Songwriters Quotes - Page 22

• But if you want to be a songwriter-based musician, whether you play punk or rock or country or jazz, whatever, you have to work on your songwriting and you have to work on being able to play in front of people, I think. That performance is how you create the groundwork for a lasting career.

  Amy Ray

  Country, Thinking, Rocks

  "Lung Of Love : A Conversation With Amy Ray". Interview with Mike Ragogna, www.huffingtonpost.com. February 24, 2012.

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• I think with any songwriter the first 1,000 songs are always terrible.

  Graham Russell

  Song, Thinking, Firsts

  "Air Supply’s Graham Russell on Lost in Love , the Musical". Interview with Jeryl Brunner, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 22, 2012.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• I think of myself as a producer who tries to bring the best out of everyone, whether that be an artist, songwriter or a publicist.

  L.A. Reid

  Artist, Thinking, Trying

  4 Copy quote

• I'm a songwriter, and people will tell you the greatest stories about their lives, whether you want to hear it or not.

  Lionel Richie

  People, Stories, Want

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• Clown' was written when I couldn't find anyone who believed in me as an artist. Maybe those labels will think twice next time a young songwriter comes along.

  Emeli Sande

  Artist, Thinking, Labels

  4 Copy quote

• The focus is on singer/songwriters now rather than huge shows. I mean, of course there's always a place for that too.

  Emeli Sande

  Mean, Focus, Singers

  4 Copy quote

• I feel fortunate that I've had a lot of songs recorded by other people, because I take my songwriting very seriously. It's only those people that have followed me over the years and really know my work that know how serious I am about all of it - including the way I look. You can't take my high heels from me, you can't have my long fingernails, you can't take all this hair from me, because it's part of this thing that I've become. I wouldn't want to give any of it up. Do I have to be ugly to be a songwriter? This is the way I am, and it's what I choose to be.

  Dolly Parton

  Music, Song, Hair

  "You need to shine if you're going to be a star" by Paul Sexton, www.theguardian.com. November 2, 2006.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• I'm just a singer/songwriter and entertainer and I miss people and the energy of the crowd. When I play live it's a lovefest with me and my audience. It's how I get my rocks off.

  Dolly Parton

  Music, Rocks, Play

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• There is a limited supply of excellent songs, but I am not the only one. Paul McCartney, one of the best songwriters of all time, has only produced manure for the past 25 years. Rock musicians over 30 only produce unimportant material.

  Noel Gallagher

  Song, Past, Rocks

  "Sir Paul has just written manure for years", www.scotsman.com. July 2, 2002.

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• As you can imagine, over the years I have been asked many times to discuss and explain my song "American Pie." I have never discussed the lyrics, but have admitted to the Holly reference in the opening stanzas. You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me. You will find many “interpretations” of my lyrics but none of them by me. Isn’t this fun? Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence.

  Don McLean

  Song, Sorry, Moving

  "What Is Don McLean’s Song 'American Pie' All About?". www.straightdope.com. May 15, 1993.

  52 Copy quote

  Show source

• And I think Taylor Swift is just an exemplary young lady. It's kind of interesting to see what a profound songwriter she is. I don't even think anyone has realized, the long term is going to be the bigger revelation. It's incredible how quickly she writes songs. We've hung out a couple times, we live near each other in Nashville.

  Reese Witherspoon

  Song, Couple, Writing

  4 Copy quote

• I didn't come in and say: "I'm a singer." I came into the band as a second guitar player and a vocalist, but not the songwriter. I had been writing poetry for years, so I sort of had the nature of the words. I felt like no one else could sing my lyrics, so I took a crack at it.

  Paul Banks

  Writing, Player, Guitar

  "Cap the Old Times: The Story of Interpol's Turn on the Bright Lights". Interview with Ian Cohen, pitchfork.com. November 29, 2012.

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• I'm better at producing than I am at being a songwriter, but it doesn't change the fact that I still have a desire to play and write songs. I've never wanted to be a career musician. But I still love to play and write. It's a big part of who I am.

  John Congleton

  Song, Writing, Who I Am

  "John Congleton: Meet Indie Rock's Unsung Hero Of 2011". Interview with Mike Katzif, www.npr.org. December 23, 2011.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• It was really hard to find people to come over and play guitar and sing and write songs together. So that turned me into a songwriter that way, just so I could be able to play with other people.

  Jack White

  Song, Writing, Guitar

  Source: www.usatoday.com

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• As a songwriter, you're never off - for me, anyway. There's a certain mentality of people that decide, "Oh, we're going to try to write songs from this time of the day to this time of the day." Almost treat it like a real job. I can't do that. I've never been able to write songs like that. You never know when something creative is going to hit you, or emotion or whatever. You can take it, and turn it into something that makes somebody feel something. I love that about my job.

  Kenny Chesney

  Song, Jobs, Real

  Source: www.cnn.com

  33 Copy quote

  Show source

• The idea of massive amounts of fame-having my face on Walgreens end-caps and pizza boxes-I don't fantasize about that. I'm happy with just being a songwriter. I'd rather have smaller numbers [of fans] that are really into what I'm doing than a massive amount of people that don't really know what I'm about.

  Kacey Musgraves

  Ideas, Numbers, People

  6 Copy quote

• Music is my personal addiction. So much of everything I've done has only been to open more doors for the music itself. It all gets back to the fact that I am, first of all, a songwriter and a singer.

  Dolly Parton

  Music, Doors, Addiction

  4 Copy quote

• I think any songwriter or record, no matter how good it is, can become tedious if it's the same person's point of view. After four tracks, you start to get worn down no matter how good it is. It can be relentlessly good, but it's still going to wear you out.

  Andrew Bird

  Thinking, Views, Track

  Source: www.avclub.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• I respect Chris Carrabba as a songwriter and I also respect his past. He's got this fierce, straight edge, kind of hardcore core. There's so many songs that people are connected to and they all came together in a kind of DIY way, which I really do respect.

  Stephan Jenkins

  Song, Past, People

  "Get Back to That Place: Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins Talks Touring Again and Why He Adores Tove Lo". Interview with Kelli Bender, people.com. June 30, 2015.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• I met PJ Harvey when I was in England, and the first thing I want to do when I meet a songwriter I admire is to ask them how do they receive songs.

  Valerie June

  Song, Pjs, Firsts

  4 Copy quote

• As a songwriter there's nothing more exciting than the unknown, the new and different.

  Neil Diamond

  Different, Exciting

  "Neil Diamond Cuts Up". Interview with Richard Natale, articles.latimes.com. February 10, 2001.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• If somebody says 'singer-songwriter' to me, the first person I think of is James Taylor. There are plenty of modern singer-songwriters, but there is something about James Taylor that has always resonated with me.

  Zachary Levi

  Thinking, Firsts, Singers

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

• I'd love to claim the title of 'songwriter' or 'intellectual,' but the truth is that anything that I ever learned how to do in conjunction with music was purely so that I would have a platform to sing from.

  Brandi Carlile

  Intellectual, Titles, Truth Is

  "Interrogating Brandi Carlile: I Knew ‘That Wasn’t Me’ Was Our‘Let It Be.’". Interview with Jesse Kornbluth, www.huffingtonpost.com. July 24, 2012.

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

• If Woody Guthrie set the bar for American songwriters, Bob Dylan jumped right over it. No one I know will ever come close to possessing the beauty of melody and the use of language that Dylan shares with us, with ease.

  John Mellencamp

  Bars, Use, Ease

  14 Copy quote

• I want people to have a good time. Its boring only to hear singer/songwriters spilling their guts.

  Lykke Li

  People, Want, Singers

  4 Copy quote