CMT has a post on Kenny Chesney's inspiration for his new song, "Reality." It seems Kenny was at the dentist's office when the inspiration hit him. “I was lying in a dentist chair, I had the mask on, you know, where they give you that funny gas so they can work on your mouth without you feelin’ it and all that kind of stuff,”
he recalls. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I haven’t been this relaxed in a long time. This is my escape from reality.’" Although I don't recommend excessive use of laughing gas for inspiration (the only thing dentists inspire in me is fear!), this post got me thinking about some of the odd ways inspiration strikes. Sometimes I get a song idea listening to a song on the radio. I'll get involved in the story, then suddenly I'll stop and think: hey there's another way to tell that story, or there's another side to that story. Sometimes I get story ideas just watching people. Spend an hour at the mall and just watch. You'll wonder why people say, do, and wear the things they do. Trying to figure the reasons will give you plenty of ideas. I've even gotten song ideas just channel surfing from station to station on TV. The last words of one station will blend in with the first words on the next station and give me an idea. Song ideas are funny that way, you never know when they'll strike. But if you're a songwriter the main thing is just to always carry a notepad and write that word or phrase or idea that pops into your head before it fades away like Kenny Chesney's laughing gas.
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