How to Write Great Lyrics
Definition of Lyrics
Wikipedia defines lyrics as "a set of words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses."
How to Write Great Lyrics
There are six things that I believe helps make good lyrics great. Whether just putting together a story or writing straight from your creative brain these will help bring your lyrics up a notch.
1. Senses - Try to use all five senses when writing lyrics.
§ Sight
§ Sound
§ Touch
§ Hear
§ Smell
Mary Chapin Carpenter "I am a Town"
2. Slant Rhyme - By using slant rhymes in conjunction with other rhymes you can really open up the vocabulary of your song and not be confined to straight rhymes. Dictionary.com defines a slant rhyme as a "rhyme in which either the vowels or the consonants of stressed syllables are identical, as in eyes, light; years, yours."
Nanci Griffith "Love at the Five and Dime"
3. Oxymoron - like before and after, empty and full. Using these in lyrics together can really catch the listener's ear.
Alanis Morissette "Hand in My Pocket"
4. Alliteration - Merriam Webster defines alliteration as "the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables (as wild and woolly,threatening throngs)". This is a great ear catcher for your lyrics.
Ani Difranco "Buildings and Bridges"
5. Repetition -If done right repetition can create interest and help keep the listener's attention.
Lucinda Willimas "Are You Alright"
Patty Griffin "Every Little Bit"
6. Format of the Song - There are many types of formats to different songs. The most common is ABABCB and ABABB. But you can pretty much place a song in any type of format you want. The lyrics usually drives the format for me when I'm writing. Another fun tool is what's called an outro. It's kind of like a big finish to the song, or really it could be a small finish too, just depends on the song. You can also skip the chorus entirely. This works well when you've got your hook already in the verses.
§ A=Verse
§ B=Chorus
§ C=Bridge
Sheryl Crow "If it Makes You Happy" (outro)
Shawn Colvin "Poloroids" (no chorus)
7. Descriptive Color - Lyrics are much
§ Red - flaming, cherry, ruby, blood, crimson, burgundy, brick, cardinal, magenta, maroon, strawberry
§ Orange - apricot, peach, beige, tangerine, sun
§ Yellow - lemon, golden, canary, blond, amber, chrome, sand, cream, gold
§ Green - forest, kelly, irish, spring, olive, chartreuse, peacock, lime, grass, jade, emerald
§ Blue - navy, indigo, cobalt, sky, marine, aqua, royal, sapphire, teal, turquoise, azure
§ Purple - violet, grape, mulberry, lavender, lilac, mauve, plum, wine, orhid, amethyst
§ White - ghost, pale, lily, ivory, milky, snow, frost, chalky, alabaster, bleached, achromatic, transparent, pasty
§ Black - grey, ash, charcoal, coal, ebony, raven, slate, onyx, jet, sooty, shadowy, starless
§ Brown -tan, hazelnut, honey, mocha, caramel, carmel, camel, sienna, copper, bronze, terra cotta, burnt, rust, cinnamon
§ Pink - rose, blush, clay rose, roseate, flushed, salmon, flesh
Gillian Welch "I Dream a Highway"
Links to Find Lyrics
Music and Lyrics,
Sarah, "Wooden Chair"
No comments:
Post a Comment