How to write a song

I searched through this forum to look for a thread about how you find inspiration for your lyrics and where do you get them.

I found many catchy guitar riffs and some good tunes for them, but I can't write lyrics. I mean, I can, but it always sounds corny. Help?

I always work with the general rule that you've got a certain amount of foam to pump out before you get to the good stuff. Write, write, and write, and you'll plow through the crap, sift out the good stuff, and learn what you like. Practice makes perfect, or at least better.

Ok, thanks. I'm just discouraged by all the crap I write, haha.

You look pretty young. I've been writing songs since I was 14 or so, and now I'm in my 40s, have recorded 3 CDs of original material and the grand total of ONE song survived from those younger days. You gotta write a whole lotta crap to get around to the good stuff.

Maybe go find a girl you like a lot and convince her to date you. Then put her in situations where she might cheat on you...then if she does you'll have a lot of good stuff to write about.

Or you can sing about how much you like drinking beer and having promiscuous sex.

That tends to be what most songs are about. It doesn't really matter how crappy the lyrics are. Just look at nickelback. Or any country song ever.

Nickelback are a bad example for any songwriter. Those guys are the biggest hacks in the game. Hell they're even worse than me. Actually I'm not certain about that.

haha...

yeah, I was joking. I think they're the worst band ever.

Did you see that clip of the lead singer getting hit in the face with a rock after saying "Are you guys ready to rock!??" at a concert they were playing?

haha, no i never saw it. Ever notice how every single they release sounds almost the same?

On the other hand, if Nicklebutt is your gold standard, excellence should be easily attainable. The peroxided beard is the hard part.

I'm testing out the idea of editing/writing songs as a mode of constucting an efficient delivery system. This, of course requires that you've got something to start with...an image, some lines, an idea. You get something down, and you think about the effect, impression, and/or idea you want your song to convey/transmit and then think about song structure, and even images, analogies or words that would increase the effectiveness of the songs ability to deliver the desired effects. I like to think of my songs as delivery mechanisms for strangeness. But this doesn't mean I can just go and write a bunch of crazy {censored}...first I have to have an idea about the words or images that I want to use to convey strangeness (which might be thought to constitute, counterintuively, a singular or specific strangeness), and refine them in such a way as to produce a focussed effect upon the listener. Structural simplicity is often important when trying to refine the effect of confusion or uncertainty (which can be componant effects of the delivery of a particular strangeness), by comparing or aligning to ideas or images that are often, for some reason, thought to be non-alignable in a certain sense.

The two advantages for this approach (which is very poorly described) are:

1. it emphasizes focus on formal aspects of song which affect its impact in a way that is often context dependant.

2. conceptualizing the essence or point of emphasis for certain material allows for development of specific material in terms of content and language w/o forcing one to convey this essence in generic or boring way (thereby diminishing its impact).

Sing about drinking and running people over with your truck like country music.

"Oh no he didn't!!!"

YEAH!

hahaaha..

It's funny you mention that, because I found a sound clip that someone made of two of their songs that were written, like, two years apart. It plays them both at the same time and they're virtually the same song. They have the same verses, choruses, tempos, bridges, etc. etc. It was retarded...

If you want to be a good lyric writer, read a lot of literature. It's the only way you'll ever develop a strong vocabulary and learn to turn phrases.

Have you thought about working with someone else -- a songwriting partner? It'll give you the opportunity to see first-hand how someone goes about writing lyrics. Seeing how someone else does it might make it easier for you to get started.

I heard that Thom Yorke of Radiohead (who most people LUUURVE) wrote ten whole pages of notes that were eventually condensed into the lyrics to 'Lucky' off the Help LP and OK Computer. Just keep trying, and, like the guy upstairs said, try a partner. They might just give you one word that unlocks the whle thing for you, or if you're lucky, do the whole thing for you!

There's a lot of good books that help with that. I like a book by Ricky Rooksby called LYRICS. There are some good websites too. Blogging Muses has a ton of great articles on lyrics and even has a group songwriting tips section where people have put lots of tips about lyrics.

HTH,

DM

I've been at this for about 2 years now, but I'm a late bloomer. I have lots of things to look back at regarding relationships, people who have died, even a few unresolved vengeances (also the occasional ongoing infatuation--never too old for that!) But I discovered that for me, the song comes from the music. Usually. I don't typically set out to write a song about anything; I start with music, and get something that could be a verse or chorus (melody and chords and rhythm--humming along with guitar). Then, some phrase will eventually "jump in" to the instrumental--like out of nowhere--it just appears because it fits the meter/syllables/whatever. That can happen while playing or while "hearing" the music in my head, maybe while showering or biking. Then, those initial words suggest that the song is about something--a theme I mean--and the other words flow from that.

I agree with those who say just write--as in a lot. As Neil Young has said, just get it all down without editing or thinking too hard about whether it's "cool"--you can make it "cool" later as you refine it.

Like most said, just keep at it and you're bound to improve. Don't be too hard on yourself and remember you're more than likely going to be your worst critic. Also find those songwriters you enjoy and break down what they're doing. Maybe seek out different styles and those musicians that are known specifically for songwriting ability (Townes Van Zandt; Brian Wilson; Leonard Cohen; Tom Waits).

Also an interesting and enjoyable read that may give you some helpful insight: Songwriters on Songwriting by Paul Zollo.