Comments on: Isn’t It Always Too Late To Be A Songwriter?

By: TonyConniff

TonyConniff — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 04:53:54 +0000

Edward,
Sounds like you’ve got the bug! There’s probably not much you can do about it at this point.
I really appreciate your thoughts and your perseverance.
Best wishes,
Tony

By: Edward Osmundson

Edward Osmundson — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 04:28:20 +0000

I have been writing songs for 35 years with virtually no encouragement or support from anyone and little if any positive response from many live performances. I often question myself why I continue to do this after releasing 4 albums that basically nobody listened to and even fewer liked. But I still practice every day and invariably if I stumble onto an idea I like I’ll record it for possible later development in a song. The funny thing is I don’t derive any particular pleasure from songwriting. In fact, it’s pretty frustrating more often than not. Yet I continue to be compelled to keep doing it. I’m probably too old to keep doing this but I think that is only the case if one allows it to be and I haven’t.

By: Tony Conniff

Tony Conniff — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 06:27:47 +0000

In reply to I’d Rather Not Say.

I could answer with, “I’d Rather Not Say”…
But my real answer is, “No! It’s not too late.”
Thanks,
Tony

By: I'd Rather Not Say

I'd Rather Not Say — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 05:52:04 +0000

I read this anticipating the payoff would be you had a #1 song! Your heart is driving you to write. Follow your heart. I wrote for 30 years before my songs even started making sense! By now, they are decent. So my question is: is it too late to be an artist?

By: Tony Conniff

Tony Conniff — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 03:41:48 +0000

In reply to Mark Permann.

Mark,
Thanks for reading, and for your thoughtful reply.
Tony

By: Mark Permann

Mark Permann — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 22:58:00 +0000

Tony, sincerely, these feel like the best words I have read in a long time about pursuing one’s inner vision.

Many prescribe the worth and process of doing that. Far, far fewer reflect meaningfully on the frustration and doubt of the long becoming, as you have here.

You are writing here about self-knowledge and -actualization; that is, about authenticity. What could be more authentic than choosing to invest in one’s pointless desires that just won’t die?

Like you, I had thought of becoming a singer/songwriter well before I started wandering down a path, but it felt stupid (and frankly, still does, because on a rational basis, it is). I started to accept it more after I had a serious accident that put me in hospital for a few days. When I got home, I had the spontaneous thought that whatever this want is, something of it must be authentically me, because no one else is asking me to do it or cares if I do.

As Mark Hollis of Talk Talk put it in a song that lodged in my memory long before I understood what it was about: those of us who choose this path pay for it, and it seem to be the price of tomorrow started.