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Lyrics! I don't know about you, but I find writing lyrics both challenging and rewarding.
I usually start by writing down random phrases as I think about the subject matter. Some of the phrases I wrote down for this song were: "selling short, corporate gains, bleed them dry, how you look not what you feel, standard of living, voice of the few and backs of the many, silver tongue licks, play on words play on fears, filthy rich is still filthy," etc.
I have no logic whatsoever where finding the melody is concerned and usually hum along to the track until something appeals to me. I need to have at least a basic musical rhythm before I can get started actually writing lines. Having the musical rhythm helps me establish the cadence of the words, how many syllables, where the rhymes should fall, and so on. Once I have the first line down I can fall into the cadence and begin thinking in meter.
I wanted to keep the language direct in this song, without a lot of "sophisticated" syntax. I like words that evoke unusual or even ambiguous meanings within the context of a song and spend a lot of time revising what I write to try and find ways to work in certain words.
The lyrics below represent a what I think is pretty good draft for about half of the song. You can hear a rough cut of the vocals in the audio file. This the version I send to Packosmokes, both to provide a loose template for his vocals (I'm hoping he'll take the second half of the verse and chorus) and to get his reactions and suggestions. In the last section of the audio my idea is to layer phrases spoken by both Packosmokes and myself in sort of a blurry stream of consciousness. I'm not sure how to approach this yet.
I suppose my approach is to writing lyrics can be described as fairly narrow and just a little anal. I've heard that David Bowie cuts interesting phrases out of newspapers and rearranges them until a song begins to appear. Anyone out there have a different method or approach?
Lyrics! I don't know about you, but I find writing lyrics both challenging and rewarding.
I usually start by writing down random phrases as I think about the subject matter. Some of the phrases I wrote down for this song were: "selling short, corporate gains, bleed them dry, how you look not what you feel, standard of living, voice of the few and backs of the many, silver tongue licks, play on words play on fears, filthy rich is still filthy," etc.
I have no logic whatsoever where finding the melody is concerned and usually hum along to the track until something appeals to me. I need to have at least a basic musical rhythm before I can get started actually writing lines. Having the musical rhythm helps me establish the cadence of the words, how many syllables, where the rhymes should fall, and so on. Once I have the first line down I can fall into the cadence and begin thinking in meter.
I wanted to keep the language direct in this song, without a lot of "sophisticated" syntax. I like words that evoke unusual or even ambiguous meanings within the context of a song and spend a lot of time revising what I write to try and find ways to work in certain words.
The lyrics below represent a what I think is pretty good draft for about half of the song. You can hear a rough cut of the vocals in the audio file. This the version I send to Packosmokes, both to provide a loose template for his vocals (I'm hoping he'll take the second half of the verse and chorus) and to get his reactions and suggestions. In the last section of the audio my idea is to layer phrases spoken by both Packosmokes and myself in sort of a blurry stream of consciousness. I'm not sure how to approach this yet.
I suppose my approach is to writing lyrics can be described as fairly narrow and just a little anal. I've heard that David Bowie cuts interesting phrases out of newspapers and rearranges them until a song begins to appear. Anyone out there have a different method or approach?
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Lyrics
Enough should be enough for me,
If its true the best things are free.
Spend my life. Feed those needs,
That I have been given.
Body counts. Corporate gains.
New and improved but it tastes the same.
Another pill might ease the pain,
A shallow incision.
Its how you look, not what you feel.
Wounds are getting harder to conceal.
Fake a smile, the pain is real,
A constant distraction.
Bleed 'em dry, yeah make 'em sweat.
Haven't squeezed out that last drop yet.
Tell a lie, feed mounting debt.
A life paid in ransom.
I don't need to swallow this lie.
Take what I need.
Spit out the fear and hypocrisy.
Greed will kill you. Life is a test.
I'm not dead yet.
I'll never pay my pound of flesh.
(spoken phrases)
If its true the best things are free.
Spend my life. Feed those needs,
That I have been given.
Body counts. Corporate gains.
New and improved but it tastes the same.
Another pill might ease the pain,
A shallow incision.
Its how you look, not what you feel.
Wounds are getting harder to conceal.
Fake a smile, the pain is real,
A constant distraction.
Bleed 'em dry, yeah make 'em sweat.
Haven't squeezed out that last drop yet.
Tell a lie, feed mounting debt.
A life paid in ransom.
I don't need to swallow this lie.
Take what I need.
Spit out the fear and hypocrisy.
Greed will kill you. Life is a test.
I'm not dead yet.
I'll never pay my pound of flesh.
(spoken phrases)
Sentinel
here are some approaches to lyric writing that I have come
across in my work with various artists, create an another
persona in your head and have dialogue with the said
persona, be it devils advocate or yes man, or foil. Listen to
people around you talking and make believe they are
talking about your lyrics subject, play word games with
others using song subject as basis. Have fun!