I’ve often said that the most dangerous word in songwriting is ‘IT’. As with any writing, it’s easy to lose track of what ‘it’ refers to. We have to be careful with… it.

The second and third most dangerous words (in this order) are probably ‘But’ and ‘And’.

I put them together because not only are they often misused, they’re also easily confused, and one lands where the other would be better. It’s easy to overlook the oversized impact of such commonplace words.

‘But’ is an especially important word in songs because different sections (say, Verse and Chorus) often employ contrast and ‘But’ is what connects them. For example:

I have climbed highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you
I have run
I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you

But I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
But I Still Haven’t Found what I’m Looking For

Or:

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to Serve Somebody, yes
Indeed you’re gonna have to Serve Somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to Serve Somebody

Think about the songs above, and the many thousands of contrast songs like them, with the ‘But’ removed. The contrast might in some cases be implicit, and still work, but in most cases the main idea would be unclear.

‘And’ is one of the most commonly used words in the English language. I’m not talking here about its usual connective function (‘You And I’, ‘Ebony and Ivory’). I’m talking about the problems that emerge when ‘And’ is used interchangeably with ‘But’. I hear this done in a lot of songs and it makes a mess.

Think if Bono had sung, ‘And I still haven’t found what I’m looking for’, making the Title an idea added to the Verse, instead of the contradiction (‘But’) that gives the Title its impact. Same with Dylan’s ‘Serve Somebody’, Vernon Duke & Ira Gershwin’s ‘I Can’t Get Started’, and many, many others. They wouldn’t pop without the contrast.

Less common, but still frequent, is the opposite – using ‘But’ where ‘And’ would suffice. It’s obviously best to use ‘And’ when adding a thought, as opposed to contradicting the previous one (which usually has the most impact as it’s used in the lyrics above, going into a Chorus or Title).

The biggest issue here, though, is using these two words in a lyric as if they’re interchangeable. They’re not. Take a second look at the ‘Buts’ and ‘Ands’ in your songs.

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