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In my quest to remember who said "Great songs aren't written, they're re written, I came across a bunch of other quotes. Thought I'd share

Q“Great songs aren’t written, they’re rewritten
R.C. Bannon

“Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you’ll suck forever.”
Brian Wilson

“My advice for songwriters? Sit down and work at it! The more songs you write, the more good songs you’ll have.”
Roger McGuinn

“Musical magic is created by human beings: learning their craft, trying things out, practising.”
— Joe Jackson

“I let the music decide what the words are gonna be. But I have spent a lot of time and effort on the lyrics, because I’m not good at it.”
— Ben Folds

“Music breeds its own inspiration. You can only do it by doing it. You may not feel like it, but you push yourself.”
Burt Bacharach

“Songwriting is a bitch. And then it has puppies”
Steven Tyler, Aerosmith

“If after two weeks you still can’t write your middle-eight, the best course of action is to see a psychiatrist”
Ray Davies

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
Leonard Cohen

“I wish I were one of those people who wrote songs quickly. But I'm not. So it takes me a great deal of time to find out what the song is”
Leonard Cohen

“Every child is an artist. The challenge is to remain an artist after you grow up.”
— Pablo Picasso

“If you don’t want anyone to know anything about you, don’t write anything.”
Pete Townshend

Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out.”
— Charlie Parker

“I hope that what it comes down to at the end of the day is that people believe that I believe what I'm singing. It comes down to being believable.”
John Mayer

Well I dunno Fdemetrio,
Bill Anderson wrote a song, I'VE ENJOYED AS MUCH OF THIS AS I CAN STAND and Recorded by Porter Wagoner. Does that count?

Even if a song, could be used as a quote about songwriting, how does your song apply?

Clueless in New Jersey...

But you still crack me up Ray

"YOU DON'T CHOOSE MUSIC, MUSIC CHOOSES YOU."
-MAB

Didn't Paul Blart say he didn't choose security, security chose him?

Songs are like dreams, anybody with an imagination can create one.

FDemetrio

Music for the soul comes from the soul. Music that touches the heart comes from a heart full of love.

Everett

We make a decision along the way of what kind of songs we will write.
Some write silly songs and some write more serious stuff. Many write both. Some just feel a responsibility to use the gift for more. SO it's a choice.

The above three are my favorites. Especially �Songwriting is a bitch. And then it has puppies�.

Morning, Ricky:

I liked them all but I agree, Steven Tyler is so darn funny. Before I forget, "Welcome to JPF."

Sometimes the silly stuff has the serious stuff covered in chocolate:

Mad Cow Has Me Now
Perry Neal Crawford

Mad Cow has me now,
But it is no disgrace,
I was crazy anyhow,
In hypocrisy’s embrace!

I ate many a plate
Of food not good for me,
And doubled my weight at alarming rate,
How nutty can that be?

Brain holes take their tolls,
But I’m used to losing cells,
The ones I killed with booze and pills
Left room for my brain to swell.

No cure for the lure
I found in tobacco’s snare,
My songs were sung with smoky lung
Against polluted air.

We encased the world in waste,
Now excused for whatever I do,
I’m freed from the guilt for the world we built
When I lived side by side with you.

Now, of late, I pontificate,
Even when I’m alone,
I write my rants in underpants
On a street corner far from home.

Mad Cow has me now,
So I bid you a fond farewell,
Until we meet again somehow
When you join me in Heavenly Hell.

Can't find the exact quote, but Warren Zevon more or less said that once you have the title, the song writes itself.

Possibly apocryphal:

Miles Davis at a diner, after a great lunch: "How about a slice of apple pie?"

Waitress: "Oh, Mister Davis, the apple pie is gone."

Miles Davis: "Crazy, baby! Gimme two slices!"

More WHAT?

=O.

My favorite is from Bob Dylan: "I don't write the songs. I just write 'em down."

Joe

“For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take them