Ever write a song and a day or 2 later realize you just ripped another song off?

D

dyuob

New member
Last night I was working on a song, when out of nowhere another song hit me, soooo, since i had the mR8 up and running, I wrote a verse and put backing vocals and a guitar part to it as well (I play ukulele as my main instrument).
This morning I got up and listened to it and realized I had written "Don't bring me down" by ELO.
LOL!
The words of course were different, but Dang! That was definately "Don't bring me down".
So, have any of you done the same thing?
 
Yes...
and have, on occasion, copied myself!

You know, another key...maybe the tempo is different...but the chord structure is all too similar.
 
I hate it when that happens!!I ripped off a David Gray chorus the other day.The whole song had to be trashed.Damn,I loved that song too!!!
 
It Happens

I can relate. i've been there as well. I also notice that there are a multitude of "remnants" of other songs on music that hits the radio stations. All too often I hear enough of another song in a new song, but not enough to warrant copyright issues.

On a related note, sometimes I think music on the radio has gone bankrupt. There are too many remakes of songs or songs that sound like other songs.

I often wonder whether peer to peer technology will someday replace the multi million dollar marketing sponsored by the record labels and then ,perhaps, we can truly sample the best songwriting in the world. I beleive that many of the greatest songs written will never be heard by the populace.
 
yeah i always seem to copy myself and it gets frustrating.
sometimes i won't even know i've copied a song melody or something till i here it on the radio like a year later
 
When I hear a chord progression I like, I use it. Nothing wrong with that. Chord progressions are not copywritable. "Theres nothing new under the sun". You can never write a truly origanal song anymore.
 
i hate it when i write something i consider a pretty cool song... and then i realize i've copied something i totally despise, and then i think maybe i subconciously like matchbox twenty "SCREEM"!!!
 
That happens to me on a day to day basis. I think the key though, is to never let it discourage you. just say, "Oh well" and laughand move on.
The thing I hate is when I show my original peice to someone and they try to catagorize it by referencing it to another band. "Oh yeah, cool! It knid of sounds like a Jim Croce, Slayer, Eagles type of thing!" AAAAARRRGGGHHHH!:D
 
I had a bandmate who had that experience big time. He wrote a song called "I'm Free". I happened to hear it on the radio a few weeks later, the original version, and my friend hadn't realized he stole the whole song, music and lyrics. He obviously was quite proud of his song until we realized it had already been written by Pete Townsend. We kind of kidded him about it.
 
I wrote a mass in 1996 (starting with the Gloria I mentioned in the "dreaming up songs" thread) - turns out the vocal rhythm of the "Alleluia" passages was a direct lift from the Quincy Jones Hallelujah Chorus in "The Messiah: A Soulful Celebration".

Didn't realize this until about FOUR YEARS after I wrote it. Because the notes are mine, I'm pretty sure I'm not violating copyright (can't copyright a rhythm, otherwise Bo Diddley would be seriously richer), but still, dismaying at the least.

It's been enough to keep me from marketing it. Well, plus I'm lazy...
 
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