We fear the things we don’t understand. Songwriting can be mysterious and magical. It’s hard to explain what makes a song great when we can simply feel it. But songwriting can be explained.
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If you feel your writing has plateaued, there are things you can do to pull yourself from the rut. If you are new to songwriting, there are ways you can learn from songs by listening with intention.
Humans seek patterns to make sense of things. We also learn through imitation. The Beatles started out playing songs written by other artists. Then they wrote songs inspired by those artists. Some of their early songs sound like the Everly Brothers, Little Richard, or Chuck Berry. Paul McCartney and John Lennon learned to write songs by studying those that came before them.
If you’re looking for giant shoulders to stand on, the four songwriting books listed here are a good place to start.
1. How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy (Dutton, 2020)
Jeff Tweedy attempts to turn the mystery of songwriting into a “How To” manual. He breaks apart the creative process into little pieces of instruction using lyric tools like a word ladder to find new ways to manipulate the language. The book contains tangible and wise advice on how to be economical with words.
For example: Beware of adverbs that clog up your lines. If you heard an old door creak noisily doesn’t ‘creak’ do all the explaining necessary? Tweedy talks about treating songwriting as a job or regular practice. It’s something you get up and do every day. You wake up and try to create something each day. It’s like a mantra. Even if that creation is something small. It could be a chord progression or a new verse lyric.
How to Write One Song reads like a self-help book. Tweedy wants to remove the paralysis of fear and procrastination. He helps the reader along with removing the obstacles that keep us from a creative life. Tweedy does a great job communicating the simple joy of making things.
Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan
Wherever you go
Wherever you land
2. The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster, 2022)
Bob Dylan explains the DNA of popular music in The Philosophy of Modern Song. Written in essay form, Dylan explores the craft of songwriting by discussing rhyme, how one genre relates to another, and even how the effect of one syllable can change a song.
Songwriting can be abstract and mysterious and Dylan’s book is an attempt at explaining what makes some songs great. Songs are stories about the human condition and great songwriters have the ability to observe and report back to the listener tales of the human experience.
Here is Bob Dylan—a Nobel laureate—with wisdom and humor explaining the craft of songwriting. Every songwriter should have a well-worn copy of The Philosophy of Modern Song on their bookshelf.
Got a tell-tale heart like Mr. Poe
Got skeletons in the walls of people you know
I’ll drink to the truth and the things we said
I’ll drink to the man that shares your bed
I paint landscapes, and I paint nudes
I contain multitudes
3. The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present by Paul McCartney (Norton, 2021)
You cannot be a great writer without first being a great reader. And if writing great songs is your goal, a good place to begin is by reading the lyrics of 154 songs written by Macca. McCartney includes handwritten texts, paintings, and photographs revealing the stories and inspiration behind his songs.
The book is arranged in two volumes with the songs listed alphabetically. McCartney reveals the origin stories behind songs like “Yesterday” and “Let It Be.” Paul McCartney is to songwriting what Shakespeare is to the playwright. They are a required part of your education.
McCartney explains how he translated the world around him into great songs. This book is a close-up view of harnessing the inspiration around you and using that inspiration as a tool for songwriting from one of the greats.
Maybe I’m amazed at the way you love me all the time
And maybe I’m afraid of the way I love you
Maybe I’m amazed at the way you pulled me out of time
You hung me on the line
Maybe I’m amazed at the way I really need you
4. Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton (Chronicle Books, 2020)
Songteller opens with an introduction, “My name is Dolly Parton, and I am a songwriter.” It’s not so much an introduction but a declaration. She’s said if she had to choose only one thing to be, she’d choose to be a songwriter.
Parton takes her reader on a journey across 60 years of songwriting with stories and personal memories behind her lyrics. Anecdotes reveal a behind-the-scenes look at her songs, like the poetic simplicity of “Jolene.”
When the classic “I Will Always Love You” plucks the obvious from thin air you might wonder, how was this not already a title? This book is Dolly’s dissertation on songwriting and it offers a history lesson of country music through the lens of one of its greatest songwriters.
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene
Photo by Sammy Tweedy / Courtesy of Pitch Perfect PR
