![]() ![]() Randy Lewis Brown can be reached from his website or via email. Either way, feel free to critique, criticize or comment on my rules. I don’t know if there is something there here you can use or not. So there you go, my take on being a songwriter or maybe simply just a creative person. Know that songwriting is art, so there are no rules.The world is your inspiration, so feel free to steal.Remember that you are no better or worse than anyone else.Push the envelope straight into the trashcan.Don’t preach, but always tell us how it feels to you.(Thanks to my 12th grade English teacher: Eunice Larkin) But that doesn’t mean everyone will think so. Write for yourself, no one else matters or even really cares.Randy’s “Lucky 13” Random Rules of Songwriting I hope you can find some shred of benefit for your own creative processes. Take ‘em or leave ‘em but they have unconsciously been my guiding principles since I started writing at age 14. Sidebar: So why is 13 my lucky number? I was discharged from the Navy on Friday the 13th 1972 and got married the next year on Friday the 13th. I decided on thirteen rules as thirteen is my self proclaimed lucky number. Upon re-reading those rules I thought it might be helpful to pass them on to my column readers. For the last class session I decided to create a set of “songwriting rules” to pass along to my students. To prepare for the class I borrowed ideas from friends who teach songwriting, some casually and some professionally, but all the material I generated was either uniquely mine or a spinoff of the materials shared with me. I am already looking forward to teaching the class again next year. But in the end, I am sure I got more out of the class than any of the attendees. ![]() The first session, I was scared to death that it would be a total failure. The class consisted of seven 2 hour bi-weekly sessions. I started the class on a lark when I asked a local arts center if they would be interested in an in-depth songwriting course and almost to my horror they said yes. But more than anything they and their eagerness to learn and create inspired me to continue teaching. They all created wonderful work, surpassing any expectations I may have started with. I had a couple of folks who had written before and one who had never written a song. I just finished teaching my first songwriting class in April and I’ve got to say it was a wonderful experience. I also realize that I am opening myself up for a lot of criticism. I certainly don’t want to rule the world of songwriting and I can assure you that for the most part the rules are tongue in cheek. And now I feel like it is a logical introduction to my possibly foolhardy attempt to provide a list of songwriting rules. I loved the song, it’s presentation and, it’s meaning, and I still do. I first remember hearing “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” back in 1985 when MTV actually played music. Years later New Zealand singer Lorde recorded a cover of the song which was included in the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). Here is a video from a 2022 performance by the original artists: Everybody Wants to Rule the World It was certified gold by both Music Canada (MC) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It is regarded as the group’s signature song and had success on charts internationally, peaking at number two in Ireland and the United Kingdom and at number one in Canada, New Zealand and on the Billboard Hot 100. Its lyrics detail the desire humans have for control and power. The song was first released on Maby Phonogram, Mercury and Vertigo Records as the third single from the band’s second album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985). It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley and Chris Hughes. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is a song by the English pop/rock band Tears for Fears. Tears for Fears – Orzabal, Stanley and Hughes 1985 ![]()
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