Members kennychaffin Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 The 'Favorite lyricist' thread got me thinking (uh oh!). What is it that makes a great lyricist. Writing lyrics/songs that are popular? Lyrics that connect with a majority of listeners? Lyrics that are highly personal? Writing #1 songs? Writing songs that are covered by many bands/artists? What do you think? KAC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Eclepto Funk Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 songs that touch you with a truth that needs to be spoken, stated in a creative and artful way if you can write those, you're a great lyricist Hes a one trick ponyOne trick is all that horse can doHe does one trick onlyIts the principal source of his revenueAnd when he steps into the spotlightYou can feel the heat of his heartCome rising through See how he dancesSee how he loops from side to sideSee how he prancesThe way his hooves just seem to glideHes just a one trick pony (thats all he is)But he turns that trick with pride (there's so much meaning packed in there at so many levels it's scary) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Writing lyrics/songs that are popular? Lyrics that connect with a majority of listeners? Lyrics that are highly personal? Writing #1 songs? Writing songs that are covered by many bands/artists? All of the above and none of the above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kennychaffin Posted April 4, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 All of the above and none of the above. I see you have a problem with committment. KAC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BrianKeesy Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Years of drug & alcohol abuse. Non-committal to anything, especially women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BrianKeesy Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 If you can convey your feelings without blatantly stating them in the lyrics then to me you are a good lyricist. And being able to create perfect pictures if you are telling a story. Or at least enough of a picture to make the listener/reader understand the point of the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted April 4, 2008 Moderators Share Posted April 4, 2008 Right away my mind goes to guys that were just lyricists. Hal DavidIra GershwinBernie Taupin All of the above sidestepped the "important lyric" syndrome and focused on words that rode on the back of a melody well. They resonated, but in isolation, away from the music, not so much. What made them great lyricists? A foot light sense. The ability to see things from an audience perspective. To understand that their work was specifically destined to be married to music. If I think of specifics I'll post back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wwwjd Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Isn't "Great" dependent upon the intended direction? I mean, great HIT songs are inside that HIT SONG FRAMEWORK, but great could also mean memorable or catchy or meaningfull and NOT really making it a HIT song Do you mean "Successful" at touching people's hearts and souls, or making a lot of money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted April 4, 2008 Moderators Share Posted April 4, 2008 Isn't "Great" dependent upon the intended direction? I mean, great HIT songs are inside that HIT SONG FRAMEWORK, but great could also mean memorable or catchy or meaningfull and NOT really making it a HIT songDo you mean "Successful" at touching people's hearts and souls, or making a lot of money? Great as in great. I think we'd all agree great isn't always a hit. So who's great to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kennychaffin Posted April 4, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Isn't "Great" dependent upon the intended direction? I mean, great HIT songs are inside that HIT SONG FRAMEWORK, but great could also mean memorable or catchy or meaningfull and NOT really making it a HIT song Do you mean "Successful" at touching people's hearts and souls, or making a lot of money? You tell me. That's exactly the question. What do you think makes a great LYRIC (not SONG ) writer? KAC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wwwjd Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Gotcha. um, well, since I'm doing pop music, the "Great" ones make successfull hits with strong descriptive words in a short time frame and touch your heart with a story. I have no idea who writes them, I just hear them on the radio. The best stories I've ever are in country songs*. I guess I can't drop names, I just know if it sucks me in and sticks in my head *and, personally, I'm not a fan of country but it is a great study in lyrics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Years of drug & alcohol abuse. Non-committal to anything, especially women. Hell... I couldn't even commit to one drug... You don't know what a diss is until the guy in the gutter next to you calls you a dilettante... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hendrixman93 Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 a good lyricist is someone who writes poetry, then adds in music.I think a good songwriter doesn't try to stretch one basic subject out into a radio-friendly song with several repetative parts,but packs as much as they can into the time they have. Also, I don't think that truly talented lyricists controll when they are able to write a song. I know that if I sit down and try to write something, it comes out like {censored}. But if I suddenly feel inspired, what comes out is new and original (and pretty good in my opinion) Finally, I don't think popularity should factor into whether a song is good or not. Theres a real chance that you could write something that is fantastic, but goes right over the head of the masses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Li10 Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 If you can convey your feelings without blatantly stating them in the lyrics then to me you are a good lyricist. agreed. I think lyrics need to be at least slightly puzzling to be interesting. If they're puzzling then the listener has to figure out what they mean. And make them interesting, in terms of words.... use words that aren't used often, evade cliches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 I see you have a problem with committment. Only when it comes to wimmenz and songwriting rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeveryHarper Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Connectivity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members matt5409 Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 i think a great lyricist is defined by their ability to really open up. people *know* when something feels genuine or when it's fabricated for musical purposes. being so personal in songwriting can be a bit scary though; letting all those people read your intimate feelings. i have only done it on a couple of occasions and i tend to keep those songs away from people unless i feel really close to them. other things that encompass greatness of course is the ability to craft a tune from a bunch of words, putting together a melody that people will remember... but i think greatness begins at the core - the words as they are on paper when the song is just a set of bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 Connectivity Expandability. Interoperability... ... if not necessarily stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeveryHarper Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 Connectivity trumps all those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 Well... I'm from the punk era... we figured high speed data transmission was pretty important. Although, admittedly, the message was often garbled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kennychaffin Posted April 5, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 Well... I'm from the punk era... we figured high speed data transmission was pretty important. Although, admittedly, the message was often garbled. Uh, yeah, depending on what message was sent/received. KAC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eddieboston2 Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 To me, the thing that sets it apart is that greatness lasts. What are the songs (or books, or movies) coming out today that will still be considered good in twenty years time? Not necessarily the biggest hits. Maybe even ones we've never heard. Maybe even songs posted on some message board in the corner of the internet will one day be considered the greatest ever. Or maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeveryHarper Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 And what trumps connectivity is good lyrics coupled with memorable melodies. That is a lethal combination.You can have good lyrics, but a bad melody; you can have a bad melody, and good lyrics. One without the other simply makes for a dud song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 Melody trumps lyrics. A good melody will carry sub par lyrics, good lyrics can't help a sub par melody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SBF3000 Posted April 6, 2008 Members Share Posted April 6, 2008 to me it's the ability to paint an enormous picture with very few words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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