Not every song has to be Imagine by John Lennon

Not every song has to be Imagine by John Lennon. Dave Grohl shared that songwriting insight on the Tape Notes podcast after a conversation with Foo Fighters bandmate Nate Mendel, during sessions around the band’s release Your Favourite Toy, which is out now. Grohl said the remark followed a moment when he was stuck on a lyric and felt he was wasting everyone’s time, and he later considered writing an essay about the creative approach. These comments were reported by MusicTech on 22 May 2026.

Grohl said that lyrics are subjective and up to each listener’s interpretation, noting that lines that seem nonsensical to some still decode an emotion for the writer. He warned that spending too long self‑editing can derail a song’s original intent, and he contrasted that with the creative value of moving quickly. Grohl asserted that when you write without self‑editing it can often be the most revealing, and he linked that approach to how he works on lyrics. He framed these remarks as part of his reflection on songwriting practices.

Nate Mendel told Dave Grohl on the Tape Notes podcast, ‘not every song has to be Imagine by John Lennon.’ Grohl recounted that the remark came when he was stuck on a lyric while working on the band’s fourth record, with other members waiting while he faced a blank page. He said the comment followed a moment when he felt he was wasting everyone’s time and that Mendel’s line prompted him to rethink his approach. Grohl later said he considered writing an essay about the creative approach.

Grohl described the effect of the advice on his songwriting process, saying lyrics are subjective and come from the heart, and noting that some lines that seem nonsensical to listeners still decode emotion for the writer. He warned that spending too long self-editing can derail a song’s original intent and contrasted that with the value of moving quickly. Grohl asserted that when you write without self-editing it can often be the most revealing, and he framed these remarks as part of his reflections on how he writes lyrics. These comments were reported by MusicTech.

On the Tape Notes podcast Grohl recalled being stuck on a lyric while working on the fourth record, saying, “On the fourth record, I was stuck on a lyric and I was wasting everyone’s time. Everyone was downstairs waiting for me, but I was on a blank page, uninspired… And Nate says, ‘You know, not every song has to be Imagine by John Lennon.’” He said he later considered writing an essay about that approach. He also stated, “There’s a lot of this, that on this record.”

Grohl addressed lyric interpretation directly, saying, “Lyrics are subjective – they’re up to one’s own personal interpretation.” He added that he reads some lyrics from other artists that he thinks are “kind of nonsense,” and followed that with the statement, “[But] that person is decoding some sort of emotion within themselves. No matter how quickly or how much thought they put into it, it’s revealing in some way.”

On the role of self‑editing and speed in writing, Grohl said, “When you just do something quickly, with no self-editing, that can often be the most revealing.” He described repeatedly finding new meaning in tracks, saying, “As we dig through the tracks and listen to stuff, I’m constantly finding new meaning or new depth that I may not have considered before.” He qualified his writing habits by saying, “You know, I’m not the type of person that’s going to walk around with a journal and a bottle of red wine sitting in the park and writing an endless tome of fucking poetry. But, but when I have to, I will.”

Your Favourite Toy is out now. Dave Grohl discussed songwriting during sessions around the band’s release Your Favourite Toy. He recalled that the remark from Nate Mendel — “You know, not every song has to be Imagine by John Lennon” — followed a moment when he was stuck on a lyric, with other members waiting while he faced a blank page. These comments were reported by MusicTech on 22 May 2026.

Grohl said the experience occurred while working on the fourth record, and that he felt he was wasting everyone’s time when he was uninspired on a blank page. He said he later considered writing an essay about the creative approach. Grohl linked the approach to lyric interpretation, stating that “Lyrics are subjective – they’re up to one’s own personal interpretation” and that some lyrics that appear nonsensical still decode emotion for the writer.

He also said “When you just do something quickly, with no self-editing, that can often be the most revealing” and that as they dig through tracks he is “constantly finding new meaning or new depth” he may not have considered before.

Dave Grohl described how Nate Mendel’s remark interrupted a moment of creative paralysis, saying, “On the fourth record, I was stuck on a lyric and I was wasting everyone’s time. Everyone was downstairs waiting for me, but I was on a blank page, uninspired… And Nate says, ‘You know, not every song has to be Imagine by John Lennon.’” Grohl said he later considered writing an essay about that approach and noted that “There’s a lot of this, that on this record.” He presented Mendel’s line as a catalyst that reframed his immediate songwriting choices.

Grohl connected Mendel’s advice to his broader writing method by emphasising speed and reduced self‑editing, stating, “When you just do something quickly, with no self-editing, that can often be the most revealing.” He also addressed the interpretive nature of lyrics, saying, “Lyrics are subjective – they’re up to one’s own personal interpretation,” and added that some lines he reads from other artists seem “kind of nonsense” while nonetheless “decoding some sort of emotion within themselves.” Grohl described finding new meaning as they review tracks, saying, “As we dig through the tracks and listen to stuff, I’m constantly finding new meaning or new depth that I may not have considered before.”

Grohl described that a remark from Nate Mendel intervened during a period when he was stuck on a lyric, saying “On the fourth record, I was stuck on a lyric and I was wasting everyone’s time. Everyone was downstairs waiting for me, but I was on a blank page, uninspired… And Nate says, ‘You know, not every song has to be Imagine by John Lennon.’” He said he later considered writing an essay about that approach and also stated, “There’s a lot of this, that on this record.”

Grohl framed the remark within his view that “Lyrics are subjective – they’re up to one’s own personal interpretation,” and he noted that some lines he reads from other artists are “kind of nonsense” while “[But] that person is decoding some sort of emotion within themselves.” He said, “When you just do something quickly, with no self-editing, that can often be the most revealing,” and added, “As we dig through the tracks and listen to stuff, I’m constantly finding new meaning or new depth that I may not have considered before.” He qualified his writing habits by saying, “You know, I’m not the type of person that’s going to walk around with a journal and a bottle of red wine sitting in the park and writing an endless tome of fucking poetry. But, but when I have to, I will.”