Image, lyrics, content, storytelling, cohesive body of work – that’s Prince to me.
The WeekndI start drawing, and eventually the characters involve themselves in a situation. Then in the end, I go back and try to cut out most of the preachments.
Dr. SeussI’ve never written a political song. Songs can’t save the world. I’ve gone through all that.
Bob DylanSo many writers don’t like to write… I like to write, and sometimes I’m afraid I like it too much, because when I get into work, I don’t want to leave it. And as a result, I’ll go for days and days and days without leaving my house.
Harper LeeI push myself in a lot of aspects when I write a song. I write a piece and where most people would stop and say, ‚Oh, that’s the hook right there,‘ I’ll move that to the first four bars of the verse and do a new hook.
DrakeWhen I write, it’s like choosing which shoes I’m going to put on. More often than not, my lyrics are personal – but I sometimes have to put myself in other people’s shoes.
Bad BunnyI let people fill in the blanks on their own. If they want to think about their ex, that’s fine. If they want to think about maybe who one of my exes is, then that’s fine. And it might not be right, because I’m the only one who knows what these songs are really about. It’s the one shred of privacy I have in the matter.
Taylor SwiftSporadic thoughts will pop into my head and I’ll have to go write something down, and the next thing you know I’ve written a whole song in an hour.
EminemI never have an intended audience. I just write, you know.
Alice WalkerThere are alway going to be bad things. But you can write it down and make a song out of it.
Billie EilishYou just don’t know when you get in the editing room what you will need as a link or a tool for a transition. If you’re in a room, and there’s a kettle boiling, get a shot of it. Don’t worry if people think you’re nuts.
Angelina Jolie‚Unforgiven‘ is probably an example of a script that I liked right away but thought, ‚This is great, but I’d like to do this when I’m older.‘ So I stuck it in the drawer for ten years and then took it out.
Clint EastwoodYou just don’t wake up one day and decide that you need to write songs.
Bob DylanI believe the right question to ask, respecting all ornament, is simply this; was it done with enjoyment, was the carver happy while he was about it?
John RuskinI know a lot of artists say this, but it’s hard to put myself in a box. I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming form a special place. There’s no tricks.
Bruno MarsI really wish I knew what I was doing because I’d be writing hit songs every minute.
Bruno MarsI pay attention to lyrics and I know what rap fans care about. I try to write for the average listener and I’m conscious of the mainstream without selling out.
J. ColeI’ve made sure that in any situation and with any record label, I’m allowed to write my own music.
Taylor SwiftMy songs are like my children – I expect them to support me when I’m old.
Dolly PartonThese are all personal crises, I’m sure, that I manifest in a song format and project into physical situations. You make little stories up about how you feel. It’s as simple as that.
David BowieI was probably 7 years old when I started playing the guitar and writing some serious songs.
Dolly PartonWhen I’m writing a record, I kind of don’t listen to much music. Just because I want to be inspired solely on the emotion; just based on how it feels.
Taylor SwiftI couldn’t have written things like ‚Low‘ and ‚Heroes,‘ those particular albums, if it hadn’t have been for Berlin and the kind of atmosphere I felt there.
David BowieI just try to write songs that people are going to have a dialogue about.
Beyonce KnowlesI never wanted to write the sort of song that said, ‚Look at how abnormal and crazy and out there I am, man!‘
Brian EnoI had a period where I thought I might not be good enough to publish.
Stephen KingMost country songs, certainly all the stuff I’ve written, are stories driven by characters.
Dolly PartonI’d like to do a completely off-the-wall collaboration. I would like one of my songs to be the hook to a rap song. That would be so much fun!
Taylor SwiftLiterally wrote ‚Starboy‘ in 30 minutes.
The WeekndI write some country music. There’s a song called ‚I Hope You Dance.‘ Incredible. I was going to write that poem; somebody beat me to it.
Maya AngelouI think most of the people involved in any art always secretly wonder whether they are really there because they’re good or there because they’re lucky.
Katharine HepburnI write songs that are like diary entries. I have to do it in order to feel sane.
Taylor SwiftI have certain signatures, certain cutting principles. It could be a raw-edged seam; it could be leaving the lining of sheepskin exposed so it’s not perfectly finished. I invent new ways to do it, but the end goal is always the same.
Vivienne WestwoodI can write a song in about an hour if it’s a simple country song.
Dolly PartonThe making of music is profoundly affected by the market.
David ByrneI remember auditioning for record labels and having them tell me, ‚Well, the country-radio demographic is the thirty-five-year-old female housewife. Give us a song that relates to the thirty-five-year-old female, and we’ll talk.‘
Taylor SwiftGetting a great idea with song writing is a lot like love. You don’t know why this one is different, but it is. You don’t know why this one is better, but it is. It sticks in your head, and you can’t stop thinking about it.
Taylor SwiftUsually I start with a beat, I start making a beat, and my producer side is making the beat. And on a good day, my rapper side will jump in and start the writing process – maybe come up with a hook or start a verse. Sometimes it just happens like that. A song like ‚Lights Please‘ happens like that.
J. ColeWhen I found somebody who I fell in love with, it made me feel different than I felt the rest of the day. It was electrifying. That’s what inspired the ‚Off to the Races‘ melodies. That’s one of the times when you’re feeling electrified by someone else and they make you happy to be alive.
Lana Del ReyIt’s a weird thing when you make records. You try to hear it before you make it, so you walk into the studio with this idea of what you expect to happen, and that usually changes. That usually turns into something else, and that’s a good thing.
Dave GrohlBob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. They’re my biggest heroes. I love everything about Leonard Cohen: his lyrics and his voice. He seems like a really clever man, and Bob Dylan does as well. He’s just really cool.
AuroraI try to build a full personality for each of our cartoon characters – to make them personalities.
Walt DisneyI’ve always written songs the same way. You learn different tricks – you learn craft, you learn structure, all that – as you go.
Taylor SwiftMy passion is bringing storylines around and constructing a full body of work rather than just a 16-bar verse.
Kendrick LamarThe genesis of a poem for me is usually a cluster of words. The only good metaphor I can think of is a scientific one: dipping a thread into a supersaturated solution to induce crystal formation. I don’t think I solve problems in my poetry; I think I uncover the problems.
Margaret AtwoodI’ve written all my songs on every single one of my records, and that’s what’s been fun about looking back.
Taylor SwiftI get so excited when a song I wrote that’s very personal to me goes No. 1 and I look down and see people singing the words back to me.
Taylor SwiftMaking music is like shopping for me. Every song is like a new pair of shoes.
RihannaSometimes you stumble across a few chords that put you in a reflective place.
David BowieI just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There’s no tricks. It’s honesty with big melodies.
Bruno MarsI’m wallowing in the whole idea of just being a guy out there with a band, with songs. It’s a real enjoyment.
David BowieI want to thank The Beatles for almost single-handedly getting me out of writer’s block.
Frank OceanYou gotta make sure the listener is listening to you, so if you put it into a song, often times, if the song is striking enough, then you can really deliver the story most effectively while keeping the ear of the listener the whole time.
Frank OceanI have to practice to be good at guitar. I have to write 100 songs before you write the first good one.
Taylor SwiftWhen I’m 40 and nobody wants to see me in a sparkly dress anymore, I’ll be like: ‚Cool, I’ll just go in the studio and write songs for kids.‘
Taylor SwiftIt’s insane that, since the Beatles and Dylan, it’s assumed that all musicians should do everything themselves. It’s that ridiculous, teenage idea that when Mick Jagger sings, he’s telling you something about his own life. It’s so arrogant to think that people would want to know about it anyway!
Brian EnoI started writing at the kitchen table after midnight. It took ten months to finish that first book; I sent it to a publisher and I got some kind of prize, so it was like a dream – I was surprised to find it happening.
Haruki MurakamiI’ve choreographed all of my movies.
Jackie ChanProbably the reason it’s a little hard to break away from the album format completely is, if you’re getting a band together in the studio, it makes financial sense to do more than one song at a time. And it makes more sense, if you’re going to all the effort of performing and doing whatever else, if there’s a kind of bundle.
David ByrneI don’t really get into a big intellectual analysis of why I am going to do a certain script or not.
Clint Eastwood