Bono quote on songwriting

October 04 2007

Tagged Under : Bono, Matt Redman, songwriting, U2, worship

I recently ran across this blog post from Matt Redman. He uses a quote from Bono to illustrate our need to put more than sound doctrine in our songwriting:

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So, now a quick thought for songwriters. Not from me, but something I came across from Bono of U2. Speaking on songwriting he said “You can have 1000 ideas, but unless you capture an emotion, it’s an essay.” What a great thought. It can be so easy to generate ideas for songs - and put some kind of theme together. But if it’s merely a cerebral exercise it may only take us so far. Truth-based songs will always resonate to some degree, but taking it further, if that truth is delivered with passion, purpose and emotion it will be even more compelling. When writing a worship song we’re not just trying to give people some information. We’re trying to convey the awe-inspiring wonders of Jesus, and describing how our hearts, minds and souls respond when faced with these things. Just take a look at the Psalms - these songs are full of passion and emotion - poured out in the most full-on adoration, intercession and praise you’ll ever come across. They are built on truth, and oozing with emotion. So there you go - a tiny little thought on songwriting, courtesy of Bono.

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