If you play guitar and write your own songs, or aspire to be a songwriter, you will one day hit that brick wall known as writer’s block.
It’s not a matter of “if”, but a matter of “when”. We all suffer from it occasionally, and we all have that little voice of panic deep inside that worries we might never have a good song idea again.
Everyone has a different method for combating writers block, but it’s generally agreed that a good course of action is to walk away from the guitar and the legal pad for a while and let the mind clear.
One good way of doing that is to take in a movie. It’s not only a good way to “forget about it” for a while, it’s also a great possible source for your next song idea.
Just the act of nestling into a cushioned chair in a dark theater with an overpriced bucket of popcorn and coke, has an amazing recuperative effect on the subconscious mind.
But beyond that, is the possibility that a great song idea will be triggered from something that takes place in the movie.
A perfect example is the hit song “You Had Me From Hello”, recorded by Kenny Chesney, and written by Chesney and Skip Ewing.
Reportedly, the song title was inspired from a line spoken by Renee Zellweger’s character in the movie “Jerry Maguire” to her co-star’s character played by Tom Cruise. The line was “you had me at hello”.
This line spurned the song that was written for the real life Zellweger who eventually married Kenny Chesney.
Fortunately for Chesney, the royalty checks for the song lasted longer than the marriage did!
The point is, of course, that song ideas can come from anywhere. And when we hit that proverbial brick wall known as writers block, a good way to “un-block” the muse, and possibly find that next great idea, might be as simple as taking in a good movie!
