Vince Gill Recalls the Best Songwriting Tip He’s Ever Received

Vince Gill is one of Nashville’s most storied songwriters. The Oklahoma native penned lyrics for both Pure Prairie League and Rodney Crowell’s backing band, The Notorious Cherry Bombs. Gill was even inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. So it’s safe to say that when it comes to writing hits, Gill knows what he’s talking about—but everyone has to learn somewhere. Keep reading to learn the best songwriting advice the country legend has ever received.

Vince Gill Is All About Saying More With Less

To be the best, you’ve got to learn from the best—and Guy Clark was certainly one of the best. Everyone from Johnny Cash to Chris Stapleton has found chart success by borrowing from his catalog. In a September 2023 interview with Vulture, Vince Gill shared some invaluable wisdom from the late “L.A. Freeway” sensation.

“Guy Clark used to say, ‘If one word doesn’t add to the story, then it doesn’t belong,'” Gill told Vulture.

[RELATED: How Vince Gill Turned a Spousal Spat Into His First No. 1 Hit, “I Still Believe in You”]

Gill swears by this advice. Every aspect of his songwriting process must serve a purpose—which means he can’t be afraid to trim the fat.

“It all has to work, it all has to matter, and it all has to have a point,” said the “One More Last Chance” singer. “I’m just more willing to edit now than I ever have. Just because you can cram all those words in a line, do you really think you should?”

Making Them Feel

For Gill, tugging at listeners’ heartstrings is the end goal, rather than wowing them with technical skills.

“The music I hold dearest is the music that moves me, that makes me feel something more than, “Oh, wow, look what they just did,'” said the 18-time CMA Award winner. “You can fool ‘em with all kinds of stuff, but at the end of the day, you don’t want anybody to go, ‘Whoooo!’ You want everybody to applaud for a long time. That’s a deeper feeling than the screaming that just lasts for two seconds.”

Featured image by by Sachyn Mital/Shutterstock