Many songwriters begin their songs by strumming a chord or two. Without really thinking about it, they let the chord progression lead them through the song. If you write that way, though, you may end up spending more time thinking about what chord comes next than your lyrics and melody. You don’t hear listeners talking about how much they LOVE that chord progression. They respond to the lyric and a memorable melody. Chords are low on their list, so why should they be at the top of yours?