write me a song, on your trumpet.

Make it a good song, so all the children of the world can sing along.

Yes, so, to all songwriting types: what's your style? What's your flow? Can you croon over some strummed guitar chords and put it all together from there? Get bass/drums in first? Or do a Gary Barlow (it's a top euphamism for so many things) and construct everything on piano first?

How about lyrics: write them first and shoehorn them in (James Dean Bradfield style), or are they key to the rhythm and structure of the songwriting process?

Me, chord progressions are fine, but I can't write melodies for shit. My lyrics never seem to fit, invariably falling into the realm of the sixth-form poetry corner, and I find it incredibly difficult to write a vocal line that goes anywhere interesting.