Inspire Your Songwriting Using Quotations

Quotations are those little gems of wisdom that people come up with regarding any topic that you can think of.

I love them.

I’ve always thought of quotations as condensed forms of insight that songs could be created from. I’m sure there have been many songs that were inspired by a choice quote or phrase.

One song that immediately comes to mind is “Like A Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan. Of course the title is taken from the phrase “A rolling stone gathers no moss.”

As songwriters, our craft is in the dealing of both words and music so therefore it makes perfect sense to immerse ourselves in these things. Reading a book of quotes is a great way to get a songwriting idea.

Instead of condensing information from a story into a song (something big into something smaller) you’re taking something very condensed and creating a story which then becomes the song.

Heres how I would do it:

1. Find a quote that catches your eye

There will be a lot of quotes that you will just gloss over but every now and then you will read something that will make you sit up and take notice.

For some reason it has struck a chord in you.

When this happens write the quote down.

2. Start analysing the quote
Ask yourself these questions and write down the answers. Why did the quote stop you in your tracks?

What images flashed through your mind when you read that quote? Is there a story or event that comes to mind from reading the quote?

Start brainstorming some ideas.

3. Start putting all of the pieces together
By now you will have a longhand version of you thoughts, feelings and memories inspired by this quote.

Look at what you’ve written as a jigsaw puzzle waiting to be put together. If you find that there are missing pieces then make it up.

You’re a songwriter, use your imagination.

There are some great quotation directories on the web which I turn to from time to time just to see if I can be inspired by someone elses pearls of wisdom.

Here are the top five quotations website results from typing in “quotes” in Google.

Quotations Page
Quote Land
Brainy Quote
Quote World
Wisdom Quotes

With a little bit of web research under your belt you’ll find that most of the sites you come across will allow you to search quotes via keyword, such as songwriting or music.

Have a look and see what you can come up with. I wonder how many songs can be created.

I’m also giving this experimental songwriting technique a shot. I’ll let you know how I go.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting idea, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart

Be Sociable, Share!