How do you write lyrics???

[Volitan]

I mean, where do you get ideas from?? A lot of times, I'll hear (or think of) a phrase or word and write the song around that concept, and due to that I've got a few interesting songs ....I'm curious as to how other people do it....

[animal69]

i search the web for songs i like and look at the structure ... is it verse, chorus, verse? is there a bridge that sounds totally different from the verses or chorus

 

here is an example of a cool song that has a simple structure by the gogos ... note that hillary duff covers it. ... why? because theres alot of idiots in the music industry that have defiled the value songwriting in the last 10 years so everyone covers {censored} from 20 years ago .. also note that i am 28 not some old timer but i havent been laid in awhile so maybe thats why im jaded ... anyways this song is a great example. note the altered chorus that rhymes with the other choruses but is different... little unexpected tricks like that keep the listeners attention . .. which brings me to: the purpose of the bridge: to create a totally different sounding portion of the song which takes attention away from the verses and chorus and reinforces the message of the song .... this usually has a totally different musical melody. when it goes back to verse and chorus the song sounds new again and at this point you sort of end it, in this case an earlier verse and chorus and an altered chorus are used for the end .... scroll down theres more i want to say

 

verse:

Can you hear them

They talk about us

Telling lies

Well that's no surprise

 

verse:

Can you see them

See right through them

They have no shield

No secrets to reveal

 

chorus:

It doesn't matter what they say

In the jealous games people play

Our lips are sealed

 

verse:

Careless talk

Through paper walls

We can't stop them

Only laugh at them

 

verse:

Spreading rumors

So far from true

Dragged up from the underworld

JUst like some precious pearl

 

chorus:

It doesn't matter what they say

In the jealous games people play

Our lips are sealed

altered chorus:

Pay no mind to what they say

It doesn't matter anyway

Our lips are sealed

 

verse:

There's a weapon

We must use

In our defense

Silence

 

verse:

When you look at them

Look right through them

That's when they'll disappear

That's when you'll be feared

 

bridge:

Hush, my darling

Don't you cry

Quiet, angel

Forget their lies

 

verse:

Can you hear them

They talk about us

Telling lies

Well that's no surprise

 

verse:

Can you see them

See right through them

They have no shield

No secrets to reveal

 

chorus:

It doesn't matter what they say

In the jealous games people play

Our lips are sealed

 

altered chorus:

Pay no mind to what they say

It doesn't matter anyway

Our lips are sealed

 

now ... there are bands that break convention and blur the lines between verse and chorus ... a great example is the doors .. .. light my fire .. the verses *rhyme* with the chorus .. usually the verses rhyme within themselves and the chorus has its own rhymes and a repeated hook i.e. "our lips are sealed"

 

here s light my fire ...

 

You know that it would be untrue

You know that I would be a liar

If I was to say to you

Girl, we couldn't get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire

Come on baby, light my fire

Try to set the night on fire

 

The time to hesitate is through

No time to wallow in the mire

Try now we can only lose

And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby, light my fire

Come on baby, light my fire

Try to set the night on fire, yeah

 

The time to hesitate is through

No time to wallow in the mire

Try now we can only lose

And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby, light my fire

Come on baby, light my fire

Try to set the night on fire, yeah

 

You know that it would be untrue

You know that I would be a liar

If I was to say to you

Girl, we couldn't get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire

Come on baby, light my fire

Try to set the night on fire

Try to set the night on fire

Try to set the night on fire

Try to set the night on fire

 

notice how the verse goes right into the chorus and "fire" rhymes with the verse "liar" "pyre"

 

cool ... also if you 're thinking , damn how can i write a 5 minute song, the doors songs are short as {censored} if you remove the keyboard solos ... like 1:30 no {censored}...

 

and what else is weird is the ending of the song where they stop and start , the drum count is stopped and spontaneously started .. the beat stops .. weird ... and theres like odd numbers of measures in the verse/chorus .. count them .. usually verse or chorus is like 16 or 32 measures (ie. 4 lines of words 4 bars each) or something but doors songs are all crazy like 7 and 14 bars

 

umm another example of a band that uses unpredictable blends of verse and chorus is interpol ... they break all the rules .. usually the hook ie. our lips are sealed , light my fire, -- the focus of the song , the message, is the TITLE of the song ... but interpols chorus about stabbing yourself in the neck?! what does obstacle 1 mean? where do they buy their crack? can i smoke some? anyways .... this {censored} that seems totally unmarketable the kids seem to love for some reason ... so end of story is make your own rules , write from the heart, read alot of fiction and mythology, experience life, find words taht rhyme and get crackin

 

song: obstacle 1

 

 

We can cap the old times, make playing only logical harm

We can cap the old lines, make playing that nothing else will change

But she can read, she can read, she can read, she can read, she's bad

She can read, she can read, she can read, she's bad

Oh, she's bad

 

It's different now that I'm poor and aging. I'll never see this face again

You go stabbing yourself in the neck

 

 

We can find new ways of living make playing only logical harm

And we can top the old times, clay-making that nothing else will change

But she can read, she can read, she can read, she can read, she's bad

She can read, she can read, she can read, she's bad

Oh, she's bad

 

It's different now that I'm poor and aging, I'll never see this place again

You go stabbing yourself in the neck

But it's different now that I'm poor and aging, I'll never see this place again

And you go stabbing yourself in the neck

 

It's in the way that she poses, it's in the things that she puts in my head

Her stories are boring and stuff, she's always calling my bluff

She puts, she puts the weights into my little heart

And she gets in my room and she takes it apart

She puts the weights into my little heart

I said she puts the weights into my little heart

 

She packs it away

She packs it away

She packs it away

She packs it away

She packs it away

She packs it away

She packs it away

 

It's in the way that she walks

Her heaven is never enough

She puts the weights in my heart

She puts, oh she puts the weights into my little heart

[Volitan]

 

i search the web for songs i like and look at the structure ... is it verse, chorus, verse? is there a bridge that sounds totally different from the verses or chorus here is an example of a cool song that has a simple structure by the gogos ... note that hillary duff covers it. ... why? because theres alot of idiots in the music industry that have defiled the value songwriting in the last 10 years so everyone covers {censored} from 20 years ago .. also note that i am 28 not some old timer but i havent been laid in awhile so maybe thats why im jaded ... anyways this song is a great example. note the altered chorus that rhymes with the other choruses but is different... little unexpected tricks like that keep the listeners attention . .. which brings me to: the purpose of the bridge: to create a totally different sounding portion of the song which takes attention away from the verses and chorus and reinforces the message of the song .... this usually has a totally different musical melody. when it goes back to verse and chorus the song sounds new again and at this point you sort of end it, in this case an earlier verse and chorus and an altered chorus are used for the end .... scroll down theres more i want to say now ... there are bands that break convention and blur the lines between verse and chorus ... a great example is the doors .. .. light my fire .. the verses *rhyme* with the chorus .. usually the verses rhyme within themselves and the chorus has its own rhymes and a repeated hook i.e. "our lips are sealed" notice how the verse goes right into the chorus and "fire" rhymes with the verse "liar" "pyre" cool ... also if you 're thinking , damn how can i write a 5 minute song, the doors songs are short as {censored} if you remove the keyboard solos ... like 1:30 no {censored}... and what else is weird is the ending of the song where they stop and start , the drum count is stopped and spontaneously started .. the beat stops .. weird ... and theres like odd numbers of measures in the verse/chorus .. count them .. usually verse or chorus is like 16 or 32 measures (ie. 4 lines of words 4 bars each) or something but doors songs are all crazy like 7 and 14 bars umm another example of a band that uses unpredictable blends of verse and chorus is interpol ... they break all the rules .. usually the hook ie. our lips are sealed , light my fire, -- the focus of the song , the message, is the TITLE of the song ... but interpols chorus about stabbing yourself in the neck?! what does obstacle 1 mean? where do they buy their crack? can i smoke some? anyways .... this {censored} that seems totally unmarketable the kids seem to love for some reason ... so end of story is make your own rules , write from the heart, read alot of fiction and mythology, experience life, find words taht rhyme and get crackin

 

 

If I'm doing a verse with4 lines, I usually make lines 1 and 3 rhyme, or lines 2 or 4.

 

I find myself trying to come up with new ideas but am stumped sometimes, but I've had times when I'm say, making dinner, and suddenly a phrase pops into my head. And then I write a song around that particular phrase. But sometimes I just can't think of anything.

 

Every song I've ever written (except for 1 or 2) are about real {censored} I've done or wanted to do, or people I know, etc, etc. I've got no problem with stuff like that. I could never write songs about things I haven't actually experienced. It makes things more relateable if they're based in reality. And sometimes I have to resort to a rhyming dictionary, which seems like cheating to me....

[Antony Reynaert]

 

Every song I've ever written (except for 1 or 2) are about real {censored} I've done or wanted to do, or people I know, etc, etc. I've got no problem with stuff like that. I could never write songs about things I haven't actually experienced. It makes things more relateable if they're based in reality. And sometimes I have to resort to a rhyming dictionary, which seems like cheating to me....

 

 

hey Volitan,

 

I agree,

if you didnt experience something or at least might experience it, its harder to relate to and write a song about that.

 

I have never done this myself.

 

My approach to songwriting is I write the music first & then when I play the music I just write whatever lyrics that the music is bringing out to me.

 

 

Antony

[blue2blue]

You might also try a search of this and other forums on the topic, since I estimate someone posts almost exactly this same question every few weeks.. -- although it's kind of hard to drill in the search, since there don't seem to be any boolean (and/or/etc) search options ("and" seems to be the only option).

 

Of course, it's a topic that can (and probably should) be discussed endlessly... and no doubt it will be.

[animal69]

 

hey Volitan, I agree, if you didnt experience something or at least might experience it, its harder to relate to and write a song about that. I have never done this myself. My approach to songwriting is I write the music first & then when I play the music I just write whatever lyrics that the music is bringing out to me. Antony

 

 

Get together with someone who has done this . ... I felt the same thing ... I wrote down some fictional stuff I was like "this is horse{censored}" and I read my lyrics to the guy who had written fictional songs before and he was like "hey these are great lyrics" and started singing them and at that point i realized I got the boost I needed to realize that I could write fictitious lyrics.

[Antony Reynaert]

 

Get together with someone who has done this . ... I felt the same thing ... I wrote down some fictional stuff I was like "this is horse{censored}" and I read my lyrics to the guy who had written fictional songs before and he was like "hey these are great lyrics" and started singing them and at that point i realized I got the boost I needed to realize that I could write fictitious lyrics.

 

 

Yeah,

 

sometimes you just need that extra boost of confidence.

 

I'm probably the biggest skeptic of my own lyrics.

 

 

Antony

[zildjian@consol]

I know for me , sometimes you get a cool phrase stuck in your head, so you start writing words down ,but then my last brain cell runs dry. When i forse lyrics at it to finsh it sounds forced,but I save it and rewrite it later.Sometime it works,also I keep paper and pin at hand ,never know when my cell comes alive or what comes out:eek:

[mickeydean]

i just write and rewrite until i am sure it's not pretentious or corny

[Antony Reynaert]

I know for me , sometimes you get a cool phrase stuck in your head, so you start writing words down ,but then my last brain cell runs dry. When i forse lyrics at it to finsh it sounds forced,but I save it and rewrite it later.Sometime it works,also I keep paper and pin at hand ,never know when my cell comes alive or what comes out:eek:

 

thats great,

 

having a small handheld recorder with you can also be very benificial.

 

 

Antony

[vinylphile]

The lyrics I've written that I'm happiest about usually tell some kind of story. As for topics, I just keep my mind open - if I see or experience something I try to file it away for a future song - would help if I carried around a notepad or tape recorder because sometimes I forget!

 

My songs tend to start with guitar riffs or chords because I'm primarily a guitarist - not a poet like Bob Dylan! The lyrics usually come afterwards.

 

I find that if I just sit down and say "OK I'm going to write lyrics to this song now" without at least a topic or a phrase in mind, the attempts invariably end up completely fruitless...