Keith Urban shares the secret to a great song ahead of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony

By MARIA SHERMAN
AP Music Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Country superstar Keith Urban and Kix Brooks of powerhouse duo Brooks & Dunn will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Wednesday night at Nashville’s Music City Center.

Urban, a four-time Grammy Award winning musician, is being celebrated at the 53rd anniversary gala for hits such as “But for the Grace of God,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” and “Days Go By.”

Kix Brooks’ songwriting in Brooks & Dunn helped shaped the iconic ’90s country music sound, with tracks like the Grammy-nominated “Brand New Man,” “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” and “Only in America.”

Other inductees include Casey Beathard and David Lee Murphy, in the contemporary songwriter category, and Rafe Van Hoy in the veteran songwriter category.

When asked to share the secret behind great songwriting in advance of the ceremony, Urban told The Associated Press over the phone: “It’s one of the most elusive things. Some days it just flows and other days, there’s nothing. I just always hope it’s not a day where I show up to somebody important to write with and nothing comes in.”

Urban says he’s learned over the years that if the inspiration to write a song doesn’t hit one day, it’s best to be kind to yourself.

“Just be in the moment and flow. If it’s there, it’s there. If it’s not, it’s not. But there’s a real balance, I think, of inspiration and craft,” he said. “It’s a blend of those two and then a whole bunch of mysticism all at the same time.”

Simply put: There’s no equation.

“It’s alchemy. You’re making something where there was nothing,” he continued. “I’ve often said that I can’t physically bring a child into being, but I can bring a song into being. And that song didn’t exist before that day. And now it exists and now it will always exist. And that’s an amazing feeling.”