How to Write One Song

Recognised as a Rough Trade and Pitchfork Book of the Year, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, one of our century's most celebrated singer-songwriters, offers a surprisingly intimate and encouraging guide to unlocking your own creative potential in How to Write One Song. The New York Times aptly describes it as "a guide to rediscovering the joys of creating that we all felt as children."

Rather than a traditional musician's memoir recounting personal history, Tweedy delves deep into his own creative process, generously sharing his unique perspective on songwriting. The result is a warm and accessible handbook that champions the vital importance of integrating creativity into the fabric of our daily lives and experiencing the hope, inspiration, and sheer joy that can accompany it.

How to Write One Song isn't a dry instruction manual; it's an invitation. Tweedy's approach is practical yet infused with a genuine enthusiasm for the act of creation. As Rough Trade notes, it's "fascinating," while the Independent finds it "eloquent," and Pitchfork deems it "nourishing." The Financial Times rightly positions Tweedy as "a proselytiser for the act of songcraft," and GQ hails the book as "a smart, funny, relentlessly practical guide."

Tweedy's writing style is engaging and down-to-earth, making the often-mystified process of songwriting feel approachable and demystified. He encourages experimentation, playfulness, and a shedding of inhibitions, reminding us of the inherent creativity we all possessed as children. Esquire calls it "delightful," and Vulture finds it "incisive."

As the Irish Times astutely observes, "A book written by a musician that doesn't relay autobiographical details in some form of (even loose) chronology is unusual... Jeff Tweedy, in How to Write One Song, achieves this." This book is something else altogether: a generous and insightful offering from a master craftsman, encouraging everyone to tap into their own creative wellspring and experience the simple yet profound act of writing just one song.