Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Garrison Keillor on Songwriting

On A Prairie Home Companion last week, Garrison Keillor sang a witty song he wrote about the pilot and crew involved in that emergency landing on the the Hudson River.

At the website, he explains his writing process -- names that rhyme easily are very handy -- and his surprise when he performed it:

"... I was unprepared, though, for the huge reaction of the audience in the Palace Theater in Louisville. They just LOVED that song from the first line. Not a great song but it touched a deep chord, and there's the secret of songwriting, ma'am. Just be in the right place at the right time and any fool can write a song. But it takes years of training and mental discipline to be able to set a powerless Airbus down on the Hudson."

And that's why I love Garrison Keillor.

You can read the lyrics, listen to the song and download it from the website.

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