wednesday word: patti

Patti Smith on How She Writes a Song

Patti::: Because I had so much responsibility to others. If I was writing lyrics to someone’s music, I had responsibility to that musician. I had to project beyond myself and beyond my world out into the greater world. Allen Ginsberg told me, “If you have trouble writing, just write what you mean.” [Laughs] And that’s a good lesson when you’re trying to write a song.

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From More Songwriters on Songwriting by Paul Zollo. Available from Da Capo Press, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC.