Lyric Writing 101

Jack Oskar Larm

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For the interested or curious -- because we're writers, after all -- I thought it might be useful to start a thread where we can discuss the craft and art of writing the best lyrics we can; and, more importantly, any personal tweaks and/or objections we've made to the 'known' rules.

I've been writing lyrics (and playing guitar, singing and finding melodies) for more than 20 years. As a writer, I don't find it too difficult to work on the craft. I recently completed a short online course with Pat Pattison, whose thoughts and practices of lyric writing I find quite profound. Pattison's drive to emphasise narrative strength through an understanding of stresses in rhythm and rhyme in worth the price of admission.

I'll start by saying that, perhaps, the most important thing I picked up from Pattison was the idea that you always had to fit the narrative to the structure of the song's arrangement. For instance, he talks about identifying your lyric as either stable or unstable. To put some perspective on this, most songs are unstable.

Stable songs usually have a positive message like Happy Birthday or God Save The Queen. They're not necessarily cheery lyrics, but most of them are. A clear way to see a stable song is through its lyrical structure. It's only a 'rule', of course, but you'll find perfect rhymes, even verse structure (as opposed to odd) and plenty of predictability.

Unstable songs should be every 'love lost' or 'political statement' song you've ever heard, plus a million others. Not every lyric has to be down cast and struggle up, but most are. Here we find intelligent use of family rhyme, more interesting line structure (think odd) and doses of instability.

I'm very happy to discuss this idea in more detail. Has it help me? Has it helped you?
 

poetinahat

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As soon as I have something to bring to the table, I'd love to join in. I'm very keen to compose and write lyrics - but it's quite clear that writing lyrics is very different from poems or anything else.

Repetition, leaving space, aligning melody, chords, and lyrics at once - it seems daunting. But people manage to do it, so maybe it's time to bite the bullet and just start somewhere.

So, I'm here, listening. Excellent topic for a thread.
 

Jack Oskar Larm

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I'm assuming your forte is poetry, poetinahat. Although poetry and lyric writing have many differences, they do share many common factors -- and these factors grow more common with time. Well, until poetry decides to take another left turn.

Pattison talks about prosody, which I think is a valid consideration for any endeavour. In short, prosody is making sure all the pieces of a thing come together to support the big idea. It's about taking a step back and trying to view one's work from a distance, making sure that all the bits are aligned with the narrative, the theme, the sentiment, the emotion. It makes sense.

So, to achieve prosody, Pattison suggests a number of 'tools' or considerations when trying to fit the pieces together. I believe the first consideration is recognising whether the lyric is stable or unstable. Although there can be grey areas around this decision, usually it's easy enough to know from the content of the lyric, especially its narrative. I have to stress here that often the lyric may have to be adjusted to fit the theme.

Take for example the typical lyric of a breaking heart, which we would immediately place in the unstable basket. So, compare these two verses:

1) Stable
You left me alone
With an empty glass
Don't know where to go
To give up the past

Will you come home?
With your smiling face
But you won't show
You left no trace


2) Unstable
You left me alone
With a glass
Filled with your anger
Filled with your tears

Will you come home?
I know the answer
But I can't think right now
Am I drowning?
Fear is a dirty cut.

Okay, so I quickly put those verses together to try and illustrate the effectiveness of prosody at this level. You can see from the Stable verses that the rhyming scheme is pretty much A/B/A/B and the lengths of the lines (stresses) are quite even. The Unstable verses do away with predictable rhymes or stretch the rhyme into its family. For instance, rhyming 'glass' and 'tears' [it's known as a consonant rhyme]. Also, the line lengths vary (stresses) and the second block of verse adds a fifth line to help destabilise it further.

This initial consideration of stability verses instability is a huge help in progressing further. The example above should show how unsatisfactorily the message is conveyed if it follows a stable structure. Maybe two verses isn't enough to be convincing, but I assure you if the lyric continues on its merry way it would soon seem 'not quite right'.

Obviously, as I stated in my first post, these are just 'rules' that are open to discussion. Plenty more to come!
 

Jack Oskar Larm

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Of course, the idea of something representing stable and another unstable are two extreme ends of the spectrum. A stable song can't avoid having some unstable elements, just as the reverse is true. Besides, once you consider the other tools available there's plenty of scope to create honest and effective lyrics and song structure. Tools have always helped us advance.

I thought it might be a good exercise to offer up lyrics for discussion. In this format, I think only parts of a lyric should be posted and, better still, keep the work spontaneous. In other words, something that's not too precious. If there's interest in going further we can set up in the Lab. What I'll do is post the opening verses of a couple of commercial songs. Let the discussion begin (even if it's just poetinahat & me).

Father and Son (Cat Stevens)
It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy

I was once like you are now
And I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found
Something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow
But your dreams may not

It's Raining Men (Jabara/Shaffer)
Humidity
Is rising
Barometer's
Getting low
According
To our sources
The street's
The place to go

Cause' tonight
For the first time
Just about
Half past ten
For the first time
In history
It's gonna start
Raining men

It's raining men
Hallejulah
It's raining men
Amen