What to write in a custom song: 25 memory prompts

The best personal songs aren't built from big adjectives like "amazing", "kind" or "the best mum ever". They're built from small, specific moments that only you and the person share: the burnt pancakes, the car singalongs, the nickname nobody else is allowed to use.

If you're staring at the story box and nothing's coming, work through the prompts below. You don't need all 25. Three or four vivid answers make a far better song than twenty vague ones.

How you know them

1. Where were you the first time you met, and what do you remember about that day?
2. What was your first impression of them, and how wrong (or right) was it?
3. When did you realise they were going to matter to you?
4. What's a nickname you have for them, and where did it come from?
5. What's a phrase they say all the time?

The everyday details

1. What does a normal Sunday look like with them?
2. What's their go-to order at a café, takeaway or bar?
3. What song do they always turn up in the car?
4. What's something they're weirdly good at?
5. What small habit of theirs would you miss most if it stopped?

The big moments

1. What's the hardest thing they've been through, and how did they handle it?
2. When did they show up for you when you really needed it?
3. What's a trip or day out you both still talk about?
4. What's a milestone they've reached that you're proud of?
5. What's a moment you've never properly thanked them for?

The funny stuff

1. What's the story that gets retold at every family gathering?
2. What's an inside joke that would make them laugh instantly?
3. What's the worst gift, meal or haircut in your shared history?
4. What's something they're stubborn about?
5. What would their friends tease them about?

What you want them to hear

1. If you could only say one sentence to them, what would it be?
2. What do you hope for them in the next year?
3. What have they taught you without meaning to?
4. How do you feel when you're with them, in one word?
5. What do you want them to remember every time they play this song?

Turning answers into a song

Once you've got a few answers, pick the ones that make you smile or catch your breath. Those are your verses. Then choose the single thing you most want them to hear. That's your chorus.

• Use real names, places and objects. "The blue Corsa" beats "your old car".
• Mix one light memory with one heartfelt one. Contrast makes the emotional line hit harder.
• Don't worry about rhyme or rhythm. Just tell the story in plain sentences and leave the songwriting to us.
• Tell us how to say their name if it's unusual, so it's sung properly.

That's genuinely all it takes. When you start a VerseOfYou song, the story step asks for exactly these kinds of details. Our AI turns them into original lyrics and a fully produced song, delivered within 24 hours. If it isn't right, we remake it free, and if you still don't love it, you get your money back.