Song Club #58: Borrowed Tales

Writing songs when you have nothing to say

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At

Isaac Gillespie

’s Songwriter’s Circle this week¹ I heard the most beautiful set of narrative lyrics. It was a tale of NYC firefighters, stunningly clear and affecting in its observations. I asked the performer about it afterwards. ‘They’re my grandfather’s stories’ he said. ’Almost word for word’.

Sometimes we don’t have our own words, and so we think we cannot write a song. In those moments, reaching for other people’s stories and other people’s words is a way to keep writing songs. Which makes it awesome, not less than.

This week, some ways to do that.

May they bear you fruit,
Lucy

‘Entry Points’