Author: Nashville Lyrics
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Behind The Scenes: Roses for the Day
When the Apology Stops Meaning Anything Flowers can say a lot. I’m sorry. I love you. I was thinking about you. Give me another chance. But what happens when the flowers keep arriving because the same apology keeps needing to be made? That question became the foundation of “Roses for the Day.” The original idea…
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The Relatability Gap
Why Listeners Don’t See Themselves in Your Song One of the most common pieces of songwriting advice is: Be specific. It’s good advice. Specific details create pictures. They make characters believable. They turn generic emotions into moments listeners can actually see. But there’s another side to that advice. A song can become so specific to…
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The Final 2: Why They Made the Top 12
When a Strong Catalog Makes the Last Two Spots the Hardest Earlier this year, I started putting together a group of songs that represented the strongest work in the Nashville Lyrics catalog. The first five became the Nashville Lyrics Top 5. Five more recently joined them in The Next 5. That left two. And strangely…
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Behind The Scenes: Go On Daddy
Writing About Grief, Permission, and Finding a Way Forward Some song ideas begin with a title. Others begin with a melody or a line. “Go On Daddy” began with a thought during a long drive through rural Georgia. What happens when someone loses the person they expected to spend the rest of their life with?…
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Nashville Lyrics: The Next 5
Five More Songs From the Front of the Catalog Earlier this year, I selected five songs that represented some of the strongest work in the Nashville Lyrics catalog. Those songs were: My Greatest Win. Mother Over 40. The Bank and the Barn. Day by Day. Dreaming for Two. That was a snapshot of the catalog…
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AI Can Write Songs. It Still Needs Great Songwriters.
Artificial intelligence has changed songwriting. Today, AI can generate lyrics, melodies, chord progressions, arrangements, and even complete demo recordings in minutes. That’s remarkable. It’s also where many conversations stop. The better question isn’t whether AI can write songs. It can. The better question is: Can AI consistently create songs that listeners remember years later? That’s…
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Inside a Pitch: What Happens Before You Press “Send”
Most songwriters think the work ends when the demo is finished. In reality, that’s when some of the most important work begins. Whether you’re pitching to a publisher, an artist, a producer, or building a professional catalog, the moments before you send a song often determine how seriously it will be taken. A great song…
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Behind The Scenes: Just Once
Writing About the Hope That One Relationship Might Finally Be Different Some heartbreak songs are about losing someone. Others are about not knowing how to let someone in. “Just Once” was written from the perspective of someone who desperately wants a relationship to work, but slowly realizes the biggest obstacle isn’t the other person. It’s…
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The Top 12 Strategy: Why Most Songwriters Stay Stuck, and How to Move Forward
How many songs would you confidently play for a publisher today? Not your favorites. Not the ones your family likes. Not the ones that took the longest to write. Not the songs you feel guilty leaving behind because you remember how much work went into them. I mean the songs you would confidently put on…
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Why Some Good Songs Still Aren’t Pitch-Ready (And What to Do Next)
“My song is good. Why isn’t anyone cutting it?” It may be the most honest—and most frustrating—question in commercial songwriting. Almost every serious songwriter eventually asks it. Sometimes they ask it out loud. Sometimes they only think it after another pitch comes back with no response, another artist passes, or another publisher says something polite…