Songwriting Speed Quotes

I did a song in eight minutes. I thought everybody could write songs that fast. But working with a lot of them, they don't.

Literally wrote 'Starboy' in 30 minutes.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon would often write a song a day, so I have the same workmanlike philosophy.

Wayne and Drake, it takes them so long to do a song. I understand why, because they want it to be perfect. But I think I can do a perfect song in 10 minutes.

I can write a poem in 10 minutes. I like writing songs; I can write songs in 5 or 10 minutes. My concentration seems very short.

There are some songs where I'll have had the music for 20 years and then finally the lyric will come through. That's not common but it does happen. Then there are other songs that come really quickly.

I'm the kind of cat that can finish three songs in a day. Two or three songs in a day. If my voice is up to it and I feel up to it, I can finish two or three songs in a day.

I was talking to Jackson Browne on the phone. He said, 'I'm the slowest writer in the world.' I said, 'No, no, no. You're the second slowest. It seems the older you get the slower they come. I wonder if it is like that for everybody?' He said, 'It ain't with Don Henley. He seems to be writing more than ever.'"

I find the ones that have the most emotional weight, the heaviest songs. For some reason, for me, they're usually the ones I write the quickest. I put more work into uplifting material, I think, sometimes.

Most of the time, songs that I write end up being finished in 30 minutes or less.

I love the idea of how fast can we make the song, but I don't think that I'm necessarily, like, a super-talented songwriter. I think I'm just really productive. One out of 10 songs is a hit.