For those of us who aren’t songwriters or musicians, we usually assume that popular songs take a long time to write. While this is true of certain tunes, you might be surprised to find out how many hit songs were written in 10 minutes or less.
When the inspiration hits, there’s nothing that can stop a songwriter. There certainly are many songs that took a long time to write, but some of the most popular songs have been written in as little as 5 minutes.
Out of all the popular songs written in less than 20 minutes, two were written during a sound check and one came to a musician in a dream. Compared to some of the songs that took years to write, such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Freddie Mercury, there are many songs that were written in no time and still ended up being a huge hit.
There’s no secret formula when it comes to writing a hit song. One musician could take years to write a song that ends up being a dud while another musician could write a song in five that ends up changing their career forever.
Several of the artists on this list became famous because of a song they wrote in less than 10 minutes.
To create this list of 10 songs written in 10 minutes or less, 24/7 Tempo consulted several lifestyle and media publications, including Business Insider and Rolling Stone. We also read quotes from many of the musicians on this list, discussing the songwriting process and how long it took to write their hit songs. Here are 10 songs written in 10 minutes or less. (Check Out The Biggest One-Hit Wonders in Music History.)
“Sweet Child O’Mine”
- By Guns N’ Roses
- Written in five minutes
It doesn’t get more classic than the hit song “Sweet Child O’Mine” by Guns N’ Roses. Even though this number 1 hit song remained at the top of the charts for more than 20 weeks, the song only took about five minutes to write.
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
- By Queen
- Written in 10 minutes
According to Freddie Mercury, he wrote the hit song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” in less than 10 minutes. He credited his poor guitar playing skills as the reason he was able to write it so fast, claiming he only knew a few chords so he was limited in what he could come up with.
“Yesterday”
- By The Beatles
- Written in less than five minutes
Paul McCartney certainly isn’t the first musician to claim he dreamed up a song, but that’s how “Yesterday” was written. Paul McCartney, lead singer of The Beatles, claimed he woke up from a dream in which he came up with the melody for the song. As soon as he woke up, he wrote the chords and lyrics in less than five minutes.
“Losing My Religion”
- By R.E.M.
- Written in less than five minutes
Peter Buck, guitarist of R.E.M. happened to stumble upon the riff for “Losing My Religion” as he was learning to play the mandolin. He ended up writing it in less than 5 minutes and Michael Stipe, R.E.M.’s singer, ended up writing the lyrics later on. This song became the hit on their next album, “Out of Time.”
“Seven Nation Army”
- By The White Stripes
- Written during a sound check
The most recognizable song by The White Stripes, believe it or not, wasn’t written intentionally. Frontman Jack White came up with the melody during a soundcheck in 2002. Although Ben Swank, one of the other band members, wasn’t impressed, the song was added to their next album and became their greatest hit.
“See You Again”
- By Charlie Puth
- Written in 10 minutes
“See You Again” by Charlie Puth was written in only 10 minutes, even though it ended up being an award-winning song. This song has a lot of meaning behind it, since it was written for the final scene in “Furious 7” following Paul Walker’s death. Puth co-wrote the song with DJ Frank E in less than 10 minutes in the studio.
“Photograph”
- By Ed Sheeran
- Written in 10 minutes
The song “Photograph” was a hit from Ed Sheeran’s second album. According to Sheeran, he was inspired by a recent breakup and just started singing the lyrics. Overall, the song took about 10 minutes for him to write.
“The Cave”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 30: Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons performs onstage during the American Museum of Natural History's 2023 Museum Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on November 30, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for the American Museum of Natural History )
- By Mumford & Sons
- Written during a sound check
“The Cave” by Mumford & Sons was another song written during a song check. While the band was playing in a small pub in Edinburgh, they started messing around with different melodies. This ultimately led to the creation of “The Cave” in just a few minutes.
“Hometown Glory”
- By Adele
- Written in 10 minutes
Not only did Adele write her hit song “Hometown Glory” in 10 minutes, she also wrote it when she was 16. The singer wrote this passionate song after her mom tried to convince her to leave London for college.
“Just Dance”
- By Lady Gaga
- Written in 10 minutes
The song responsible for bringing Lady Gaga into the spotlight only took 10 minutes to write. This upbeat song was meant to talk about a brighter future. Lady Gaga was battling depression during the time they wrote “Just Dance.” The song ended up hitting the top of music charts and staying there for 13 weeks. (Don’t Miss The 50 Most Popular Songs About America.)