Why Tom Petty Was Superstitious About His Songwriting, and What That Meant for His Career

Many people have tried to emulate Tom Petty and Mike Campbell in their songwriting, melody-making, and guitar playing, but many have fallen short. Whether writing a song á la Petty or simply covering one of his songs, any musician who has done so can attest to the fact that a lot of Petty’s music is deceptively difficult. At face value, it might look simple, straightforward, and even easy.

Videos by American Songwriter

But look a little closer, and one finds an intricate web of clever songwriting tactics. Indeed, there is far more to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers than Petty’s catchy melodies or Campbell’s guitar licks. Petty had a knack for expressing ideas—even entire stories—in the most effective, uncomplicated way.

He didn’t worry about layering Baroque turns of phrase into his verses, nor did he worry about writing too deeply in metaphor. Yet, he managed to capture emotions, hopes, pain, and resilience just as much as writers who did. That’s what made it special. That’s also what makes it so difficult to recreate.

In a 2014 interview with CBC News, Petty touched on his songwriting process, explaining how he managed to create some of the most iconic cuts of rock ‘n’ roll history, from “Refugee” to “Free Fallin’” to “American Girl”.

Tom Petty Was a Little Superstitious About His Songwriting

Songwriting is a delicate balance of allowing the muse to speak through you subconsciously and using your conscious brain to refine, rewrite, and polish. Lean too much in either direction, and the magic that makes a good song, well, good, can disappear in an instant. Tom Petty was acutely aware of this risk, as he explained in his 2014 appearance on The National. 

“It’s kind of a dangerous business, looking really deeply into, you know, the germ that creates songs,” Petty warned. “I don’t like to stare at that light very long. I get a little superstitious about it. There is some kind of actual magic going on there. I feel like, for some reason, I was born with some kind of conduit to this energy force or whatever it is, and I can have that happen through me. If I really try to do it or sometimes when I’m not, I’m just standing somewhere, at the funniest times, something can come into your head and you think, ‘That’s a good line.’” 

In another interview, Petty doubled down on this spontaneous process. “I don’t have a method that always works. The process is so random, and yet it keeps happening. I just look up every year or so, and I’ve got ten more songs.”

Perhaps the most important lesson every songwriter should take from Petty is this: whatever you do, get out of your own way.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images