5♥ Your weapon of choice

5♥ Five of Hearts in The Rock Songwriter’s Deck: 52 Ways to Write a Song

The Five of Hearts asks you to let your angry emotions inspire you. Write as if your song were a weapon, and your intention is to hurt someone. It helps if you’re actually angry at someone. But if you're not, just pretend. (“It’s called acting!”)

It's likely that many fine songs were written this way, although you'd have to actually ask the songwriters to know for sure. In any case, anger is a powerful energy that can be used for constructive purposes in your creative life. So don't just sit there seething — write a song!

J♣ Rebel with a song

J♣ Jack of Clubs in The Rock Songwriter’s Deck: 52 Ways to Write a Song

The Jack of Clubs urges you to do the opposite of what people expect. If people think they know who you are as a songwriter and what kind of music you do, it's time to defy their expectations. Rebel against their typecasting. Shatter the mold.

People are getting a little too comfortable with who you are and what kind of songs you write.
Write a song that would surprise, shock, startle, and unsettle them.

(Note: We're not trying to undo years of carefully staged image-building! If your public image is working perfectly for you, you might choose not to release or perform this new song. But even if you don't release it, this can still be a valuable exercise that helps you flex your muscles and stretch your boundaries.)

7♣ Duh!

7♣ Seven of Clubs in The Rock Songwriter’s Deck: 52 Ways to Write a Song

The Seven of Clubs invites you to write a song, drawing your inspiration from the aggressive energy of sarcasm.

Most of the time, most of us are polite enough to keep quiet in the face of stupidity, bad taste, incompetence, and hypocrisy. Our social world works better if we do. But eventually we need to address all the obvious things that remain unspoken.

Standup comics are great at this: "Hey, did you ever notice that elephant in the corner of the room? What's up with that??" But songwriters can get in on this action as well.

For one songwriting session, drop your politeness and let your sense of sarcasm take the wheel. You might be surprised at how much power it brings to your work.

Of course, you'll want to use good judgment in deciding whether to bring the resulting song into the public light. If it's too mean-spirited, don't perform it. But save that sober review for another day. Today, don't hold back. Go for it!