The very best thing you can do is to try to write a song that has some sort of impact.

Dar Williams

Categorized in : Song Writing Impact

In the laughing times we know that we are lucky, and in the quiet times we know that we are blessed. And we will not be alone.

good-luck blessed laughing

God looks like a guidance counselor, God's got that smile. God says, 'How could this be? That's really odd I guess I'll have to check my records, silly me, you know, I'm only God.'

records silly looks

There's a marketing scheme that tells you that pregnancy and child rearing will make you into a moron, that your kids are only happy when you're buying them stuff. It's hard being a parent, but I laugh a lot and smile a lot and really enjoy it. The ratio of laughter to sadness is higher. There's part of me that wants to broadcast that. Parenting only affirmed what I already cared about, and that's good.

laughter pregnancy children

Slavery doesn't have any positives.

Writing 'February' made me realize that breaking form is a way of letting the song be human.

writing song way

If you're looking for can-do, earthy-crunchy attitude then you've got to go to Wisconsin.

crunchy wisconsin attitude

And where does magic come from? I think that magic's in the learning.

magic doe thinking

I would push for more production and Steve Miller would say, "Why do you want to have more production when you have real songs? You don't want to cover up the song."

cover-ups real song

Sometimes I see myself fine, sometimes I need a witness. And I like the whole truth, but there are nights I only need forgiveness.

forgiveness night needs

All the things you treasure most will be the hardest won

cheer light struggle

And if I had a camera

cameras light giving

The rest of the songs on the album [Mortal City ] have spare arrangements on them. Steve [Miller], really loved that. He'd just come off of a project with someone who basically had to mask the fact that there were no songs there with production. He said, "Oh, my God, you have real songs here!"

real cities song

If a war has to happen, a war has to happen.

ifs happens war

There's always people who came 600 miles to hear the song you didn't play.

play song people

A song versus an album is not like a scene versus a play.

albums play song

I remember doing "As Cool As I Am" and Steve Miller, the producer, saying "I really hear a drum loop here. I want to play it for you." When I wrote it, I thought, "This isn't going to sound very folky. I don't think it's going to go with mandolins and banjos." Then he played the loop for me and it sounded right.

sound play thinking

Arizona is really cool but I couldn't stay there for too long.

really-cool arizona long

Being told that you are good at banter is like being told that you are a good person.

banter good-person persons

But I benefit from the taxes I pay because I know how to access the benefits of the taxes.

taxes benefits pay

What happened on "As Cool As I Am" was, you know how in the `90s, "the personal is political, the political is personal"? That was a really big thing. Choices you made about how you recorded and what instruments you used and how much real versus how much synthetic. Those were choices that were seen as very political at the time.

political choices real