# Songs about writing song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529 "2019-05-05T23:14:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/41 "2019-05-06T16:40:52Z")
Silly love songs by Paul McCartney: Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs And what’s wrong with that I’d like to know 'Cause here I go again I love you, I love you ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/42 "2019-05-06T16:47:43Z")
“After the Lovin’” by Englert Humperdinck. Pardon the glurge . . . “So I sing you to sleep after the lovin’ With a song I just wrote yesterday” urp ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/43 "2019-05-06T17:32:01Z")
_A Road Song_ by Fountains of Wayne \*I just wanted to say hey I’ve been writing you a road song It’s a cliche, but hey That doesn’t make it so wrong And in between the stops at the Cracker Barrel And forty movies with Will Ferrell I need some way to occupy my time So I’m writing you a road song I sure hope you don’t mind \* ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/44 "2019-05-06T18:26:51Z")
[One Down](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2FUY7mTYW8) by Ben Folds _I’m really not complaining I realize it’s just a job And I hate hearing belly-aching rock stars Whine and sob Cause I could be busing tables I could well be pumpin’ gas Yeah, but I get paid much finer For playin’ piano and kissin’ ass This is one I wrote just an hour ago And three-point-six at last_ [This Is Just a Modern Rock Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT0grH_H-_M) by Belle & Sebastian _This is just a modern rock song, This is just a sorry lament, We’re four boys in corduroys, We’re not terrific but we’re competent._ ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/45 "2019-05-06T18:36:57Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > A great cynical song by a great band - \*The Beautiful South \*[Song For Whoever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-q_gAM1BXQ) I came in here to say this one. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/46 "2019-05-06T19:14:25Z")
How about “_[they just don’t write 'em like that anymore](https://youtu.be/dSrbPPogYQU)_” ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/47 "2019-05-06T19:33:03Z")
I write the songs - Bruce Johnston ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/48 "2019-05-06T19:47:29Z")
“not gonna write you a love song today” > **[Love Song (Sara Bareilles song)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Song_(Sara_Bareilles_song))** > > "Love Song" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, released in June 2007 via Epic Records from her major-label debut album, Little Voice (2007). It was nominated for 2009 Grammy Awards in the categories Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. > "Love Song" spent 19 weeks in the top ten and an overall 41 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number four there. Similarly, it peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and the Australian ARIA Charts. ... Brian ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/49 "2019-05-06T19:54:54Z")
[Todd Rundgren’s _Chain Letter_](https://youtu.be/dL4cZ6aJohw) is about the act of writing a song: This is how I thought I’d start my song And it seems a little silly when I think of it But now I’m so far along And no one really wants to know that he’s wrong … Now I’m in the middle and I just don’t know If I’ll make it any further if the words don’t flow ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/50 "2019-05-06T20:35:39Z")
David Bowie - Sound and Vision ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/51 "2019-05-06T22:50:13Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > I write the songs - Bruce Johnston I point you to post 20: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21626608&postcount=20](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21626608&postcount=20) ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/52 "2019-05-06T23:13:01Z")
“I Want a Cigarette” by Tommy Womack: “I was thinking I was the victim of some kind of family curse So I went outside and had a cigarette so I could feel a little worse Then I went back inside and checked in with the nurse Sat down in the waiting room and scribbled out this verse.” ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/53 "2019-05-07T11:47:55Z")
I think emo band **Fall Out Boy** do this a lot. Especially with their song titles. But for a specific lyric from one of their better known songs: **Sugar We’re Going Down** and the lyric _I’m just a notch in your bedpost But you’re just a line in a song_ TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/54 "2019-05-07T19:34:21Z")
From Dire Straits’ “Heavy Fuel”: _My chick loves a man who’s strong The things she’ll do to turn me on I love the babes, don’t get we wrong Hey, that’s why I wrote this song_ From Bruce Springsteen’s “Bobby Jean”: _Maybe you’ll be out there on that road somewhere In some bus or train traveling along In some motel room there’ll be a radio playing And you’ll hear me sing this song_ The latter isn’t really about _writing_ the song, but it acknowledges that it _is_ a song, which is interesting in its own way. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/55 "2019-05-07T21:34:51Z")
[West End Musical](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39BLzw8lPVo)–Mitch Benn ---
**Author:** ![MollyCatherine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@MollyCatherine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MollyCatherine)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/56 "2019-05-07T21:36:28Z")
Still Writing Songs About You - Old Dominion “A pawn shop in Dallas cut me a deal on a six string It doesn’t know how you look how you laugh how you kiss me Well I’m on the end of the bed and it’s way past two I’m stuck on a line cause I know what rhymes with you” (A sampling, you can probably guess by the title that the whole thing is about song writing!) A Song for Everything - Maren Morris “What’s your time machine? Is it Springsteen or Teenage Dream? One danced you through love One rocked you through lonely Mixtaped your heartbreak and made you feel holy” (This isn’t quite about writing, but it is a song about songs.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/57 "2019-05-08T04:13:26Z")
A lot of the songs mentioned are not really **ABOUT** writing songs, they just mention it as an aside. One that is really about writing songs, or rather trying and suffering from writer’s block, is **The Song of the Candle** by Stan Rogers. One of my all-time favorite songs. Also, I am surprised no-one has mentioned \*\*Your Song\*\* by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. My gift is my song, and this one’s for you And you can tell everybody this is your song It may be quite simple, but now that it’s done I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words How wonderful life is while you’re in the world ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/58 "2019-05-08T05:41:04Z")
Randy Newman’s _[Rednecks](https://genius.com/Randy-newman-rednecks-lyrics)_: > [@](#): > > Last night I saw Lester Maddox on a TV show > With some smart ass New York Jew > And the Jew laughed at Lester Maddox > And the audience laughed at Lester Maddox too > Well he may be a fool but he’s our fool > If they think they’re better than him they’re wrong > So I went to the park and I took some paper along > And that’s where I made this song The first four lines are a reference to Georgia governor [Maddox’s 1970 appearance](https://youtu.be/7-8WNL5bspg) on “The Dick Cavett Show,” even though Cavett is a gentile from Nebraska. I just watched that interview for the first time, and although I’d be the last to defend Maddox (I’ve lived in Georgia for less than a year), I think Newman and the character speaking in the song have a point. Cavett took a cheap shot at Maddox, and he and his audience were arrogantly smug in confronting this notorious Southern racist while assuming that as Northerners they weren’t racist at all. Which is the point of the song. (Read the rest of the lyrics, if you’re not familiar with the song.) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/59 "2019-05-08T06:20:39Z")
I feel like there’s got to be a John Denver song that fits the OP, but I can’t think of one. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529/60 "2019-05-08T09:41:53Z")
> [@Mr.Bill](#): > > A lot of the songs mentioned are not really **ABOUT** writing songs, they just mention it as an aside. Fair point. So riddle me this: where does **Cecelia** by Paul Simon sit? It is said to be addressed directly to the muse. _Celia, you’re breaking my heart You’re shaking my confidence daily_ I guess you could argue it’s a song about _not_ writing songs…🙂 j [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-writing-song/833529.md?page=4)