A good phrase or rhyme makes me think of a melody to it. Then I make most of the song structure before I fill in the missing lyrics.

More recently, I have started with lyrics and added the music. Especially when I co-write. I like to have some sort of lyric story together first. 

Not all lyric ideas inspire a melody.

I have also written another way too. Doing both at the same time. Several of my tunes on my soundclick were written this way. Everything coming at the same time.  That is fun when it happens. These songs are very often solo efforts..... no co-writers when this occurs.


I have also written the music to a song with not a single lyric idea in my head..... just the music and melody.  I have sent this to my co-writer who is really the lyricist, and in a day or two she has sent back a lyric that fit...and with some tweezing, in a few days we ended up with a finished song.  This is also represented on my music page. 

What I'm saying is that it's YES to ALL THE ABOVE. To me it doesn't matter how I write it as long as I write it and it works well. 

You must have an idea about both the words and music, and seek oneness in the zen of the moments.

Guitarhacker

What I'm saying is that it's YES to ALL THE ABOVE. To me it doesn't matter how I write it as long as I write it and it works well. 

+1 to "all of the above".
 
I've written lyrics first, written lyrics last, had a complete chorus (music/lyrics) pop to my head, created a killer first verse that had no second verse for years, written lyrics for someone else's music, written pages of lyrics in order to whittle it down to 5 verses.
 
For me, it's a song by song process.  The starting point makes a big difference for me, if I'm jamming on the acoustic, pounding on the piano, or sitting with a pencil and paper to flesh out a lyrical idea.  I have a notebook full of lyric/chord ideas, waiting for completion.  I really need to throw these into Sonar, before I forget what the melodies were.

Melody or hook, even a lyrical hook, almost always first. I hate writing lyrics when I have a melody in mind, ends up making the track stale and elementary!

But as all the above comments would suggest, there is no golden rule, I think the song find you.

Cian

I think for the most part lyrics is where the hard work is at. I can usually write verse 1 and a chorus without too much sweat. The key is to keep at the idea while it's fresh and take it as far as I can. If I run into a brick wall, I pull someone else in. I have so many unfinished songs that lately I make sure I stick with the idea until it's done. I've found it's rare that I go back and finish that song I started last year.  :)

In The CHB for the lyrics of the three of the songs I contributed the lyrics to, the chord progressions and song structures were there. The titles were chosen already too. One of other song's was really "written" 30 years ago and The CHB simply reshaped the song. I also collaborated on one of the song lyric with Philz who did the vocals.

In the olden days I was more like Barry. I started with a title/idea. Started sketching out lyrics for the Chorus first. Then I'd do verses making sure the syllables/phrasings were in tact from verse to verse. Write, re-write, re-write the lyrics until I felt the verses and Chorus told the story. Then maybe a bridge lyric.

After that I would eeek a "melody". Usually on piano. Then start building the chord progression based on the melody etc. Then start on the tempo and feel based on what the story was. Then finish the song with a singer best suited for the song.

I also co-wrote with my ex-wife. Usually she had a lyric idea. I'd build a chord progression and suggest a "melody" and phrasing and then we'd argue for weeks on end until the song was done. She hated it when I'd change her lyric because of the song structure. I was ever cautious not to change the meaning of the lyric, just the meter, phrasing. Still we argued quite a bit. In the end she'd (almost always) agree that what I did worked.

I tend to write the lyrics and the music together, usually on guitar. (hook 1st)

digging down further into the LYRICS side of things....

I often start a lyrical idea with a title.  From the title, I try to flesh out an outline of the story..... Sometimes I just send the title idea to my co-writer and she does what seems to come naturally to her..... she writes the idea out in verse/chorus format and sends it back. Together, we edit, delete, add, re-arrange, and repeat this process while working on the story line behind the lyrics...... at times we have scrapped entire verses and choruses and started in a whole new direction. 

When I have a good idea..... and I do have so many false starts, things that seemed brilliant yesterday that suck today, but when I get something good, I keep at it until I finish it one way or another.  Either by my self or with a team..... it will get done. 

Currently, I am working on a 3rd re-write of a song which over the past 2 years has been written and rewritten 2 times already.  A review from the Nashville Songwriters Association pointed out a few "flaws" (in their professional opinion...which was something I suspected before I sent it to them...they simply confirmed my suspicions) in the flow of the 3rd verse..... so... it is back on the table for more work.....as soon as I get the time to work on it. It has been a back burner project, and whether it's procrastination or "letting the cobwebs clear out" I have been letting it set for quite a few months so that when I do work on it, I can hopefully approach it with a new and fresh perspective and with my co-writer's help, together, we can find those magic words that make the 3rd verse as magical and expressive as the words that precede it. 

So there is no time limit to writing a good song and rewriting it until it reaches that point where it is what it was intended to be from the beginning. 

No... it is not easy. But you have to push yourself some times to write....and you have to push harder, and dig deeper, when it comes to the rewrites. 

i've been all over the place in the past with what i write my lyrics to, but lately it's been either a moment of inspiration while playing my guitar or singing a tune + lyrics into my state of the art recording setup (my smartphone ).

i think the most important thing is capturing inspiration in the way that works best for a person, but i think there are few basic ideas to consider, with the disclaimer that art is subjective, whatever sounds good, etc...

could just be me, but i feel that poetry doesn't always translate well to lyrics. by "well", i mean not awkward to sing (or listen to). i've written both and they have mostly stayed in their separate corners, and it's been a rare that a combination has turned out to be what i consider "good" (always predictably metered poetry heading into the lyrical category, and usually with some alterations).

i think that is because lyrics are usually written with a melody in mind, even subconsciously, and poetry is written against a meter, or for more abstract forms, against an emotional balance of words vs. the shorter, regular rhythm of "western" music. to counter this, though, you could say that lyrics are just a form of poetry set to rhythm rather than meter.

i also think a big part of lyric writing is intent: is it self-expression, is it carefully crafted words, or is it just the distinction between one great groove and another (and there's nothing wrong with that). listening to top 40's radio (which i rarely subject myself to ), i'd say that a lot of it is the third option, but even then, there's some really inspired lyrical hooks out there despite the "hit factory" vibe.

i think that intent helps narrow down approaches - i think it would be easier to write lyrics before or during a song that is basically self-expression, and harder to carefully craft words to a finished instrumental. and there's definitely a science to it, or at least a psychology, if you are looking to go the crafted route.

i totally agree that pushing yourself is the best way to expand your talents. trying things you wouldn't normally do, order of writing you aren't used to, typing vs. writing, etc. i think another important thing is realizing that writing lyrics is always practice for next time. being able to recognize when you've written something that is inspired, and being OK letting go stuff that isn't.