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♦ Song and Antisong

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

As cards go, the Seven of Diamonds is very positional. Whatever anyone says or does, the Seven of Diamonds is adamantly opposed to it.

If you drink your coffee black, the Seven of Diamonds will get his with cream and sugar and call you an anarchist. The next day, if you get cream and sugar, 7♦ will drink it black and complain that you've gone soft.

That's why the Seven of Diamonds' songwriting assignment is to pick a song that makes a clear, strong point — and then write a new song that argues for the exact opposite.

For example, you might take the Beatles' "Back in the USSR" and write a song called "Back in the USA." (I'm just joking — read the back story here.) Or you might start with the cheerful 1970s hit "Love Will Keep Us Together" and write a gloomy song that argues "Love Will Tear Us Apart." (Just joking again.) Or perhaps you could write a rebuttal to Paul Simon's "Tenderness," a song that bemoans a relationship built on relentless honesty without any kindness mixed in. (Yep, that's been done too.)

Well, you'll have to come up with your own ideas for a song to start with. But, whatever song you pick, don't go easy on it. Make a strongly-argued, forceful case for the opposite point of view. Even if you actually feel that the truth is somewhere in between, leave those hesitations aside. If you played the two songs back-to-back, you'd want a listener to walk away persuaded that your song made the stronger case.

6♣ You can’t write that

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

The Six of Clubs demands that you break every rule and taboo that constrains you. Write your forbidden songs, the ones that you're not allowed to write.

Depending on who you are and what your hangups are, these could be songs that are rude, pornographic, scatological, sexist, politically incorrect, illegal, ugly, cloyingly sweet, or just plain wrong.

Don't worry — you don't have to share these songs with anyone else unless you choose to do so. It's okay if you run them through the shredder as soon as you're done writing them. The point is not to shatter your social identity. Indeed, it's wise to deliberately cultivate a social identity that serves your purposes, even if it's not 100% authentic.

But you should shatter any constraints that limit your creative expression. There is no need to limit yourself in the privacy of your own songwriting studio. You always have the option of editing or censoring things before you let other people hear them, but don't pre-censor them before you even create them. That results in what we sometimes call creative constipation. Where everything is blocked.

By breaking down the walls, you may discover reservoirs of creative energy that you haven't been using.

Just this week, go ahead, be bad. You know you want to.