Snow Patrol

Band

Photo: Raph_PH · CC BY 2.0
Active 1994-present
Origin Dundee, Scotland
Albums 8
Tracks 98
Most frequent collaborator Jacknife Lee · 58 tracks
Genres Alternative RockIndie RockPost-Britpop
Complete Artist
100%
Authorship

Holds writing credit on 98 of 98 tracks

Who writes Snow Patrol's songs?

Gary Lightbody writes all the lyrics, on all 98 tracks across eight albums with no exceptions. The music is credited to whichever lineup made the record, which puts Jonny Quinn on 84 tracks, Nathan Connolly on 70 and Johnny McDaid on 22.

By the Numbers

8
Studio Albums
98
Tracks Credited
100%
Self-Written
32
Years Active
5
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 98 / 98 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 98 tracks: how many Snow Patrol wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

Snow Patrol has a writing credit100%
76%
24%
Sole author74tracks76%
Co-written24tracks24%
Outside writers0tracks0%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
Snow Patrol's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 98 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)100%
Composer (music)100%
Producer27%
Performer100%

Member Credit Breakdown share of tracks each member is credited on

Percentage of all 98 tracks, across every album, where each member holds a credit - split by role.

MemberPeriodLyricsMusicProductionPerformance
Gary Lightbody 1994-present
100%
100%
27%
100%
Nathan Connolly 2002-present
12%
71%
14%
100%
Johnny McDaid 2011-present
12%
22%
12%
22%
Mark McClelland Former 1994-2005
0%
41%
0%
0%
Jonny Quinn Former 1997-2023
0%
73%
14%
88%
Tom Simpson Former 2005-2013
0%
37%
14%
78%
Paul Wilson Former 2005-2023
0%
37%
14%
78%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

Snow Patrol's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
1998Songs for Polarbears
2001When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
2003Final Straw
2006Eyes Open
2008A Hundred Million Suns
2011Fallen Empires
2018Wildness
2024The Forest Is the Path
Early · 100% written
Mid · 100% written
Late · 100% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

100%
1990s
Songs for Polarbears
100%
2000s
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up, Final Straw +2 more
100%
2010s
Fallen Empires, Wildness
100%
2020s
The Forest Is the Path

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where Snow Patrol sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

Snow Patrol
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Faith Hill2%
Kenny Chesney20%
NSYNC41%
Kelly Rowland53%
Usher74%
Counting Crows83%
The White Stripes92%
100%Snow Patrol
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed
Songs for Polarbears
Written by Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland
Wrote it
Velocity Girl
Songs for Polarbears
Written by Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland
Wrote it
Ask Me How I Am
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
Written by Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
One Night Is Not Enough
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
Written by Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
Run
Final Straw
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Mark McClelland, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
Spitting Games
Final Straw
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Mark McClelland, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
Chocolate
Final Straw
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Mark McClelland, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
How to Be Dead
Final Straw
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Mark McClelland, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
Chasing Cars
Eyes Open
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
You're All I Have
Eyes Open
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
Set the Fire to the Third Bar
Eyes Open
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
Open Your Eyes
Eyes Open
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson, Jonny Quinn
Wrote it
Take Back the City
A Hundred Million Suns
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson
Wrote it
Crack the Shutters
A Hundred Million Suns
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson
Wrote it
If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It
A Hundred Million Suns
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson
Wrote it
Called Out in the Dark
Fallen Empires
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson, Jacknife Lee
Co-wrote
This Isn't Everything You Are
Fallen Empires
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson, Jacknife Lee
Co-wrote
In the End
Fallen Empires
Written by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson, Jacknife Lee
Co-wrote

Discography 8 albums

All eight studio albums. The EPs, the Up to Now compilation and the Tired Pony side project sit outside this catalogue.

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

Snow Patrol98 tracks
JL58Jacknife Lee, 58 tracks JW14Jamie Watson, 14 tracks MB14Michael Brennan, 14 tracks 12Fraser T. Smith, 12 tracks MW1Martha Wainwright, 1 track

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. JL Jacknife Lee · JW Jamie Watson · MB Michael Brennan · MW Martha Wainwright

Photo credits

Portraits in the web and the rail come from Wikimedia Commons. The artist's own photo carries its credit under the picture.

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

The lyrics line never moves: all lyrics Gary Lightbody, on every album from 1998 to 2024. Everything under it does. The debut is Lightbody and Mark McClelland on the music, the second adds Jonny Quinn, Final Straw adds Nathan Connolly, and Eyes Open swaps McClelland for Tom Simpson and Paul Wilson. From 2008 the sleeve stops naming anyone and just says Snow Patrol, so the credit follows the lineup: five members on A Hundred Million Suns and Fallen Empires with Jacknife Lee joining on the second, four on Wildness once Johnny McDaid is in, three on The Forest Is the Path. Quinn ends up on 84 tracks, more than anyone but Lightbody.

Quick Facts

  • LightbodyAll 98 lyrics and all 98 music credits
  • Jonny Quinn84 tracks, the longest-serving co-writer
  • Studio albumsEight, from 1998 to 2024
  • Biggest albumEyes Open, 1.5 million copies in the UK
  • Biggest single"Chasing Cars", number 5 on the Hot 100
  • The band creditNames five members, then four, then three

Creative Fingerprint

One lyricist for twenty-six years and a music credit that follows the lineup rather than any individual.

The Story

Gary Lightbody wrote every lyric on all eight Snow Patrol albums, 98 tracks with no exceptions. The music credit is the band's, and the band it names changes six times.

Frequently Asked Questions Snow Patrol

Who writes Snow Patrol's songs?
Gary Lightbody writes all the lyrics, on all 98 tracks across eight albums with no exceptions. The music is credited to whichever lineup made the record, which puts Jonny Quinn on 84 tracks, Nathan Connolly on 70 and Johnny McDaid on 22.
Who wrote "Chasing Cars"?
Gary Lightbody wrote the lyrics and the five-piece lineup of the time the music: Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Tom Simpson, Paul Wilson and Jonny Quinn.
How many albums have Snow Patrol released?
Eight studio albums, from Songs for Polarbears in 1998 to The Forest Is the Path in 2024. The EPs, the Up to Now compilation and the Tired Pony side project are counted separately.
Has anyone else written lyrics for the band?
Only once. The Forest Is the Path in 2024 credits the lyrics to Gary Lightbody, Johnny McDaid and Nathan Connolly, the first time the lyric line names more than one person.
Which album sold the most?
Eyes Open. It was the best-selling album of 2006 in the UK, selling 1.5 million copies, and was the 15th best-selling album of the 2000s.
Who is Jacknife Lee?
The producer who co-wrote all fourteen tracks on Fallen Empires and all ten on Wildness, the only outside name in the music credits.
Where are Snow Patrol from?
They formed in Dundee, Scotland in 1994, though Gary Lightbody and Johnny McDaid are both from Northern Ireland.
Who is in the band now?
Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly and Johnny McDaid. Jonny Quinn and Paul Wilson left in 2023 and Tom Simpson in 2013.
Who wrote "Run"?
Gary Lightbody wrote the lyrics and the Final Straw lineup the music: Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Mark McClelland and Jonny Quinn. It reached number 5 in the UK.
Why does the music credit keep changing?
From A Hundred Million Suns in 2008 the sleeve credits the music to Snow Patrol rather than naming the members, so the credit tracks whichever lineup made the album.

Sources

Wikipedia: Snow Patrol Wikipedia: Snow Patrol discography