Writing Great Lyrics
Writing Lyrics is a skill that takes time and is something that not everyone is able or willing to try. But there are a few elements that separate good lyrics from bad ones.
Music is about giving listeners an incredible experience, and the quality of your lyrics plays a prominent role. Still, many different factors go into writing great lyrics, and here are a few factors to consider.
Remember that there are no rules when writing music, and you can completely ignore anything people tell you when writing lyrics, but learning and understanding what can make your music sound great can easily set you apart from everyone else in the industry.
Relatability
Writing lyrics is like writing horoscopes. The lyrics must be relevant enough to the topic you’re writing about, just like it should be relevant to certain star signs, but also vague enough so that a broad group of individuals can simultaneously relate to the topic.
If you use certain words or slang or write about topics that’s only known to you a specific group of people or only in your hometown, you end up excluding a vast group of potential listeners who could be fans of yours, because they’re not going to relate or understand what your music is about.
Relevance
There are many things to write about, but some topics are worth writing music about more than others. And the best topics are the ones that resonate with people the most. Whether it’s love, heartbreak, wanting to dance, wanting to drink, whatever, I shouldn’t have to tell you not to write about how you need to pick up your dry cleaning. Maybe as a joke, but not if you want people to take your music seriously.
Choosing the right words.
Songs can have 200 to 400 words. More if you’re a rapper, and often those words are repeated 3 times in the chorus. So, there’s not a lot of room to say a lot.
A good song is like a journey for your listeners. And a way to create a journey is by telling a story or writing metaphors in the verses and pre chorus’s that don’t give a lot away but still relevant to the central theme and don’t require a lot of syllables to say them and making sure that what you say creates buildup and anticipation for a massive climax in the chorus. And that’s where you present everything your song is trying to say.
Bringing out emotion
Many different elements go into bringing out emotion, and your lyrics always need to focus on making your listeners feel a certain way, and if it’s likely going to take their emotions in a different direction, like confusion or shock, then the lyrics need to be changed. If you’re writing a sad song, include specific words that people can associate with sadness, like feeling cold, no escape, Etc. But if you include something that’s related to the beach then people might get confused.
Story telling
If your song involves storytelling, you can do it by setting a stage, going into one or two sentences of backstory, and letting it progress into a climax or resolution. But most importantly, it’s about giving a reason to tell a story. There are many different ways to go about it, but the only thing that matters is what your story is truly about and being able to write around it.
Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles was story-driven, but the song has a message about loneliness and isolation behind the story, which made it so compelling.
Song’s message
All songs are about expressing a message of some kind, whether it’s a point or something that needs to be said. And you don’t always need a story for that. You can have one to back up a song, but you also need a reason to tell people in the first place. If the message is strong or important, then it’s worth listening to.
Metaphors
Every song uses metaphors where one thing means something else, and it’s all relating to one message entirely. And coming up with metaphors means knowing what you’re talking about. To do this you need to understand the song’s message and its entirety, list a few relatable words and use them to come up with clever metaphors around it.
The Song Gangsta’s Paradise is about the harsh realities of gang life and the cycle of violence. And the song has many different elements and metaphors that all relate to that one theme. My favourite line was, “I’m 23 now, but will I live to see 24? The way that things are going, I don’t know.” It’s like a random thought that feels slightly out of place, but it packs so much depth and meaning that it makes the song feel like a true masterpiece in my opinion.
Narrative
There are 4 types of narrative in lyrics, and depending on the song, it’s important to choose the right one.
· Direct dialogue – Me talking to You
Where you’re a person of relevance singing directly to another person, like you’re having a direct conversation with someone, by using words like You and Me, it’s a common narrative in songs about love, heartbreak or anything involving personal relationships with others.
Ex: “I want to hold your hand.”
· First person – Me talking
Where you’re a person of relevance who’s speaking but it’s not directed towards anyone, specifically. Like you’re talking to yourself, by using words like Me, Myself and I. It’s common in songs about self-empowerment, self-reflection, self-discovery or anything autobiographical.
Ex: “Let it be.”
· Second Person – talking to you.
Where you’re an external figure talking to someone of relevance. Saying words like you, yourself or you’re. It’s common in songs about emotions or sharing a message with people, whether it’s positive or negative to the listener.
Ex: “Hey Jude.”
· Third person – Narrator’s perspective.
Talking about someone or something ng else. Like you’re telling a story that you’re not a part of, and it doesn’t matter who’s listening.
Ex: “Elenore Rigby.”
It is possible to shift between different narratives if the song requires it but if you do, make sure it’s done well and not out of sync.
Syllable count
The syllable count is the number of syllables used in every line of lyrics; often, songs require the syllable count to remain consistent throughout the song, but it can vary depending on the song’s structure or how it was written. And it will factor in the number of syllables in words you use and why lyricists prefer 1 to 3-syllable words because words with more syllables are more challenging to use.
The syllable count is often defined by the topline melody and its rhythm. And a topline melody is the melodic structure of the lead vocals.
Personally, I like to start every song by coming up with a topline melody and trying my best to write lyrics that can somewhat fit into it. The melody might change. But the melody will always dictate the syllable count, and I will always try to write lyrics to match it.
It’s more important for lyrics to sound good than to make sense.
This will sound a little controversial and might go against a lot of things written, but in many songs, it’s often more important to stick to rhythm and melody than writing lyrics that make sense on paper. Most people are not interested in diving into what lyrics mean and don’t care if they make sense; they care if it sounds good to listen to.
For example, the song Hit Me Baby One More Time by Brittney Spears is meant to say Hit me up on the phone one more time, instead of telling someone to punch me in the face one more time. Many experts agreed that the lyrics were ridiculous and made no sense, and maybe they could’ve said call me baby one more time, but that didn’t have a nice ring to it. Another example is Riptide by Vance Joy; it’s filled with so many random lyrics that don’t make sense to the listeners, but it’s still a fantastic song. Sometimes, a song doesn’t always make sense lyrically, and that could be a good thing because sometimes, trying too hard to make sense is what can stop you from writing something decent.
Avoiding Cacophony phrases or Plosives.
It’s highly advised that when creating a rhyme scheme, it’s important to try and avoid using too many words that contain a lot of percussive or explosive consonants or plosives. Words that start or end with B, D, X, Q, Ch, C, T, P, K, G, or S can affect how you open and close the airflow when you sing, and too many harsh consonants can cause the vocals to sound Harsh and unpleasant.
It’s the Vocalist’s job not to sound too harsh when singing, but if the lyrics have too many cacophonic phrases, then the quality of the song will be less in their control.
Conclusion
It might be a lot to think about when writing lyrics, and there is potentially a lot more to discuss, but writing lyrics can be very simple when given enough time and practice.