Why I Write Songs

I look at every song I write as a gift from the universe to my heart and soul. If I accept the challenge, I’m agreeing to work on it and wrestle with it until it’s ready to share with the world. Songs are ultimately about expression and communication.

The process often starts out being cathartic and has indeed helped me through some tough times as well as celebrating some fabulous moments. The old joke is that writing a song to work through something is way cheaper than therapy. Ultimately though, I feel like my job as a songwriter is to be of service to anyone who chooses to listen to my songs.

My goal is to move people to tears or laughter or to make them think a bit differently about something. As a songwriter, the greatest compliment I can ever get is when someone shares a story with me about how much a song I wrote meant to them. I’m always amazed when the depth of their experience goes even deeper than mine.

The other component is social and educational. Every time I write a song, I learn a little more about the craft and a lot more about who I am and what’s important to me. The social part, I experience through co-writing which I enjoy. Many of my closest friendships began collaborating on a song.

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary described my mission best when he said this about my work. “ Steve Seskin leads the cutting edge of American songwriting that, in this dark period of our history, leads us back to our humanity and our light. Beyond that, he lives the message of his music as this troubadour inspires his audience to laugh, cry and forget their fear of believing once again”.

The fact is, I’m still fascinated by the gift of creativity, the combination of spontaneity and the craft of writing as a means of expression. 40 years in, I can’t wait to write my next song! The process is so beautifully mysterious and revealing all the while being very hard work. The road to a great song is rarely straight and narrow. It’s a journey full of curves and switchbacks but that’s half the fun. I don’t care how long a song takes me to write, as long as I love it when it’s done!

As Picasso once said, “Inspiration does exist, but it likes to find you working.”