There’s a song brewing here…

Nicki Wells: “The detail in the song paints the picture of their lives… Details that create feelings listeners can relate to.” Photo: Ananya Tanttu

Don’t wait for inspiration to strike, it can come from anything and anywhere, even the mundane, says singer-songwriter Nicki Wells

First published in Songwriting Magazine Autumn 2023

Let’s do an exercise together. I’m gonna be your invisible social buddy, and wherever you go – whether it’s to work, the supermarket, a walk with the dog or to a friend’s house – we are going to find content to write songs about. Are you with me? Here are five examples:

1. THE BUS STOP

You’re at the bus stop, you see a man across the street also waiting for his bus, he’s in his 80s. Pick out every detail you can find about him, including the story he might be carrying. What colour jacket is he wearing? He’s holding a white Tesco plastic shopping bag. What’s in it? A can of Heinz Baked Beans? Be that specific! What are his facial expressions? Why do you think he’s waiting alone? There’s a song brewing here…

Tommy’s been catching the 62 bus since 1954
There’s a map in the lines of his face one simply cannot ignore
Years of memories, his wife’s laugh still in his eyes
He used to fly a Hercules over black smoky skies

2. THE SUPERMARKET

You’re at the supermarket… How busy is it? How bright are the store lights? Is one flickering over the milk carton shelves? Who is behind the checkout counter? What do they look like? What kind of story do they tell? Can you make one up from what you see? There’s a song brewing here…

Got a trolley of the usual, can’t remember what I came here for
The girl behind the counter reminds me of someone I knew before
She looks up at me with eyes that carry bags of sadness
I try to make her laugh to change her smile to one of gladness

3. A FRIEND’S HOUSE

You’re at your friend’s house… Where is it? What street? How’s the weather? Is it sunny? What are you going to do with your friends? How are you feeling at this moment? Excited? How close are you to these friends? Do they make you feel better about everything? Are you gonna go out dancing in the evening? There’s a song brewing here…

So go tell the world that we’re ready and we’re coming out
Nothing’s gonna stop us, got a feelin’ worth a dance-about
Hands are flying high, I gave up caring about anything
Just gotta move like I’m gonna give it everything

Nicki Wells’ Technique article first appeared in Songwriting Magazine Autumn 2023

4. WALKING THE DOG

You’re walking the dog… How are you feeling in this setting? Is this a place where you can contemplate things? How wild is the environment? What kind of trees are you walking under? Do you like having this time alone to think? Does it bring up a feeling of going somewhere? Or feeling lost in the vastness of it all? Take an image of that walk and make a theme of repeating it. There’s a song brewing here…

Under the old pines
Whispering their secrets
Under the old pines
I thought I knew my way
Under the old pines
Scattered stars beneath my shoes,
I never
Thought I’d go so astray

5. WITH SOMEONE YOU LOVE

You’re with someone you love, but don’t know how to tell them. Here is an example of one of my own songs Never Will. Throughout the song, I create these scenarios that are very realistic and even mundane. The protagonist is best friends with the man she loves, but is never brave enough to confess her feelings to him. Time passes, she eventually gets pregnant with another guy’s child, until at the end, her love interest confesses he also always loved her.

The song is left on a cliffhanger, where the listener doesn’t know if they ever get together. The detail in the song paints the picture of their lives, using locations, street names, countries… Details that create feelings listeners can relate to.

I first met you on the corner between Rhye and Bailey Hill
And this never happens to me, but time really did stop still
Now it’s been eighteen months since that night and we’ve become good friends,
And you’ve had a couple’ girlfriends and you’ve shared about their ends
Well if I don’t tell you now I never will
If I don’t tell you now I never will
If I don’t tell you now I never will

You moved above the river to a North London flat
And you asked me to come over to open boxes, help unpack
And you started seeing someone, she’s a law graduate
And when you told me, I went quiet and you asked, ‘what’s up with that?’

Well if I don’t say it now I may never will
If I don’t say it now I never will
If I don’t say it now, I never will

Now it’s been four years I’m pregnant and you moved to South of France
I met the guy in Mykonos, when he asked me out to dance
Then just like that you say it that you’ve loved me all these years,
You thought I wasn’t into you like that and I burst into tears,
I said I felt the same but I was held back by my fears

Nicki Wells is a singer-songwriter currently based in Monmouth, Wales. Her album Ellipsis combines Indian classical, Celtic folk, Eastern European choral and Western pop music and is out now. Find out more at nickiwells.com

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