Bukka White said he reached up
and grabbed 'em out of the sky.
He called 'em "Sky Songs."
But, man, it seems to me
that they reach down
and grab me off the Earth.
- Townes Van Zandt
This quote is from John Kruth's wonderful biography of songwriter/singer Townes Van Zandt titled To Live's to Fly, the Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt. Van Zandt is referencing Delta blues singer Bukka White (1906-1977). Whether your creative works seem to come from the sky, or to reach down and grab you, it's really a matter of listening. Whether you, in fact, are listening to a muse who helps you along, or you are tapping into a subconscious stream from your own psyche, the sky is the limit. Van Zandt discussed just going with the creative flow:
"Some take a year; some take thirty minutes. They can come straight through you, and you don't know what they're about or where they're coming from. . . . Because I've been doing this for 25 years, I'm aware of when a song comes along. I'm aware of little clues that come together to make a song." (p. 64, To Live's to Fly).
I've discovered in my own songwriting that it doesn't do to worry the lyrics too much or to put a lot of thought into them—at first. Sometimes I go back and type them out and then revise, revise, revise. Sometimes I leave the lyrics as they are. It seems that, once you've developed your skills, it's best to then let them work with the subconscious and to trust in your subconscious. Or a higher power.
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