Writing song lyrics is a lot like writing a short story, though admittedly a very short story. They can have everything a short story should have: characters, conflicts and plots. Plus a repetitive chorus to give weight to a particular point and stick in the listener’s memory to be recalled at random intervals.
Of course not all lyrics are like this. Some musicians see
them as an afterthought, something that is inferior to the melody, harmony and
rhythm. Some songs lyrics can seem
perfectly sensible as you sing along with your radio on the dull drive to work,
but if you’ve ever seen those lyrics written down, without the aid of music,
you might see them in a less flattering light.
For me though, songs with a story are the most
powerful. My favourite is Lonestar’s ‘My
Front Porch Looking In’. This song has amazing imagery, both in terms of the
scenery and the family that are described. I might not have a front porch on
which to sit, but this song always makes me think about my own family and how
grateful I am to have them. A good song, just like a good story, has the
ability to make you feel something.
What are your favourite lyrics and why? Do you search for
the meaning behind the words that your favourite group or solo artist
sings? Do their words resonate with you,
enabling you to draw something from the track other than just an appreciation
of the music?
The challenge of writing song lyrics is to embed a story
within a few short lines, often rhyming ones, which have a rhythm that will
enable them to be put to music. When I
write lyrics I hear music in my head.
They come with their own soundtrack built in. I can’t necessarily say
that it’s a particularly good soundtrack, but given my only method of
communicating this to anyone else would be to sing it, I am my only
audience. It’s better for everyone that
way.
This means that my lyrics live on the pages of my note books
in silence. Their stories are known only
to me. For a set of lyrics this seems like a flat sort of half-life.
As well as being a self-contained short story, song lyrics
can also be great sources of inspiration for writing your own stories. Here’s a challenge for you; listen to the
words of a song playing on the radio and try freewriting your own story based
on the lyrics. I’d love to see what you come up with.
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