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Sometimes the songwriter finds inspiration, and sometimes inspiration finds the songwriter
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Songwriters are inspired by an infinite variety of sources. For some, the creative juices are set loose upon glancing skyward on a cloudless night. Others find their writing sparked by a tender moment between a mother and her child. Still others may harvest brilliant poetry from the seeds of their own depression.
Their is no single method of divining inspiration, just as there is no one, right way to write a song.
I have been writing songs for over 25 years. I have been inspired by love—and by hate. I have been inspired by things that happened in my own life, things that happened in other peoples' lives, and things that never happened at all. In my experience, the best songs always have at least a kernel of truth in them. Those are the songs that reach people, touch people—people can relate to them.
I was approached today by someone who had been a songwriter previously, but had set that part of her life aside for a variety of reasons. She recently picked up my band's CD and was listening to it. She said that it inspired her to start writing songs again. While I harbor no illusions that my songwriting inspired her, I'm flattered that the simple fact I was writing songs inspired her to pick up a pen again. That's very cool, in my book.
In 2004, I wrote a song entitled, "Hero," inspired by three perspectives I had experienced in my relationship with my daughters. The first was their perspective that I, as a father, was a heroic figure. The second was my desire to be that positive role model in their lives. The third perspective held a sense of depression, attributable to my insecurities with regard to my ability to live up to those expectations, realistic or not.
This combination of perspectives creates an interesting contrast in the song, and generates different emotions from each listener. Some hear the song as joyful, while others hear it as full of sadness. The chorus makes some comparisons to fictional heroic characters, then finishes with "...but I'm just a simple man, tryin' hard as I can to be a hero to my little girl. 'Cause in her eyes, I can save the world."
What inspires you? E-mail me at LeftToWrite@syrym.com and share your inspiration.
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