Why isn't there a song about .. oh nevermind, there is..
Songwriting has been around as long as people have been making music. There are songs about everything...literally, EVERYTHING. I sat here and thought of different ideas that you wouldn't necessarily think there would be songs about.. but there are. Eating flies? LOTS of songs about that, including "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". Kissing a dinosaur? Well there's...
"Good Night Dinosaur"
One little dinosaur was sent to bed. He stomped his feet, And he shook his head!
Two big dinosaurs Said, “No, no, no!” I want to stay up, I will not go!”
Three loving dinosaurs Hugged each other tight. They gave a big kiss And said “Good Night!”
When it comes to finding topics for songs, well, most of them have been used..re-used, and used over and and over again. As a singer-songwriter, if you're looking to find a 'new' topic for a song, it's not likely you'll have a lot of luck, and it's also likely that if you DID find something that hadn't been sung about before, it would be so obscure no one probably would know--or care--what you were talking about. Most of the time, we write about topics that have been written/sung about countless times before.
So what do you have to offer that no one does? You have you.. your viewpoint, your experiences, your personality. Your journey in life has been similar to others, perhaps, but not the same. Have you ever noticed how two kids in the same family may have different perceptions about the family they grew up in? One may feel their parents were strict and unyielding, while another sibling may feel the parents were very laid back and
easy to get along with. Each experienced the same family in a different way, perhaps because of their birth order, because of the age and experience of the parents at the time that particular child came into the world, maybe in part because of their own personality and how much they 'pushed' the boundaries with the parents.. perhaps a combination of all of those factors. Same parents, same family, totally different perspectives about what it was like.
That is true in the broader perspective of life as well. Each of us experiences life, the same experiences in life, in a slightly different way from others. Our experiences are similar - that's what links us together - yet different -- that's what sets our perspectives apart. The more we bring those unique personal perspectives to our songwriting, the more our songs can reflect a uniqueness that only we can give them.
Nobody else sees and experiences the world exactly like you, so your songs can give a view of the world a little different, yet still connected to, the way everyone else sees and experiences. Share your voice!