There is no single method to writing songs. Everyone one writes them in different ways, and each writer uses lots of ways to write a song. I do anyway. The one thing in common to all my songs is that they come to me, rather than me create them. Yes, I realise that I am creating them out of my brain, but only from ideas that pop into my brain spontaneously. When the mise strikes, if you will.
within that there are two other methods – writing the lyrics and music as one (my main modus operandi) and writing them separately or in piecemeal. I’ve been starting to do a bit more of this latter one, which usually takes the form of a melody or structure coming into my head, me grabbing a guitar and then playing/humming it into my phone, then saving it with a title like “Moody tune” or something. Later on I might get an idea for lyrics or theme, and if it doesn’t come with it own ready-made tune I’ll rifle through the ones stored on my phone for one. My latest released song 21 Summers came that way – on my phone I have an audio file called “Western tune” from months ago, that was mainly about the picking rhythm and rise and fall. Then when the voice of Oliver Cromwell barged into my head wanting to tell his “story” but lacking a tune, I made the match. It’s still spontaneous songwriting, you’re just plucking the two halves of song out of the air at different times, like finding one glass slipper and then going after the other.
Charlie Williams 