When writing a lyric, we songwriters often have trouble answering a very mundane question:
What should I say?
Now, I wouldn’t have even begun writing lyrics if I didn’t feel strongly that I had ‘something to say’. But ‘having something to say’ is a very general idea or feeling. Writing a lyric for a particular song is not general at all – it’s incredibly specific. If it’s good, a lyric will fit its song – and no other. Every job is custom.
Say I’m writing a song… I have a Title, maybe a Chorus, maybe some idea for a story or situation, a part of a Verse that kind of makes sense… in other words, I have a long way to go before I have a real song on my hands. That’s a pretty familiar situation for me, and for a lot of songwriters.
What I do is think about the Title – a lot! I’ve written about the idea of ‘thinking backwards from the Title’ before, but it’s taken on a deeper meaning for me recently.
Most good songs are still Title-focused. This is not as prevalent as it used to be, but still – most. Most of my songs end up being Title-focused. And, although I don’t usually start with a title, once I’ve got one, I believe that the whole DNA of the lyric is encoded in that title. My job is to crack that code.
Kind of a good news/bad news situation here. The good news is that I believe there is a code in the Title… and if I can crack it, I’ve got a map that will point me towards my goal – a complete and satisfying lyric.
The not so happy news is that, just like science, this takes a lot of experimenting – let’s just call it work. This can be fun; don’t get me wrong. But it can also be quite laborious – getting it right, that is.
In a Title-based song, when it works, everything leads to the Title, like a road leading home. For me, this kind of focus usually does not come easily – sadly, useable ideas don’t fall from my pen like rain from the skies. But there are ideas in me if I keep after them.
I think about the Title and various ways I might approach it, trying out different angles. What does the Title mean to me? What are its possible ramifications? How many different sides does it have? What are different ways to look at it, get to it, interpret it? Then I need to choose words that fit this song only; hopefully ones that make it as interesting and fresh as I can… and leave out everything else. Sometimes the lines come quickly and instinctively, other times, not so much.
But I do believe the answers are there, in the Title.
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Thanks for this. I received a great critique once about a song I was very proud of from NSAI but it took me two months to appreciate it. I wrote a song with three verses ( okay, I know that in itself is wrong) but I was certain that the song was perfect. Not sure what I was thinking back then but that third verse came out of nowhere (I thought I was being creative and adding an ironic twist,,,ha)but it had nothing to do with the title. Nothing! The more I look at it, even a year later, I cannot believe I thought it did. I finally discerned that I wrote that third verse first, then the title and chorus came. Once the title and chorus came, the song wrote itself. The two verses and bridge flowed freely but I did not know what to do with that original verse so I inserted it and called it “irony.” Funny, right? I just could not see it back then. Brain freeze or ego! Ego can be our greatest obstacle to greatness! Songwriting is a process! A natural process! Thanks for sharing!
Connie,
Great insights; thanks!
Personally I don’t see anything inherently wrong with a 3rd verse…
Best wishes,
Tony
Thanks again Tony. Another gem on the craft of songwriting. Lately, my process has been come up with a catchy chorus melody with some nonsensical words and then try to turn the nonsense into something clever. Often it is frustrating, but if you sing enough fake lyrics you often get a cool phrase that you may not otherwise have thought of. When that happens, I take the phrase and build upon that.
Your articles always inspire me to write a new song. I guess what I am saying is stop writing so many articles, otherwise I will never finish another song…haha. Just kidding of course.
Todd
Todd,
Stop me before I write… another post or song…
Your method is a classic one; it can be really effective. Thanks for sharing it.
I haven’t heard any of your songs in a while; hopefully we can remedy that soon!
Best wishes,
Tony
haha…Thanks Tony. Well, keep me in the loop of your upcoming classes and maybe you will get your wish 🙂 Enjoy your week. Todd
Todd,
Will do (of course!).
TC
Tony, I found this post to be much more cerebral than any of your earlier posts. Personally, when I am stuck, I check to see whether I’m steering clear of the emotion in the song. We all have days when we want to write to express ourselves but we also want to protect ourselves. Expression has to win out or the song’s all in your head. I want my songs to happen in the listener’s heart and body!
Sometimes, if I’m stuck, I look to see whether there’s any sense imagery. If there isn’t, it’s a sure sign I’m thinking way too much. Time to get back to the feeling. Sense imagery is a really creative way to express the emotions in the song. It can also further the story.
Your point about the whole song setting up the hook is a really great piece of advice. If I am stuck while writing a verse, I try to make that verse lead naturally back to the hook, which is usually in my chorus. I wish I could always do that!
Great point, Annie!
TC