packman

Almost every song I write, the title comes last. I usually start with an idea and write the song around it....although there have been times that I came up with a cool progression of chords or a funky guitar piece and the song stemmed from there. People ask me a lot of times where the songs or the ideas come from, and I don't think there's any one good or right way to come up with a song. I have found that if someone gives me a topic to write a song about, it's easier. I went to visit a friend of mine in Cannelton, Indiana, and he drove me around showing me the sights. On the three hour drive home, I wrote down details about the trip and the town that stood out, and it was very easy to write a song when I got home. My sister recently got married and asked me to write a wedding song for her...given a topic, I sat down and cranked out two wedding songs in one day. So I think for me it's almost easier to write a tune if someone hands me a topic. I also like to look at songs from point of view. If I'm writing about a homeless musician on the streets of Nashville, do I write the song as the musician? or as the guy who threw a quarter in his guitar case. Point of view can make a song very interesting indeed. This is a great topic that we could debate for decades......I love to hear everybody's songwriting methods. Talk to you guys later,