Welcome to the first ever episode of Write Me A Song: A Songwriting Podcast with Edward Randell and Olivia Rafferty! We are both so excited to share our thoughts and feelings on the songwriting process with you, and we hope you get involved with our weekly homework challenges, where we prompt you to write a song of your own.
🎵 Episode 2: Write Me A Word Ladder
This week Edward challenges Olivia to use the ‘word ladder’ technique from Jeff Tweedy’s book ‘How To Write A Song.’
Listen to the episode to see how she gets on.
🎹 Your Songwriting Homework!
This week, we want you to write us a song based off the word ladder technique.
Here’s your homework:
Grab a bit of paper and a pen
Think of a profession, and write down ten verbs that you might associate with that job. Write this in a column on one side of the page
Take a book off your shelf at random, choose a page at random and write the first ten nouns you see. Write this as a column next to your verb list.
Pair each noun with a verb, making an effort to choose unlikely and unfamiliar connections
Use those pairings to kickstart your lyrics. The verbs can be performed by your noun (for example: the garden destroys), or they can be performed upon your nouns (your garden was destroyed). Have fun with it! You don’t have to use every pairing, even if it’s just one phrase which sets you off, then that’s fine!
Record a demo and send it in!
Upload your song to be featured on the podcast or newsletter below:
Share Your Work
📚 Episode References
📕 How To Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy
🎙️ Ezra Klein interview with Jeff Tweedy
💻 Austin Kleon’s take on the word ladder
🎟️ Tickets for Olivia’s Album Release Show on 6th March
🎟️ Tickets for Edward’s String Quartet Show on 3rd April
🎸 Find Us Elsewhere…
* Listen to Edwards’s music
* Sign up to Edwards’s newsletter
* Listen to Olivia’s music
* Read Olivia’s Newsletter
* Write Me A Song Instagram
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
writemeasong.substack.com