Brent is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens, and more. He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.
Commercially-speaking, positive songs are in higher demand than negative songs. (That’s not a surprise if you listen to the radio.) But what if most of the titles you come up with are sad/negative? I humbly suggest that most titles that sounds negative can be used for a positive song if you’re creative enough.
For example, “You Broke My Heart” could mean “You broke my heart out of it’s chains.” I had an old idea called, “Minutes From A Memory” about a guy that knew his girl was about to leave him. Thankfully, my cowriter (Jason Cox) saw it as a guy knowing he and his girl are about to make a great memory. That’s so much more commercial!
I confess to being a negative-first kind songwriter. Maybe pain just just more interesting. Who knows? But I’ve really worked on not settling for a negative idea just because it’s my first impression of a title. Not only are those negative-title-positive-songs more commercial because they’re positive, they’re also more interesting because you have to dig deeper into your idea. Win-win!
God Bless,
Brent
YOU VS…
Take one or two of your “negative” titles (whether you’ve already written them or not) and find a positive spin on them. Good luck! Also, anything you’d like to add or ask? Leave a comment! Are there any topics you’d like to see addressed in a future MvR post? Thanks!
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Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter
Brent Baxter Music: http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com
Brent–Wonderful advice. I’ll try this practice in my songwriting.
Great topic to think about while writing + I love the reference to Pat Pattison. Anyone who wants to understand songwriting should spend some time with his books