“Thank you for teaching me lessons. Thank you for listening to mine. Man, you know how to ride a bike now. Don’t be scared, you’ll be fine. And although, I’ll be out of sight dear, know I’ll be right here, right here forever. When you look to the night skies, don’t think of goodbyes, think how I’m right here, ever.”

I’ve listened to these words a million and one times. Mr. Joe Iconis, a composer who writes rock/contemporary musical theatre songs, wrote these lyrics in his song “The Goodbye Song,” which is perhaps one of my top five favorite songs ever. (Seriously, go support him and buy it on iTunes.) I remember a distinct day, over a year ago now, when I was listening to this song. Those lyrics really jumped out at me. This verse was different. What was he trying to say in those words? To me, it seemed like a parent saying goodbye to their child with lyrics like “Man, you know how to ride a bike now.”

I was riding on a bus, on my way to manage a soccer game with the varsity girls’ team last year. With my headphones in, and “The Goodbye Song” blasting, I pulled out my notebook and pen and began writing. The end result was a poem, with inspiration clearly drawn from the song.

But now I have to go.
I’m fading away.
And goodbyes are hard to say,
but I promise we’ll both be okay.
Just think about me once in a while.
Don’t push me out when I cross your mind.
And I promise you’ll be okay, alright, just fine.

I eventually titled the poem “Just Fine.” And so began the start of something big. Fast forward a month. I’m sitting in my bedroom, playing my keyboard. I didn’t, and to this day do not, know how to play the piano correctly. I don’t exactly know how to read piano music, nor how to play it like a normal human being. But I can play a few tunes from memorization and YouTube videos. After a few hours of just messing with the keys, I came up with this tune, using what I call an F walkdown riff, a B flat chord, and a C chord. Where it came from, I’m not sure. But I loved how it sounded.

I dug through my backpack and pulled out the notebook, flipping to “Just Fine.” I carefully studied the poem, and I realized, I had my song right there. Pulling lines from the poem, I revised it into a song.

I wish I could stay, but you know I can’t.
Wish you would come but it just can’t be, so this is where we say goodbye.
But don’t you worry about me at all,
you know I’ll be okay, alright, just fine.

Besides that, I left the rest of the poem intact, basically creating a whole new piece of art from just a few lines. And after a few more weeks of sitting in the auditorium at the piano, revising the music, and mostly the lyrics, I have what is my “debut single,” “Just Fine.” And lucky for all of you, you can hear the song that started it all at the Coffeehouse, Friday, November 7th.

Be there.

Back to songwriting though.

Now, nine times out of ten, my songwriting process will consist of writing the lyrics first. I mean, most of the time, they don’t start out as poems. “Just Fine” just happened to work out that way. When I write the lyrics though, it sets a platform for the music. Once I figure out the tone, the mood of the music, I can set music to that will match the mood I had in my mind. I am a writer, first and foremost, and the lyrics, to me, are the most important aspect of a song. If your lyrics are boring, lifeless and hollow, your entire song will be too. I spend 95% of my time when writing songs, perfecting the lyrics. Sure, it’s the music that will tap your toes and make you dance or whatever it may be, but the lyrics are what will be your senior quote, or be in the speeches you make at your best friend’s wedding. It’s the lyrics that comfort you when you’re having a really bad night. It’s the lyrics that understand you.
But sometimes, the music falls first, which is sort a miracle for me. In a song I wrote early on in my songwriting career, “Autumn,” the music came first. Sort of. I had this sort of riff worked out on my guitar, and it was quite simple and beautiful if I do say so myself. Around the same time I had the riff worked out, I had these lyrics written out.

At that time, I was trying to write a musical. And I had this idea that the lead female would be named Autumn, and she would end up leaving her boyfriend, in the season of autumn. In the process of her leaving, the boyfriend sings a song about how much he loves the season, but he’s really singing about how much he loves the girl. Needless to say, the musical is not a thing and never got any farther than that. But it produced the lyrics for “Autumn.” After adding a little more guitar to the riff I already had, I realized that the lyrics for “Autumn” fit quite nicely into the music I had created. And the song was born.

The nice thing about just wanting to write songs, is that there is inspiration to be found everywhere. And the nice thing about being a musician, is that you don’t have to be an expert to create music on your own. Take it from me. To all you aspiring songwriters and composers out there, I say go for it. Find inspiration in your own life for your lyrics. I have written songs about things like death, addiction, revolution, falling in love and losing it. I’ve also found inspiration in my friends, several of whom I have written songs for. I’ve written about my childhood, my little brother, my friends’ boyfriends, complete strangers, dirt roads, Friday night home games and nights in the spotlight. Take inspiration from anything and everything. Get an idea in your head and run with it. Turn it into whatever you like. Write about taboo subjects, write about what makes you mad, what makes you happy, what makes you scream with rage and cry tears of joy. Do NOT just skim the surface. I believe that we all have the potential to be amazing writers if we really try. Whether or not we chose to act on that potential, well, that’s what really determines who the good writers are the memorable writers are.

To all you composers out there, don’t be afraid to write simple little tunes. If you know three chords on the guitar, or one bass line, or six notes on the piano, or one drumming pattern, use it. Use it to your advantage. I let you in on a little secret earlier, I don’t know how to play the piano. I just learned some little things that would help me play and write. You do not have to be an expert to play. Create something with what you know. A lot of early music only used three guitar chords. I bet a lot of your favorite songs use the same patterns, rhythms and chords over and over again. So use what you know, but also, don’t be afraid to learn new things. Expand your knowledge to create something bigger and better.

So, I guess there wasn’t a big moral to this story. But as the release of my CD comes closer, as does the Coffeehouse and other exciting events, I thought I’d let you in on the secret to songwriting: it’s not a secret. While I do believe it’s something you have to truly love doing in order to be great at it, I don’t think it’s something that only select few people can do. If you feel inspired to write a song, I encourage anyone to give it a try. Or, maybe write a poem. Who knows, your poem could inspire a Grammy winning song someday. As a songwriter myself, I take great pride in my songs and I love to share them with people who are willing to listen. If any of you readers want to do the same, I say, awesome, do it! If you want to keep them to yourself, that is also awesome. I will support you either way. Just as you all do for me. And I thank you for that support.