrics to connect with others, it made perfect sense for me to partner with Hallmark, the leading greeting card brand that also uses words to help people make meaningful connections.
I’m more than a songwriter. I’m a creative person. Some people you just always see. I won’t allow you to see me unless it makes sense. There’s a reason to see me.
I think what makes me great as a songwriter is there’s still an artist behind it.
Taylor Swift is just dope. She is an ill songwriter.
I only wanted to be a songwriter. I never wanted to be a singer. And I never wanted to be famous.
I come from a songwriter background, so essentially with my music, I’m trying to make songs that will last a lifetime and although ‘Fast Car’ was a cover, it reflects what I’m trying to do.
I’m a songwriter and producer, so I’m always wanting to make my own stuff, and not use anybody else’s.
The thing about Sheeran is that he is an incredibly real artist and songwriter. He is not trying to be anybody else other than himself.
The first year I moved to Nashville, I started playing these songwriter nights with people like Nickel Creek, Duncan Sheik, and even Ryan Adams… That was the first place I really started playing music, and I had to really step up my game. Really quick. Or get kicked off the stage.
I know I’m not the best. I’m not the best singer, I’m not the best songwriter, I’m not the best player.
You know, he likes me because I’m his son. I have to go long and far to find someone who knows me just as me, rather than me the songwriter or whatever.
As a songwriter, simplicity – what not to do, what not to play – can be the hardest thing to achieve.
The greatness of Mac Rebennack, alias, Dr. John, also known as John Crieux, rests on his command of the musical use of idiomatic expression. Not a technically well-endowed singer, nor a great songwriter, he leaves his mark through the discipline and control he exerts over all that he touches.
I’ve never gotten thick skin. If you close yourself off and you get this protective armor, there is a price you pay with that – of not feeling. And feeling is important when you are a songwriter.
I’m a pretty successful songwriter and known in some circles, but I didn’t think the story of my career was of any real entertainment value.
I always loved LeAnn Rimes and especially Clint Black for his soulfulness. As I’ve gotten older, my influences have broadened – John Mayer, Michael Buble, Stevie Wonder, Keith Urban, Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Beatles – all of these artists have somehow been a part of my development as a songwriter.
One of my goals from really early on was that if I was ever fortunate enough to be successful in music, I would want to stay the same person and the same songwriter.
There’s a lot of craft that goes into achieving a hit song – at the beginning of your career, you’re usually more inspiration than craft, and you get great when those intersect. A skilled songwriter can get you to that intersection.
I was much further along as a poet than as a songwriter, but the songs were getting more attention. They were doing what art is supposed to do, mixing it up with people.
The majority of people know me as a dancer, but they don’t also know that I’m a director, a songwriter and a producer.
As a songwriter I hate this whole, ‘If it’s a sad song, it has to sound like a sad song thing.’ And that goes all the way back to my days with the Format. I’m an insane narcissist, so if I have to get something off my chest, I’ll get something off my chest.
I think the crowds in Europe are songwriter crowds. Like, they are a fan of the words, and they’re there to listen. An American crowd, they’re there to get rowdy, man. And I love both.
Little Steven – the songwriter, producer, and arranger – stayed alive doing the ‘Lilyhammer’ score. That pretty much took up three or four years of my life, and all of my musical energy went into that.
I met PJ Harvey when I was in England, and the first thing I want to do when I meet a songwriter I admire is to ask them how do they receive songs.
Working as a musician, I have to constantly generate new material, so school keeps me sharp. Reading and writing all the time helps me to be a better songwriter.
The thing is, I’m not a prolific songwriter.
I’m basically a songwriter, man. Songwriters are down in the fine print, you know? And I really enjoy that.
It is setting goals and trying to be a business person, but at the same time not losing sight of who you are writing songs for and what your goals are as a songwriter. So believe me, if you think I’ve got it down I don’t it is a constant struggle.
As a songwriter, I got used to being in the background.
When I was 12 years old and first decided I wanted to be a songwriter, the people that I always looked up to were Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, and people like that.
I used to feel like I wasn’t a good songwriter when I couldn’t finish a song by myself.
What I want is credibility I got as a songwriter and actor and doing ‘Blood Brothers’ on Broadway with my brother Shaun.
I started school because I felt like, as a songwriter, I was operating solely on instinct, and I was having a hard time deciding exactly what words I wanted to use. I felt like I wanted to be a writer, and being a curious person, school felt like a way to solve the problems I was having with my own work.
Since my father is a musician as well, he taught me growing up that if you can play jazz, you can learn all instruments and write on them. He wanted me to be a songwriter that can do anything in any genre. I’m all about doing every genre.
I wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl – long before I was a musician and a songwriter.
I don’t think I’m the world’s greatest producer or songwriter or anything.
People started recording my songs. Later, I was offered songwriter contracts. And then, finally, I could take the time to work on my own project. I worked hard for this all by myself.
