so you think you are a songwriter

[Hilary]

Well said TC!

JS - I mentioned your lyrics because many people here do not speak French and cannot therefore fully appreciate them - Songcrafters is jam-packed with talent, it never ceases to amaze me how good you all are!

Hook - hang on to your dreams, no-one knows what's around the corner.

Write on!

[Oldrottenhead]

when i started this thread it was a dig at myself. occasionally i think myself a songwriter    then i hear examples as above and fall back to earth with a bang.

however songs like those give me something to aspire too, tho i don't expect to ever reach those heights. better to aim high and fall short.

[Bluesberry]

Ron Sexsmith kills me, what a talent.  I love watching him perform his songs live.  Watching him makes me realize its more about the melody that is put in over the chords that makes a great song.  The chords themself are rather simple, although he plays them with good flair, but really, nothing too crazy.  Its how he weaves that melody, with his vocals, over the chords that creates the magic, thats what it always feels like when I hear his songs.

[Farrell Jackson]

Like Hook I've made a lot of money throughout the years with music but most of it came from gigging. At one point in my "late thirties early forties something life" I made enough to support myself with a meager living but I never gave up my day job.  My sets always included some of my own songs sprinkled in whether playing solo or with a band, so I've made money off my originals. I've been writing songs since the 1960's but I've found that I write differently, especially the lyric, if I think of the song being for myself or for a musical star in hopes they will pick it up. I've sent countless songs off to stars over the years but to no avail. Nowadays I just post them up at various places for free, for purchase, mainly for self satisfaction. What is my idea of a songwriter? Someone that writes songs. What is a successful songwriter? Someone that is happy with the songs they've written. I consider myself a songwriter. For better or worse, I'm addicted and afflicted, but one of these days.........lol!

Farrell

[T.C. Elliott]

however songs like those give me something to aspire too, tho i don't expect to ever reach those heights. better to aim high and fall short.

This, too, is well said.

[Ferryman]

when i started this thread it was a dig at myself. occasionally i think myself a songwriter    then i hear examples as above and fall back to earth with a bang.

however songs like those give me something to aspire too, tho i don't expect to ever reach those heights. better to aim high and fall short.

Jim, some of the stuff you have done on your own and with others is every bit as good as some of those. Some of the early Jemima's Kite stuff is easily on a par with the tracks you posted in my opinion. Personally I don't think the early Squeeze Difford/Tilbrook stuff has stood the test of time. I listened to "Up The Junction" for the first time in a long time recently and I found it trite and corny without any subtlety.

Here's the bottom line - if you spent all day every day practising and writing you would produce more stuff that could compete with some of the best. But we don't have the time, which is why most of us do it for fun and the personal pleasure of expressing ourselves. Occasionally we hit a "home run".

I agree with Farrell. IMO a successful songwriter is someone who is happy with the songs they have written. Commercial success is no measure, that's largely a measure of luck and knowing the right people (and having a good manager). Look at Nick Drake - wonderful songwriter, commercial flop (in his own lifetime).

[IanR]

Here's the bottom line - if you spent all day every day practising and writing you would produce more stuff that could compete with some of the best. But we don't have the time, which is why most of us do it for fun and the personal pleasure of expressing ourselves. Occasionally we hit a "home run".

I agree with Farrell. IMO a successful songwriter is someone who is happy with the songs they have written. Commercial success is no measure, that's largely a measure of luck and knowing the right people (and having a good manager). Look at Nick Drake - wonderful songwriter, commercial flop (in his own lifetime).

I second this.

I call myself a songwriter.

I also call myself a car driver but I know I'm not a Sebastian Vettel.

I like these discussions.

cheers,

Ian

[bruno]

I would like to add that one man's meat is another man's poison. An old saying, but holds true. To be honest, none of the songwriters mentioned are really my bag - perhaps its a case of too much music and so little time! Mrs B always maintains that every single band has at least one good song in them, if a song moves you, then its a good song. In my eyes, if you write songs - then you are a songwriter. No judgement or scale applies. If it moves one person, then it is a good song. Commercial success is a different matter of course, - and yet most commercial songs these days are written by formula and rote, and have no soul. What a funny world we live in.
B

[Geir]

I've heard many a song here that's on par with some of the best songs written by successful songwriters. I've heard a lot of songs that have had great success, but aren't really good songs in my humble opinion. Yes we are amateurs, and some of our efforts are not necessarily hit material, but I don't see a very big gap between the average quality of songs here compared to the average quality of songs in the "pro" music world.

I've said for many years that I do believe that there's at least 5 "Paul McCartney" class songwriters in the world at any given time in history.  For a songwriter to succeed like Sir Paul you do need more than just the songwriting talent tho! You need luck with your placement in time and space and preferably (but not necessarily)  a great talent to perform your music. And let's face it, good looks may also help you, like it or not. Marketing is a bitch in that way

So do I think we are songwriters? Hell yeah, we are!

I even think we're rather good at it, thanks to the supporting feedback we get and the inspiration we get from being a part of this great community!

[Ferryman]

Well said Ian, Bruno and Geir. Ian, I love your car driver analogy. The other thing is that Vettel may be world class at fast driving, but is he as good at driving the kids to school or riding a bike? Maybe, maybe not, but there are different ways of being successful at "driving a car" than just being the fastest in an incredibly specialized piece of machinery.

Bruno, you are right as well, there is so much personal opinion involved that one person's brilliant songwriter is another person's dirge! That's why we have tended to see commercial success as the benchmark of being a good songwriter (or band or whatever) but in reality it is the impact that music has on other people. The beauty of the internet connected world is that no matter what your taste in music, you can now find something that you will like. And as artists, it's easier to find people who will "get" your music. That means the music industry is much more democratic than it was but it is definitely harder to make a living from it because the chances of massive success (and dominating highly fragmented charts) are much smaller.

Geir said it nicely. I hear great work on here that for me is up there with anything else I have heard. It's a great community.