Relationships & Partners and Writing Skills Tips. (A Writing Advice Guide Book

Writing Song Lyrics -Gabriel

Writing Song Lyrics Lesson

Have you ever written a song? Have you ever wondered who writes the lyrics, or words, to your favorite songs? You'd be surprised to discover how many singers don't write their own lyrics. Often, they hire poets or other songwriters to write the words. Why? Because composing good song lyrics is very challenging. Like poetry, lyric writing demands precision and grace.

One of the obvious challenges in lyric writing is matching the words to the music. If the music is dark and mysterious, for example, the lyrics shouldn't be upbeat. Furthermore, song lyrics, like poems, have structure. Normally, they are broken into verses interrupted by a chorus that repeats several times. Also, song lyrics almost always employ a rhyme scheme. The most common ones include a, b,a, b, or a, a, b,a, or a, b, c, b. Notice the rhyme scheme and chorus of "America the Beautiful."

Oh beautiful for spacious skies (A)
For amber waves of grain (B)
For purple mountain's majesty (A)
Upon the fruited plains. (B)

CHORUS
America, America, (A)
God shed His grace on thee, (B)
And crown thy good with brotherhood (C)
From sea to shining sea. (B)

Although the above rhyme schemes are still common, popular songs changed drastically with the Beatles. By changing meter, time signature, key and form within the same song, they broke with traditional lyric schemes. Now, we have few if any rules left as to how to write a good lyric. Think about your favorite Rap or Punk song. What kind of rhyme scheme does it follow?

One way to test the quality of lyrics is to read them apart from the music. Do they convey a meaning? Do they move you? Hopefully, the lyrics can stand alone and still be considered a work of art. Unfortunately, the quality of lyrics doesn't seem to matter to some artists: As long as the song has a good melody and a good beat, everything is okay! How many songs have you heard with lyrics like these?

Oh, my sweet sweetheart
Let me show you how much I love you.
Please don't tell me maybe.
There's no one else above you.

Do these lines sound familiar? You'll probably agree that they are rather shallow and uninventive. Sadly enough, lyrics like these can be heard in lots of hit songs.

Writing Exercise Prompt 1.
Bring a tape of your favorite song, along with the lyrics, to your class. Read the lyrics out loud. After explaining the structure of the song (rhyme scheme, verses, and chorus) tell the class why you find the lyrics meaningful. What makes them good?

Next, play the song to the class.
Note: You might want to have someone make a song collection consisting of everyone's favorites. It's a terrific souvenir!

Writing Exercise Prompt 2.

Write song lyrics. Be sure to have at least four verses and a chorus. Establish a consistent rhyme scheme. ( If you feel adventurous, try setting the lyrics to music.)

When you're done, read your lyrics to the class.

Enjoy, Skylights, enjoy!