To Roseanne Jennings

Sedona, Arizona — Writing songs about your home can be sentimental. Choosing a lyric or melody that represents a place close to your heart can be overwhelming, and you may be hesitant to start writing. Still, this is one of the best ways to join the ranks of established top singers like Michelle Branch and Stanley Jordan, who we mentioned in our Sedona Musicians post. It’s one. After all, writing songs about things you know well makes it easier to tell stories and shed a good light on Sedona for listeners.

With that in mind, here are some ways to write the perfect song about Sedona.

Write about your emotional connection to Sedona

Our Santa Fe River Company on youtube

Songs convey emotions. You need to tell them how you feel about Sedona to evoke similar feelings in your audience so they can understand and relate to you.

that’s why bacon jamesis a Florida-based singer-songwriter who won this year’s Santa Fe River Fest Songwriting Competition. He wrote a song titled “Lost and Found (At the Santa Fe)” (2023) about a river that means a lot to Florida residents. The Santa Fe River is a comfort and haven for many, including the singer. Based on his own personal experience, he wrote the song about a man who finds peace in a river after getting lost in modern society. Similarly, you can write about your emotional connection with Sedona. Maybe it gave you a new beginning, or maybe it’s the home you always come back to.

Include the notable things that make Sedona special

John Denver on youtube

Every place has something special you can be proud of. Including such notable things about Sedona in your song will leave a lasting impression on your listeners and make them understand your love for Sedona.

Notice how the deceased singer-composer looks. John Denver Wrote the hit song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (1971) about West Virginia. Although he proclaimed Colorado to be his favorite state, he captured the details of West Virginia by writing about its uniqueness, such as the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River. These details created a beautiful picture for listeners unfamiliar with the state. Likewise, you can sing about notable features like healing vortices. Sedona, famous for promoting healing and meditation. You can also use this as a metaphor for how the city is your cure. Another is Sedona’s many red rock formations. You can sing about Cathedral Rock, a beautiful backdrop used in many Hollywood movies.

take the listener to sedona

Jay-Z on youtube

Part of good songwriting about a place is making listeners, especially those who have never been to Sedona, feel like they are in Sedona. That way they can immerse themselves in the song and understand why you feel the way you do.

To do so, use your five senses to soak up the Sedona environment. Describe what you see (perhaps an evergreen plant), what you smell (like a pine tree), and what you feel (perhaps a warm breeze from the desert). I can also describe how the people of Sedona behave. Being a desert town, residents choose to live in peace, respecting nature and the spirit of the West. Consider how Jay-Z and Alicia Keys sang about New York City in Empire State of Mind (2009). It represents a bright light that shows hope and encourages people to come to the city. It also touches on how cold New York is literally and figuratively, epitomizing how some people feel in the hustle and bustle of city life. So take a walk and figure out how to bring your audience to Sedona with your words.

talk about the best experience

James Taylor on youtube

Make your song your own by highlighting your personal best moments in Sedona. This personal touch is a bonus to the cake. With this, no matter how hard you try, the artist can’t come close to your song.

Look back and visit the places you lived and studied. You can sing about your childhood home or school where you met your best friend. To do so, you can imitate how James Taylor describes his best childhood experience in North Carolina through the song “Carolina in My Mind” (1968). He talks about sunshine and moonshine, the simple things that made his stay memorable. The way he reminisces shows the listener the best aspects of the place and allows them to understand it the same way he does.

Writing about Sedona is a special task. By following the tips above, you can create a song that does it justice.

Article by Roseanne Jennings