if you want to write songs, write songs

I had an interesting conversation today.

I met a woman who described herself as a songwriter. She told me she’d been in Los Angeles for five years, trying to work in the music industry. She works at a recording studio, for a producer who has worked with a bunch of musicians we’ve all heard of. She bemoaned being in the building where it happens, but not the room where it happens.

I asked her if she was writing songs.

She said no, working at the studio left her too tired to do anything.

I launched into one of my usual pep talks: gotta get up early and do the work in the morning, when your time is your own. If you wanna be the noun, you’ve gotta do the verb. Etc. Etc. Etc.

She smiled. Her eyes lit up. She said, yeah, you’re right.

I felt good, like I’d inspired her.

Of course, I was telling a writer friend about this later in the afternoon. She responded, oh, that’s bullshit. If this girl wanted to write songs, she’d be writing songs.

Made me wonder, I guess.

Either way, I hope this woman went home and wrote a song.