Top 20 Quickly Written Songs

Top-20-Quickly-Written-Songs

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for songs that were written or conceived — and that the writers were able to finish at least a good chunk of — in a relatively short amount of time.

#20: “Black Hole Sun” (1994)
Soundgarden
We’ve all had the experience of getting a song stuck in our heads. But most of us probably have never had the experience of writing a song in our heads. Then again, most of us aren’t Chris Cornell. Cornell, Soundgarden’s frontman at the time, was driving home from the studio when he pretty much conceived of the whole musical arrangement for the track. Funnily enough, the genesis of it was based on a TV anchor saying what he misheard as “black hole sun.” Then, the track was put down and the lyrics flowed out of him just the next day. According to Cornell, the grunge tune was penned in about 15 minutes.

#19: “She Wolf” (2009)
Shakira
With its minimal fabric and lack of a full leg and arm, we could easily believe that the black outfit Shakira wears in the “She Wolf” video was made in about 10 minutes. We’re joking, of course. But while we have no information to support that theory, we do know that the song itself came together in that short amount of time. Shakira has spoken about being in a “bad mood” when inspiration hit. Next thing she knew she was in the corner of the studio writing the words and melody. Ten minutes later, what we’d come to know as “She Wolf” was pretty much all there.

#18: “Dammit” (1997)
Blink-182
We know some of the best songs of all time come from writing about breakups and heartache. And there’s no denying that “Dammit” by Blink-182 is an epic creation. But funnily enough, bassist Mark Hoppus actually wasn’t dealing with the fresh sadness of a relationship ending when he wrote it. Indeed, Hoppus was reportedly simply chilling and noodling on a guitar when he came up with the music and the lyrics for this fictional breakup song. Apparently, an idea struck, and it struck hard and fast. We’re not exaggerating — it apparently necessitated only 10 minutes of his time.

#17: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008)
Beyoncé
One fateful day, singer, songwriter and record producer Terius "The-Dream" Nash walked into a recording studio to make a song for Beyoncé’s next album. When he walked in, he had no idea what he was going to do. About 17 minutes later, he essentially had “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. Well, actually, he wrote something else first (we don’t know what it was). But then, in just 17 minutes, he penned one of the most iconic songs of the decade. Some further work, and Queen Bey’s delivery, would produce the tune that’s been dubbed “an anthem for single ladies everywhere.”

#16: “Born This Way” (2010)
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga wanted her own “this-is-who-I-am” record. She definitely got it with “Born This Way.” In fact, the title track off her sophomore album has become an empowering, “this-is-who-I-am” song for a whole lot of people. It’s helped everyone from the kids on “Glee” to Gaga fans the world over feel seen. And to think, the star wrote it in less time than it’s probably taking you to watch this video. As she put it, the creation of the song was “like an Immaculate Conception” - a conception that only took about 10 minutes. Talk about an epic and speedy birth.

#15: “American Woman” (1970)
The Guess Who
Normally at concerts, bands play songs that they’ve already written. However, in 1969, the Guess Who did something a little different — but not on purpose. During a show in Ontario, the band was taking a break so Randy Bachman could change a broken string on his guitar. Well, in the course of trying to tune the instrument, Bachman started riffing a tune that caught everyone’s attention. He just kept playing it while the rest of the band took the stage and joined in. Needing some lyrics, and having recently had the American government try to draft them, Burton Cummings improvised “American woman, stay away from me”.

#14: “Supersonic” (1994)
Oasis
One day, while the rest of the gang were taking a break and enjoying some takeout, Noel Gallagher stayed back to perfect his guitar riff and write some lyrics. The story goes that within half an hour, he walked back over to everyone and played what we know as “Supersonic”. From there, Oasis went into the studio to record the hit, and by the end of the day they had a completed track. While their work on that occasion was meant to be a demo, it was never changed. The version you hear on the album is the same one they recorded that fateful day.

#13: “Chandelier” (2014)
Sia
Sia is no stranger to writing songs quickly. In 2012, she was given the music to, and wrote the lyrics for, Rihanna’s “Diamonds” in just 14 minutes. But there’s more. It turns out the lyrics for her 2014 hit “Chandelier” sprang onto the page just about as quickly. As she told NPR, “‘Chandelier’ took like four minutes to write the chords, then like 12-15 minutes to write the lyrics. Probably 10 or 15 minutes to cut the vocals.” That’s not a whole lot of time to create a bonafide hit. Interestingly, Sia originally penned the tune with either Rihanna or Beyoncé in mind, but as we know, it ended up in her own hands.

#12: “Free Fallin'” (1989)
Tom Petty
Like the great Irving Berlin, Tom Petty didn’t need professional training to develop a knack for songwriting. Take “Free Fallin’”, one of the Heartbreakers’ biggest hits. Petty came up with the song spontaneously while jamming with fellow musician Jeff Lynne. Though Lynne’s initial response seemed playful, he offered notes that quickly tightened up the chord structure and encouraged Petty to lift the chorus to higher octaves. The words spilled out as if the track had already been written, and both men immediately knew it was a hit. Similarly, Petty would later compose “Wildflowers” in mere minutes. That one materialized so easily that he was actually concerned there was something not right going on!

#11: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (1979)
Queen
Freddie Mercury was a great singer, an excellent songwriter, but just an average guitar player. Indeed, he didn’t know more than a few chords. However, that and roughly 5 to 10 minutes are all he needed to pen one of Queen’s catchiest tunes. Mercury actually talked about how his limited proficiency on the instrument helped him write “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” He said: “in one way it was quite a good thing because I was restricted. […] I couldn't work through too many chords and because of that restriction I wrote a good song, I think.” We think so too.

#10: “Royals” (2013)
Lorde
This hard hitting pop number blasted onto our radio waves and owned the summer of 2013, allowing the young New Zealand artist Lorde to take the music industry by storm. The lyrics were written by the young star in only half an hour, and offer a criticism of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. This chart topper later went on to receive widespread acclaim as well as Grammy awards for Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year.

#9: “Paranoid” (1970)
Black Sabbath
Being the title track on one of Black Sabbath’s most popular albums might make you think it was written by the devil himself and sent to the band via a bolt of lightning. Although, it may have been that easy to write this influential metal classic. This legendary single was actually an afterthought to the rest of the album, and was rushed together in order to be a “filler” song for it. Call it fate, or sheer dumb luck, but one thing is for sure: this song rocks!

#8: “All the Young Dudes” (1972)
Mott the Hoople
In the early ‘70s, Mott the Hoople was ready to split due to the lack of success. This 1972 hit came from none other than David Bowie, who penned the track on the spot for the band after hearing of the group’s potential disbanding. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame considers it one of the songs that shaped, well, rock and roll. David Bowie would later record a cover of the song only months later. In other words, it’s a glam rock classic, and Mott the Hoople would go on to have a successful career — all thanks to Bowie’s penmanship.

#7: “Sweet Child o’ Mine” (1988)
Guns N’ Roses
Slash may have called it practicing, but the rest of the band called it a hit in the making! The opening riff of this 1988 classic started as Slash’s “string skipping” exercise, which the rest of the group saw as an opportunity to write a killer hard rock tune. Within an hour of the band hearing Slash’s signature riff, they had the rest of the instrumentation down, and by the next afternoon the song had lyrics. The track was obviously refined in the studio, however it was initially ready to go in only an hour, which is extremely impressive by our standards.

#6: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
The Rolling Stones
Who says divine inspiration is a myth? Certainly not us after hearing the story behind this tune. Indeed, Keith Richards states the epic riff to this 1965 rock song came to him in a dream. Waking in the middle of the night, he grabbed his bedside guitar and a tape recorder and played what he heard followed by what he described as “forty minutes of snoring.” After showing the riff to Mick Jagger, he laid down the lyrics in only 10 minutes. The rest, as they say, was rock and roll history.

#5: “Loser” (1993)
Beck
From the jangly guitar, to the addictive chorus and the laid back attitude, this one gets stuck in our heads from the first notes. Beck, a rising artist, was self conscious about the song, hence the melancholy chorus and monotone vocals. Although Beck had the idea for the tune for years, it wasn’t until he sat down in record producer Carl Stephenson’s kitchen that it came to life — in just over six hours, no less. And with the result hitting number 1 on the modern rock tracks chart, who’s the loser now?

#4: “(You Gotta) Fight for your Right (To Party)” (1987)
The Beastie Boys
A parody of the party lifestyle, “Fight for your Right” is often misinterpreted and taken too seriously by most listeners. We couldn’t care less though, seeing as it’s one hell of a tune. According to the band, they penned the lyrics on napkins in just five minutes along with the help of producer Rick Rubin and friend Tom Cushman. The end product would create a music video so good, it needed a star-studded sequel 15 years later.

#3: “Night Moves” (1976)
Bob Seger
Reliving youth and the joys of young love can be as tragic as it is exhilarating, and Seger’s majestic look back at his first romance is one hell of a trip down memory lane. While at a recording session in Toronto, on the last day before he had to leave, Seger composed and recorded “Night Moves”. Seger’s sax player had already headed home, so to finish the song, he quickly brought in some local musicians to enhance the track. To say they hit the nail on the head would be a massive understatement.

#2: “Under Pressure” (1981)
Queen & David Bowie
How many stories do you know that start with the words: “While Queen and David Bowie were jamming in Switzerland…”? Funnily enough, that’s just how “Under Pressure” came to be. Yes, you heard us right! While the song is credited equally between the four band members and Bowie, Freddie Mercury is known to have composed most of the music, with Bowie taking most of the lyrical credit. Interestingly, Mercury’s scat singing is actually a leftover result of the musicians improvising in the song's early imaginings.

#1: “What’d I Say” (1959)
Ray Charles
Not only does this two-part song mark Ray Charles’ break into mainstream pop, but it’s also just about as groovy as groovy can be, and it was written in just one evening. After racking hit after hit of Rhythm and Blues tracks, Charles composed this track accidentally while improvising to fill the time before a live audience. The result speaks for itself. For one thing, “What’d I Say” made it onto Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s also credited as being one of the first soul tunes ever recorded.

Which of these quickly written tunes is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.