Songwriting Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old songwriting quotes, songwriting sayings, and songwriting proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Those in power write the history, while those who suffer write the songs. Frank Harte
For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take them apart and see what they're made of, and wonder if you can make one, too. Tom Waits
Songwriting is the other weight on the opposite side of the scale from touring. They balance me out creatively. Tommy Shaw
The best songwriting comes from being as creative as you can and editing it down to the good bits, essentially. Alex Kapranos
Songwriting and poetry are so commonly birthed from underdogs because one can make even the ugliest situations admirable, or more beautiful than the beautiful situations they are the most graceful media in which the lines of society are distorted. Criss Jami
Anyone involved with songwriting will testify to the fact that each song, no matter how pure or from the heart, has its own story, its own peculiar way of getting written. C. Sigman
The trick to songwriting is writing in a poetic enough way that other people can identify with it. Anonymous
Songwriting requires some sort of ceremony to even get the process started, and it can be somewhat arbitrary. Andrew Bird
The secret of a great melody is a secret. Dave Brubeck
Songwriting never gets old. There's always stuff to write about. Tori Kelly
Songwriting is an art unto itself, not to be confused with performing. Jo Stafford
Songwriting is a burst of inspiration and then a long bit of work and a tremendous bit of desperation. Donovan
The key to songwriting is just to be able to observe, and put yourself in situations to be around people, and let those ideas come to you. Eric Church
Songwriting becomes a conscious attempt to delve into the unconscious. Even those writers who scoff at the concept of a spiritual source for their songs admit that the phenomenon of having them simply arrive feels magical. Paul Zollo
Songwriting is a give and take process, and it can lead to some good, healthy debates. Richie Sambora
What songwriting does better than almost anything is empathy it's incredibly empathetic. The reason people sat around in bars when they were bummed out and listened to country songs is because it made them feel better in the long run. Steve Earle
Songwriting is best. It's the hardest finest tightest. It also requires the most discipline. Pete Townshend
Songwriting is a really fortunate skill to have to frame living and to find new ways to observe things you're going through. Feist
Songwriting isn't always something that's directly proportionate to the experience. Amos Lee
Songwriting is like talking to yourself when there is no one to talk to. Brittany Howard
Songwriting is an emotional medium, and rock and roll is an emotional medium. Will Sheff
If you pour your life into songs, you want them to be heard. It's a desire to communicate. A deep desire to communicate inspires songwriting. Bono
Songwriting is kind of like a craft. It's not something that just comes in a dream. You've got to work at it. Sean Lennon