Thursday, June 24, 2010

lyrics

I was trying to write lyrics to a new song of mine. The music is uptempo, danceable, and very marketable. I was stuck though, writing the same old cliche lines and non-descript stuff. So I googled a famous pop-writer's songs to see what the stuff being written for Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, etc. was all about. This writer has a slew of top hits, recorded by some of the biggest names in the industry, so I surprised to see the lyrics as cliche lines and non-descript stuff! I think a lot of that type of contemporary music is the production, the groove, etc, not the foundation of good writing. Maybe I should have taken up production and programming in my earlier days...hmmm...
So back to my song, I just can't write fluff, even if that's what the market is doing. I think it's OK for some lyrics to be light-hearted love songs. I've got no problem with that. But there's got to be a way to say that in a unique way, or at least descriptive. In Nashville, we call that adding "furniture". But that takes a lot of creativity and ingenuity to say something differently that's been said a million times before. How do you describe "I love you"?
So then I read the lyrics of one of my favorite writers, Corinne Bailey Ray, and her stuff is great! Not only is the music fabulous, but the lyrics are fresh and interesting and thought-provoking and all that stuff..So I decided to push myself to write something like that. You know we all learn from others, so I don't have a problem with studying other writers and using their works as examples to grow on...
My new song, so far, is interesting, has a little story behind the love theme, and has plenty of "furniture" - descriptives to show the scene, rather than just telling it. So I'm happy so far. The only thing is- my title that I had chosen is not going to work anymore. I have two verses finished but no hook line...I'm gonna have to spend some contemplative time on that to find something that fits with this story and has hook-appeal. But at least it's coming along.
I'm trying to find time to write, at least a few times a week, to keep the engine churning. Otherwise, my soul gets weary...gotta write!