Learn From a Country Hit : “Gone” by Dierks Bentley

Why this song?

Most songwriters know that the Contemporary Country genre pumps out some of the most well crafted songs in the business. What you might not know is that these songs can provide a gold mine of song crafting techniques you can use to add appeal to your own songs, no matter what genre you’re writing in.

Sure, Country has its own distinctive musical twang but many of the lyric and melody skills are universal. Read on and I’ll show you a few. I’ll use Dierks Bentley’s recent Country hit “Gone” as an example.

Hit Songwriting: “Say You Do” – Dierks Bentley

Recording artist Dierks Bentley

“Say You Do” recorded by Dierks Bentley definitely plays fast and loose with a few songwriting rules. In spite of that (or because of it), Dierks Bentley made it to #1 on the Country airplay charts and stayed for a fair amount of time. Even though the melody and lyrics of this song have a decidedly unique slant, it still appeals to radio’s demanding listeners. So if you’re just dying to be a song crafting rebel, check out how these writers did it.