Mary Gauthier's thoughts on the songwriting process

[Farawayhills]

Mary's back at the Opry again this week.

I found this interview pretty interesting - her replies reflect the way one of our greatest songwriters views the process, including how she approaches co-writing:

"If I am in a co-write, with someone who is a writer, then we usually try to find a way into a song that we both want to write. If I am in a co-write with a writer who is looking to write with me to help them articulate their own vision, then I see my job as trying to assist… to support their process. If I am in a co-write with a non-writer, a soldier for example, then my work is to find the title in what they are telling me, and find the melody in that title, then ask them questions and listen, listen, listen to their answers. Listen to their voice, to their experience… try to find the universal in it, try to find the thread that I can pull that can open up their story."

And how she feels about baring her personal feelings in a song:

"I don’t think about that. It’s not my concern, really, to worry about how I feel revealing myself. What I am mostly concerned with is laying it out right and true, laying it out with integrity and honesty. I want my songs to reflect my humanity, and my connection to the universal. There’s nothing that I’ve been through that millions of other people haven’t already been through before me. My job is to convey human experience in a way that people connect to stories. It’s the best job in the world, and to keep it, I have to stay vulnerable."

Full interview here:
Five Questions: Mary Gauthier | No Depression