Ever spend a long day on phone calls, video chats, and in face-to-face meetings only to find yourself tired of the sound of your own voice? Set that to four chords and a backbeat, and that’s the experience of virtually every songwriter at some point in their careers. When you write hundreds of songs, things are liable to get repetitive.
Videos by American Songwriter
I’m no stranger to this dilemma, nor to the fact that telling yourself, “shake it up!”, over and over won’t actually, in fact, shake things up. In an attempt to trick myself into getting out of my oh, so cozy comfort zone, I challenged myself in a way I hadn’t before. The task? Write a song as if I’m Bruce Springsteen.
Did a butterscotch Telecaster magically appear in my arms, and the world’s best-fitting denim blue jeans on my legs? Unfortunately, no. But I did find some key takeaways from the experience that helped jostle new ideas loose, which might work for you, too.
Stop Letting Complexity Overrule Clarity
Bruce Springsteen is among a rare class of American rock ‘n’ rollers that can make a big impact in a relatively simple way. (Tom Petty is another great example.) Springsteen isn’t worried about making some ultra-complex, high-brow chord progression for his music. If it fits the melody, it works. There is a beauty in simplicity that intellectualism can take for granted. Don’t let complexity overrule clarity.
Start With Reality, Then Blend in Fiction
In a 2013 interview with Uncut, Bruce Springsteen dropped a morsel of songwriting wisdom that I’ve been trying to use for the past two years. The Boss’ tip is as follows: “Get personal first, then shade in universal feelings. That’s what balances the songs. All experience is personal. So, you have to start there. Then, if you can connect in what’s happening with everyone, the universality of an experience.”
Don’t Be Afraid to Romanticize the Mundane
From rock ‘n’ roll to pop to hip-hop, much of popular music has to do with excess wealth and the luxurious lifestyles that go with it. But the vast majority of us don’t fly private or drink top-shelf liquor or vacation in sunny island paradises (or at all). Bruce Springsteen’s songwriting reminds us that it’s okay—important, even—to find romance and drama in everyday life. There is plenty, if you look closely enough.
Things Will Happen When They’re Supposed To
Another important tenet in Bruce Springsteen’s songwriting approach is not to force it. In a 2024 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, the “Born To Run” singer admitted to having a dry spell that once lasted two years. If even Bruce can survive a two-year bout of writer’s block, then you can, too. More often than not, as soon as you stop forcing ideas to appear, that’s right when they do.
Remember How It Feels to Be an Audience Member
Bruce Springsteen described having “one leg [in] being the creator” and “another one that’s the audience” during a 2020 conversation with Rick Rubin on the Broken Record podcast. This might seem obvious at first glance, but it can be difficult to see the forest for the trees as a songwriter. Sometimes, to create that chill-inducing effect, you have to take a step back and remember what it’s like to be an audience member, goosebumps up and down your arms and legs.
In a way, that last takeaway applies to being a Bruce Springsteen audience member, too. In challenging myself to write like him, I realized that I have a far greater tolerance for simple but effective songwriting—straightforward chords, everyday experiences, to-the-point language. And if I can tolerate that in other people’s songwriting, why can’t I tolerate it in my own? Happy writing, folks.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.