Inspiration comes from a lot of places. The only limit is your imagination.

All it takes is someone to say something or for me to hear or see something that makes me think or brings a certain idea to mind....and I have the beginnings of a new song. Sometimes people send me ideas and partially written song verses and I can take some of them and finish them one way or another. And sometimes, the ideas seemed good but languish in my computer and mind for a long time. Ask David. He sent me the basics for Whiskey for Breakfast..... I don't think that was the name of it... and in a short time we had a finished song. A few days at most. Then there's the other idea he sent..... I think that one's still on the back burner after over a year..... maybe I'll get it done eventually.

A recent short story/example. In a facebook group I'm in, there's a planned 2nd reunion of the folks who were active in the business of music back in the 70's and 80's in a certain military town we all lived in. This group includes the store owners, the bar owners, the musicians, the tattoo shop artists, and even the police officers who were in the midst of it all. Musically, the town was extremely active with dozens of places hosting live bands. There were at least a dozen full time or part time bands in that town at any given point over that time frame. Everything from the disco bands to the rock and roll bands to the country bands. I was asking about a certain hole in the wall we played a lot when our band was getting started. It was a cowboy hangout. Some of the guys there were active rodeo participants with the buckles and scars to prove it. From that memory, I came up with the idea for The Road To Cheyenne. I have written several other cowboy rodeo songs in the past, but there's always room for another.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.