Writing clever words was never the job of the writer, it’s saying plain things in ways that people can relate to and feel in a world that doesn’t always welcome that kind of truth-telling.

William Fitzsimmons is a singer-songwriter and producer admired for his hushed and tender vocals, melodic fingerpicking and heart-wrenchingly honest lyrics. His willingness to be vulnerable in his songs is evidenced in his most recent record, Mission Bell, which chronicled the end of his decade-long marriage. Both painful and healing, the 11-song album includes songs about betrayal, reconciliation and forgiveness.  

While his songs are often dark and introspective, this is juxtaposed with his humor and self-deprecating manner, both on and off stage. Allie has been lucky to tour with William (on keys & BGVs) and has witnessed 1000 people teeter between pin-drop silence and raucous laughter. It’s a rare skill to embrace both sides of oneself so fluidly, and it makes William connect even more deeply to his fans. 

If you are a songwriter who strives to be able to speak difficult and vulnerable truths in your songs, we know you will gain a lot from this interview and from William’s music.

photo by Shervin Lainez

10 Questions:  William Fitzsimmons on Creativity and Songwriting

1. When you sit down to write a song, which elements tend to come first (melody, concept, title, lyrics, chords, beat, etc.)?

When I first started writing songs, maybe 20 years ago, it always began with guitar. Simple progressions, not riffs, just finding chord shapes and progressions that actually made me feel something. Music was always first. The longer I’ve written, the more joy and inspiration I’ve found in throwing that formula on its head. Starting with an idea that’s not even related to music, trying an unfamiliar instrument, or working on sound design and letting the words come from there, or sitting with another writer and letting them bring their mastery and ideas into the fold. It seems the more outside of my own writing comfort zone I go the more pleased I am with the writing that comes from it. 

2. How often do you write? Do you have a regular routine, or do you do it only when you’re feeling inspired?

I was very undisciplined early on when it came to writing. I was working very straight, 9-5 jobs and so writing to me was a free and unstructured pursuit. And that really was therapeutic and it worked wonderfully early on. But I wonder whether I lost ideas and melodies in those years by being rather lazy about it. I read something years ago about how George Lucas, when he was writing Star Wars, used to force himself to sit at his desk and write regardless of anything else. There were some days when he wrote pages upon pages, and some when it was merely a sentence. But he made himself available to inspiration instead of assuming it would magically come to him in moments. I took that principle and now I try to work whenever I can; when my kids are at school or after I put them to bed. Sometimes it’s merely practicing or learning about gear, but I’m there if the muse wants to visit. I think if you write only when you feel specifically inspired to you might miss out on some very cool things. 

3. Do you have any practices that help you find inspiration and collect ideas?

For me it’s always come down to two simple things. Living life with other people and reading. This world offers myriad things to write about every single day. You have to become an observer and feeler of all the things around you. I look at my job as one of noticing things happening that most don’t often talk about. Little emotions in people’s eyes that only last a moment. And you find many of these things in literature. Doesn’t have to be Kafka or Steinbeck (although those are pretty damn great!), but good literature tends to have so many small and complex emotions that we don’t often stop to notice. I like pulling those things into conscious awareness and trying to put them on paper. 

4. Have you ever felt creatively blocked and what did/do you do to overcome it?

Often!! Haha!! I have friends that never seem to have creative blocks and I’m so happy for them!  For me they happen at pretty regular intervals! But I’ve learned to not fear them. They always come and they always pass. They are usually moments when I need to go more inward and work through something I haven’t yet. Those are moments when journaling and prayer and meditation seem to help me most. Just digging deeper into my own issues and trying to discover what it is that wants to be dealt with. Without exception I come out of those periods with renewed inspiration and clarity. But you have to accept them as a part of being a songwriter. If it was easy everyone would do it. Songwriting is costly in that it requires you to spend time in emotional places that other people might choose not to. It’s not physically laborious, but it takes an emotional toll. But to me, it’s well worth it.

I think if you start to look at the song as something that exists without you, you are more free to let it be what it wants to be with or without you.

5. Do you like to collaborate with other artists and in what capacity does collaboration work best for you?

I was pretty opposed to collaboration for several years honestly, and I’m not proud of it. I think I believed that in order to be great, I had to do everything myself. Every note and every word had to come from my own heart and mind. How limited and boring that was over time!! Allie, you were actually one of the first people who opened my eyes to the joy of working with others. Showing me different ways to sing and express myself vocally that I never would have found on my own. After that I started to casually reach out to friends and peers and let them work on ideas I had with me. Sometimes emailing song ideas, sometimes sitting together with a couple guitars and just seeing what happens. Being humble enough to know I have my own limitations started to make my music more interesting and, I think, much better. It’s just the old idea of “gestalt,” the whole being more than the sum of its parts. Now I probably co-write nearly half of the time, and with openness and gratitude. Songs don’t really belong to us. We merely collect the ideas and pass them on. In that sense it doesn’t matter if I write every word or not. I’m just grateful to be a part of making beautiful things. 

6. Are there any non-musical things you do that affect your art?

Aside from the reading that I mentioned, my past working as a therapist has largely influenced my writing over the years. I’ve chosen to stay connected to that world in different ways as well. Reading psychology articles or research, textbooks and memoirs on mental illness and health, etc. Even being in therapy myself has really helped my writing. Not that I do self-work to become a better writer, but it’s a wonderful side effect of that process. I think sometimes we get lost thinking our writing should be too external, but if we don’t understand what’s going on inside of us, I don’t think we’re really ever fully capable of understanding or empathizing with the lives of those around us. 

7. How do you know when a song is done?

Haha! Are they ever really done?! I talk about this subject all the time with my writer friends. It’s a tricky one indeed! For isn’t it the case that you could always change something? For me it’s the moment when I feel something strongly from it and I understand the world a little bit differently from it. When those two things happen I don’t think there’s really much more that can be done, at least not by me. If I think it’s good, but I don’t feel inspired or changed by it, then it’s time to bring in someone else and let them wrestle with it. Sometimes the song doesn’t want to be written and you have to let it go. Other times you let it rest for a while and visit it later when it or you might be more ready. Again, I think if you start to look at the song as something that exists without you, you are more free to let it be what it wants to be with or without you. 

8. What do you think your strengths are as a songwriter and how do you play to those strengths?

If I have any strengths, they’re probably related to my background in therapy and being comfortable sitting in discomfort for extended periods of time. It’s human nature when we feel pain to run away from it. To diminish it or deny it or to push it down. But as writers, it’s our great responsibility to stay with emotions, good and bad, for longer periods of time than might be healthy for us. We are called upon to tell the truth, whether it’s pleasant or popular or welcomed. When you learn how to be comfortable sitting in emotions that we’re not made to, you begin to dig to the next levels of awareness where you can start to say things that are bold and unexpected and necessary. Writing clever words was never the job of the writer, it’s saying plain things in ways that people can relate to and feel in a world that doesn’t always welcome that kind of truth-telling. 

9. What do you think your weaknesses are as a songwriter and how have you worked around them or worked to improve them?

For me the greatest weakness has always been my default to the internal world at the expense of the external, whether it be in subject matter or allowing others to be a part of my creativity. The first time I worked with a producer I was so precious about my own ideas that I didn’t see the glorious and masterful things happening around me! Now that I know that, I willfully change my default to allow another person’s ideas a spot of honor at the table. I choose amazing people to work with and then just allow them to do what comes naturally! Some of my best songs came about because I ignored my “need” to be right in a situation and allowed someone else to have the place of honor. At the end of the day, if the song is communicative and beautiful or true, that’s the only thing that matters. Not whose name has higher billing on the marquee. 

10. What is one important lesson you have learned through your experiences as a songwriter?

That there is always a deeper plane to aspire to. You never “arrive“ as a writer; you can always take a new step into something more challenging or uncomfortable or truthful.

Favorite song to dance to: Shake it Off by Taylor Swift. I’ve got two daughters and Taylor’s music has been a big part of our regular dance parties. 

Favorite song to make out to: I Feel it Coming by The Weekend and Daft Punk. Sexy as hell. 

Favorite song to cry to: Pink Moon by Nick Drake. All feeling. 

Favorite song to work out to: Basically anything uptempo and electronic. I like things that move and have a strong beat when I’m working out. And it’s a good opportunity to get into new music that I might not otherwise hear. 

Favorite song to drive to: Hmm. The Boys Are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy. Please don’t ask for clarification. Lol.

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William recently released Light Years and is going on tour this February 2020. You can find out more about all of that on his website and social media links below.

Follow William online:

williamfitzsimmons.com
twitter.com/wfitzsimmons
instagram.com/williamfitzsimmonsofficial
facebook.com/williamfitzsimmons

cover photo by Erin Brown