David Gray charted a new course for singer-songwriters with the release of White Ladder in 1998, earning multiple GRAMMY nominations and platinum certifications worldwide. Its blend of folk, rock, and electronic elements helped shape the sound of a generation, inspiring artists like Ed Sheeran and Adele, who cite Gray as a key influence.
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Now, Gray releases his thirteenth album, Dear Life, on January 17th, 2025. The album further solidifies his legacy as a lasting creative force in modern music, tackling the complex themes of life and love with both depth and playfulness.
At our Q&A Workshop for American Songwriter Membership, David Gray shared the details of his songwriting process and how time can be a great collaborator:
AS: What was the songwriting like on this record? Are you the type of person who writes for a record or do they collect over the years?
David Gray: Yeah. It’s a mixture of both. I’m sort of always active.
The gods of songwriting were kind. It wasn’t that I managed to write new stuff. It was that when I picked up the half-finished things, I just completed them.
And then my confidence and my total focus began in a way. I had this sustained period of attention that was unusual and I completed about 30 or 40 songs.
So, it took longer. But time can be a great collaborator in terms of enriching things and allowing new perspectives. So, that’s the way it was with this record.
But one thing that’s very obvious from the moment you hear it is just the sheer pleasure of the wordplay.
The lyric is always to the fore with me. And it’s just a matter of, do I simplify the lyric? Because to say more wouldn’t be to enrich the song with anything more. Just allow simple words to speak. Even in repetition.
And then other times it goes the other way where you end up with a sort of “Blood on the Tracks” style approach. Where I’m dealing with multiple rhyming schemes, 8 lines long, an AAAB AAAB kind of thing. And the sheer pleasure that that can bring.
The strange and wonderful fabric of words. The substance of language just opened for me.
And I guess you have to have something to write about. So, maybe there was some extra grist to the mill in the last 5 years? I don’t know why some records come out with more of a sort of spring in their step; more of a sense of identity. It’s obviously to do with where I’m located in my sort of orbit of things.
But my feet were firmly on terra firma and yet my head was very much in the stars. I was plucking ideas out of just everywhere.
AS: I’m glad you’re saying pleasure because when I was listening to “After the Harvest” my wife was saying “Why do you have that dumb smile?” Because I could tell it sounded like fun to write.
David Gray: Yeah, I loved writing that song. Just the cadences of the words, the soft word endings, and the music of the words. It began to dictate a whole thing.
The moment the song broke open, and it broke open very quickly, I was rummaging in a box of words.
I generally write more than I need and then cut away. But lots of these songs were just written and that was it. Yeah. It was just a huge pleasure.
First and foremost I am a lyricist. I’m a primitive type of musician. But if I’ve built any sophistication into my programming it’s just through determination and effort. And doing it for years and years.
It’s a means to an end. There are other types of musicians who are sort of wired to music. They see it as a visual. It’s like maths to them whereas to me I’m much more peasant in my cooking.
I’m an Italian rustic chef. (laughing) But hopefully, the flavors are there.
So, it’s the lyrics where there’s some degree of detail and sophistication. And my brain is always leaning towards this thing. But this time around, yeah, I had so much to write about.
Q&A Workshops are a monthly series for American Songwriter Membership. To watch the full episode with David Gray become a member and get exclusive content including access to the songwriters behind hit songs by Ed Sheeran, Bonnie Raitt, Morgan Wallen, Guns N Roses, and more. Plus giveaways, tips, and a community of songwriters and music lovers.
Featured Image via Robin Grierson
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