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There are as many ways to write songs as there are songs.

I find it harder to write the lyrics afterwards because then you're just trying to fit them into something that's already there.

But when you get to a song, not only do you have to do a vocal melody, you have to write words and not be redundant and make some semblance of a story.

So one can say that I write all the time, that goes for the lyrics as well.

Singing beautiful melodies is one thing, but to deliver the text so that the people understand it, even in a foreign language, has to be worked at very hard.

I write the music because I can't really write lyrics. But I can write chords like Robin's never heard of. So I provide the music for them to add the lyrics to.

The actual writing of a song usually comes in the form of a realisation. I can't contrive a song.

I've never written lyrics. I get up in front of a microphone, and I just sing what comes to the top of my head.

Writing in English was a major challenge. I didn't want other songwriters to write for me. I wanted to preserve the spirit of my songs in Spanish. I am the same Shakira in English as I am in Spanish.