songwriter

American  

[sawng-rahy-ter, song-] / ˈsɔŋˌraɪ tər, ˈsɒŋ- /

noun

1. a person who writes the words or music, or both, for popular songs.

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songwriter British  

/ ˈsɒŋˌraɪtə /

noun

1. a person who composes the words or music for songs in a popular idiom

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Etymology

Origin of songwriter

First recorded in 1815–25; song + writer

Explanation

A musician who composes tunes and writes lyrics is a songwriter. Many famous musical performers, from Elvis Presley to Rihanna, have relied on songwriters to write their biggest hits. While composers write music and lyricists focus on just the words, songwriters do both. If you have a decent singing voice, play the guitar, and love coming up with your own lyrics and melodies, you should think about being a singer-songwriter. Or team up with another musician and write songs together, the way John Lennon and Paul McCartney did, sharing credit as songwriters for many of the Beatles' most famous songs.

Example Sentences

Catalan superstar Rosalía was presented with a new award, international songwriter of the year, after breaking through with her genre-melding, neo-classical and multi-lingual album Lux.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Moorer says that “he excels as a singer, songwriter, player, harmony singer and producer.”

From Salon • May 15, 2026

The song blends delicate piano with impressive vocal crescendos, which Goodrem -- a songwriter, musician, film star and a coach on The Voice Australia -- has brought to perfection.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

“I remember it was May 16, 1996 — maybe three weeks after I graduated from Syracuse,” says the singer and songwriter known for his smart, tender folk-rock stylings.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

Your songwriter has written the solo as it sounds on his keyboard, so you have a C part.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Related Words

• composer
• musician
• poet