There are plenty of writers that think their lyrics aren't great, when in fact they are fantastic. This also applies the other way round. It is also my opinion that good or bad is subjective. Some of the best lyrics are dead simple, some are surreal, some tell a story, some repeat the same phrase for 3 minutes. I'm not so sure that any songwriter in history has congratulated him/herself on writing the best lyrics ever with each song that is written. Some you are real proud of, some not as much, but they do a job. You don't always have to be clever to get a message across, so I would say just keep writing and those gems will pop up from time to time. Enjoy them, for its those moments that drive us forward. Who doesn't want to write the best song ever written? 

Bibs

Danny: You're writing above had me on the edge of my seat! I kept thinking your were going to say that the classical guitar virtuoso turned out to be a different guy! LOL The point was really cool.

Eduard: Thanks! This might help get many of us rolling a bit. 

Herb: Great point about hanging out with like-focused people.

Great responses by all!

Thanks a bunch for the replies so far, guys, I appreciate it a bunch! 


Danny, you really did sum up essentially all the points that needed to be made on the subject; thanks everyone for elaborating, even though the thread is a bit subjective.

greekmac, that's actually an AWESOME way to make a love song, or to merge to unlike concepts into one! I'll start giving this method a try for sure!! :D

droddey and james, I do like his poetic, descriptive and story-telling writing style, but then the way I write tends to be a lot less descriptive and more passive, as something you could say at ANY time versus an active event or something described as it happen[ed/s]. I guess it can't hurt to try writing in the 'active' fashion.

wizard, I really like how you put that, and to compound what I can spit back so far; 
as long as we continue to write and consume other good sources of writing (or ANYTHING that can be improved, for that matter), we can really only get better. And the more we write and create songs and ideas, the greater chance of getting a hit, or perhaps multiple.

Sorry if I missed anyone, but keep the replies coming!!

In country music, ( and rock.... Seeger & Springsteen are story tellers among so many others)  many times a story gets told.... either straight up tell the story or use the chorus to tie 3 different seemingly unrelated stories together with a common thread always coming back to the chorus for that common thread. 

It helps to use an old technique you learned back in school...   OUTLINE the ideas. 

Complete an outline of the story or song idea.... movie producers use story boards, and we can use a simple outline on a sheet of paper. It helps to keep you focused on what you want to write about. 

sample: 

V1 me and my brother growing up as kids, granny's tree and cooking , sundays after church

v2. a few years later... first love, swimming holes, dirt roads, having fun as kids growing up

CH:  love of family is the most important thing to us all... worth fighting for.

V3: 10 years later: my own family, wife, kids, same house, new memories being made

BR:  not to take anything for  granted.... no one knows when it all ends suddenly

return to ch to end the song....



So that is a brief outline that could be used to write this:  http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=7870761

just another suggestion to help write songs.

AWESOME thread indeed!  Lyrics are the single most important aspect of 'song-writing' IMHO.  All of us (here) desperately need help in the lyrical department IMHO.  I realize each of us takes pride in song-writing ... our life-blood.  But we desperately fail and need help from 'higher' sources.

1) Psalms of old survive forever because of the lyrics ... but the melodies are obsolete.  

2) SoundClick.com requests that the song-writer be the one who has written the lyrics.  That seems valid to me.  

3) The song-writer, then, is a lyricist-poet (in my world).  The musician, minstrel, rock-star, and such are another art-form.  Sometimes performers and writers do it all ... but rock stars oft require help from lyricists (e.g., other band-members) and vice versa.

4) So where do I go for my immortal lyrics? ... For all genres from Country to Trap?:  Why the KJV Psalms and the Love Songs of Solomon, of course!  Sometimes the prophet-minstrels of the Holy Bible invoke me as well.

5) Like Danny's guitar hero (above) ... the same URGENT determination applies to lyricists.  I may be wrong.

6) Lyrics are also self-portraits, dead-give-aways of who and what you and I are at that given moment in time.  If they suck, guess what?  No rock-star polish will redeem that song.  If they are cool now ... they can still suck later ... or vice/versa: fickle audiences are not to be trusted.  

7) The backbone of a song is the lyrics: No matter how quirky, stiff, un-pro, and irksome the song ... if the lyrics are good ... the song will find a way!

8) Lyrics are your/my lifeblood

In 2014 (2013 is too busy, but then again so will be 2014, but oh well!) I plan to write a new song every week. No mater what. Even if it sucks. Every week, new song. I expect my writing ability to grow a lot in that time. I currently suck at lyrics. But I figure practise makes perfect and what better way to practise than to set a nice, achievable goal?! You could try this!

I thought it might even be cool to record each on just simply on the acoustic and singing and post it up on my Facebook fan page. The ones than get the most likes I'll make a proper album out of. Surely I'll find a good 12 gems out of 52 attempts!

mattplaysguitar


In 2014 (2013 is too busy, but then again so will be 2014, but oh well!) I plan to write a new song every week. No mater what. Even if it sucks. Every week, new song. I expect my writing ability to grow a lot in that time. I currently suck at lyrics. But I figure practise makes perfect and what better way to practise than to set a nice, achievable goal?! You could try this!

I thought it might even be cool to record each on just simply on the acoustic and singing and post it up on my Facebook fan page. The ones than get the most likes I'll make a proper album out of. Surely I'll find a good 12 gems out of 52 attempts!

THIS, is how you improve your writing. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


You have to write to become better at it. The more you write, the better you become. 


Short story: At the same LA songwriter's convention (2009)  that I refer to from time to time... the featured guest was Jeffry Steele. If you are not familiar with who he is.... google him. But in short, he is a country writer primarily, at the time, having written over 24 #1 country hits. I'm sure he has more by now. Quite the track record of radio hits.

He explained how he writes.  His goal is to write one song a day.... every day.... usually taking weekends off as down time and of course vacations too, but on occasion writing on vacation too. He goes into his home studio every day... shuts the door and writes. 

With an average of 250 songs written in a given year.... he figures maybe 12 (or so) of those will be good enough to get placed and 2 or 3 of those might hit #1 with the right artist. The rest of the songs are just marking time and perfecting the skills while waiting on the next hit to reveal itself. He himself commented that many of the songs he writes, even at the level he writes, suck. He said he would not play the majority of them for anyone...they are that bad. But he pushes through and every now and then, gets a gem. 

In 2010, I set the reasonable goal of 1 song every 2 weeks. Not a hard goal but still something that can get away from you if you don't focus on it. By years end, I had written over 30 full songs and several shorter cues. It was an interesting experience. 

If you want to be a writer of songs, you can not afford to set around simply waiting for the creative muse to hit you out of the blue. You have to develop the ability to "turn it on" every day at will. I know some of you "purists" will say that's not possible..... but it is. It is the ones who say it comes when it comes and I can't force creativity who are the people who may write one or two songs a year... if that.  To the folks who work on developing the ability to be creative anytime, and anywhere, well..... they are the ones who can write song after song and they are all pretty decent songs. 

If you want to get better at writing....all you have to do is write. 

I've heard it said that to be really adept at something it takes 10,000 hours invested.... that equates to a full time job.... 8 hrs a day, 50 weeks a year, for 5 years. 

I like your story about Jeffry Steele. This technique is popping up in many fields. I have seen a photographer who did the photo a day thing too to improve her skills. Such good motivation.

Would be nice to have time to do the 5 days a week thing but I guess only full-time people in the industry can really manage that one :D Those skills must improve so much though at that high rate!

How did you find you were after your 2 week goal? Do you find good songs come to you easier now? I'd love to hear a little more about your experience.

Yeah... at the time, I was a TAXI member and used their listings (free to anyone who wants them) to pick song ideas to write to.   

Having the idea given to me in the listing.... usually a description... film needs ending song about..... kind of thing, made the search for the idea easier. Then they also have a deadline date that the song has to be submitted by.... in most cases a week or more but in some.... just a few days or less. 

This is one>>> early version: http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11198785  3 day deadline from when I saw it and decided to write it. The story was man works for pharma company. He has 2 sons and a wife. Wife and one son are killed in auto accident at start of movie. He has a very hard time with the deaths of his family and the memories. His company is developing a drug to selectively erase memories. he volunteers for the clinical trials. >>> end of movie, the drug works but has side-effects that include flashbacks.... he is playing with his son on the floor, he gets up and walks to the window and simply stares out at the day... it's raining and grey... movies fades to black.
Side bar: they liked the song but it was not as indy, cutting edge sounding as they were looking. Too much ballad/country in it. This was a solo write.... co-writer was busy. 3 days start to finish. 

Having the topic and a deadline forces you to write, record, and polish it quickly. 

I wrote many of them alone, but a number were done with a co-writer. 

To answer the question..... yes, I saw a significant improvement in my skill by doing the 1 song every 2 week challenge. Some were instrumental, and some were full blown lyrical creations. Only a few are up on the net. I don't place all my tunes on line. 

Last year, I did not do the challenge, but focused instead on quality of writing rather than quantity. Both are important.... but.... as a result, the ones I wrote, I think are among my favorite self penned songs. Pat thinks so as well.... 

they include: Footsteps* updated version (also originally a "TAXI listing write to"..., Come & Go, The Best Christmas, and Ode to Wolf. 

Take your challenge....be reasonable and realistic in your goal.  You want something to be a challenge but not to become a chore....... do it, stick with it.... for one year.... save the first tune you write and compare it later to the last one in December 2013.... and compare for yourself.  If you work diligently during the year, study and read books by hit writers, hang out and discuss songwriting with other writers, apply what you learn.....it'll be worth it.

Right now.... as of Jan 1... I have 3 songs started.... some are just rough draft ideas.... others are near completion but need a verse rewrite.... I don't have a set number goal, my ongoing goal is to simply write more music to the best of my ability, and to continue to learn from the masters in this business. 

I write songs. I would be willing to help you in anyway I can. Experience seems to be one of the best songwriting tools you'll ever encounter. If you have a phone with a voice/video recorder, you can begin by humming a few lyrics/tunes into it and saving for later use/edit. Also, you can jot down ideas as your imagination thrives, and save these as well. See if your friends or relatives have stories that they don't mind you turning into a song. You are limitless in your songwriting techniques. But, if you need any help, PM me.