Kurt Elling Quotes

I find it harder to write the lyrics afterwards because then you're just trying to fit them into something that's already there.

I write lyrics based on music, on a musical flow, and what sounds good at the time.

I fell into lyric writing because of music. I backed into it.

I would write poems and think up melodies to them later.

I don't write poetry and then strum some chords and then fit the words on top of the chords.

I love great lyrics, and I love the way it could shape a tune into a very unpredictable one, and I also like taking a great melody and putting lyrics into it.

I really wanted to work hard on my lyrics.

I always wrote poetry and stuff like that, so putting songs together wasn't that spectacular.

I'd say almost that words come first, melody second.

I write lyrics. putting words and melodies to my songs. That's a real challenge, I take it on vigorously.

One of the hardest things about writing lyrics is to make the lyrics sit on the music in such a way that you're not aware there was a writer there.

I started as a songwriter and wanted to be like Leonard Cohen. I've always seen my stories as enlarged songs.

That's what I like to do, I like to make songs.

We start a lot with melodies and instrumentation and trying to figure out good melodies for verses and choruses. We get to lyrics sometimes second, so we'll start humming a melody, finding something, and see where the music takes you as far as lyrics are and what you want to say and go from there.

I write a lot of rhymes, but I don't really end up using them a lot of times, and I end up just freestyling. I like to write music, though, more than I like to freestyle, to be honest.

I really, really like writing songs.

I know already the music I will write. But the words? I have not yet decided.

I always write lyrics first and the rhythm and the melody come from the lyrics. It always comes from the lyrics: words have rhythm and words have melody.

It's hard to decide how to match words to music. It's not like it's twice the work. It's always difficult for me to explain to the composer what I'm looking for. I'm not a professional; I lack even basic knowledge about writing music.

It's never easy to write a song. It's the most difficult thing I do.

Melody is king, and don't you ever forget it. Lyrics appear to be out front, but they're not; they're just an accompanying factor. If they're good, you're really in good shape. Lyrics are written to be rewritten.

Song Sung Blue took a lot of compressing and refining, and it has one of my favorite lyrics.

There's two facets to writing a song. There's you sitting in your room writing the sentiments of the song; the lyrics, the melody and the changes, and then there's the part where you go into the studio and you put clothing on it.

Usually when I write a song, I'll write the music and then kind of fit some words to it.

I have always written poetry but I have never applied it to songwriting.