If you have the basic idea for a song – the Chorus and/or the Title – sometimes the lyrics for the Verses and the Bridge (if there is one) fall right into line.  Other times… not so much.

Often you have one verse and aren’t sure where to go with the others.  Or there’s a jumble of ideas but no obvious way to sequence them.  These are the kind of situations where Outlining can be useful.

In many if not most songs each different Verse simply approaches the Chorus or Title from similar angles – there’s not a lot of motion in the story.  For example, in classic songs like Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Up On The Roof, Save The Last Dance For Me, and thousands of others, the situation remains the same throughout the song.

The verses restate the same or similar ideas and are well-focused on the Title.  There’s nothing wrong with this; it’s great and is used in most songs.  We do it because it works.

There’s also the List Song, where the Verses list similar or related questions or statements which are then answered or refuted by the Chorus… such as Blowin’ In The Wind, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, and thousands of others.

In List songs, there is an Outline of sorts – there’s a template that is established and followed throughout.  But there’s usually very little development or change in the characters, story, or main ideas.  Again, this is a good thing.  This is why it works…

Because Most Good Songs are about One Thing.

But there are many exceptions.  Some songs do need more motion in the story or characters… and Outlining can become more useful.  What’s important here is that you, the writer, arrive at a clear idea of what’s going to happen in the song – which can of course change later if you come up with better ideas.

Then, once you know what’s going on, your job is to organize the presentation of your story (which doesn’t have to be linear) and execute it well.

The idea of Outlining a Song is really pretty simple.  First, take a look at the material you have –  Are there any ways to organize it that jump out at you?  For example, chronological – Couple meets (Vs. 1), falls in love (Vs. 2), gets married (Vs. 3).

Using this template: you might already have your first Verse and like it – when the singer meets his/her beloved.  Let’s say you’re stumped after that.  Rather than sweating over the single lines and couplets right away, you could start brainstorming the Outline.

If you don’t like the choice in the earlier paragraph (too obvious!), how about – Couple meets (1), has sex that night (2), restless singer looks on as the moon shines through the window onto his/her new lover sleeping beside him/her in bed (3).  Or… Couple meets (1), goes for a romantic walk (2), new love drives off into the night, never to be seen again (3).

You can come up with a lot of scenarios… the ones above are just off the top of my head.  Anything like this is going to be good or bad mostly depending on how well it connects to and sets up the Chorus/Title so it more deeply resonates, and how well it’s executed.

The point is that Outlining can get you moving in ways that going line-by-line sometimes can’t.  Or it can help take some of that line-by-line writing and organize it into something coherent (or even semi-coherent, if that’s what you’re going for).  It can help keep you on-track and on-topic if your lyrics have a problem with wandering off.  It’s not a panacea, it’s just another approach.

For an example of a song that can be seen as having a very clear, linear, and well-executed song Outline, see the part that focuses on My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen in my previous post about Titles.