“I’m down on my knees and begging please…” “Can’t you see…” “I don’t know where I’m going but I know where I’ve been…”
Fire and desire Fly, high, and sky See and me Heart and apart Together and forever
Slant rhyme is when two words are rhymed together that are very similar, but have slightly different sounds. For example, Emily Dickinson uses slant rhyme when she rhymes “soul” and “all” in one of her poems: “‘Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul/And sings the tune without the words/And never stops at all. ” The song “Juicy,” by Notorious B. I. G. is unique because it uses an inconsistent rhyme scheme and also incorporates internal rhymes, which are rhymes within lines. For example, “Now I’m in the limelight ’cause I rhyme tight/Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade, Born sinner, the opposite of a winner/Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner. ”
The Beatles make use of names in their song entitled “Eleanor Rigby. ” Some of the lyrics include the lines, “Father McKenzie, writing the words/Of a sermon that no one will hear/No one comes near. ” In “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” the Beatles use a descriptive phrase instead of a pronoun to refer to someone: “The girl with kaleidoscope eyes. ”
“Life on Mars” by David Bowie “Subterranean Homesick Blues” by Bob Dylan “Both Sides, Now” by Joni Mitchell “Pedestrian at Best” by Courtney Barnett “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac “Get Your Freak On” by Missy Elliott “Stan” by Eminem
For example, you might find that you like the relatable storytelling of country and the fast-paced rhyming of rap. Try combining these two when you write lyrics.
Strophic songs have the same melody for each successive stanza, while ballads have two identical stanzas, a unique third stanza, and a final one that sounds just like the first two. “Amazing Grace” is an example of a song that’s written in strophic form. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley is an example of a ballad. “Yellow” by Coldplay is an example of a Verse/Chorus song.
Are you currently upset about that mean thing your best friend did yesterday? Are the fall leaves making you feel a heightened appreciation for nature? Are you frustrated about your writer’s block? Use those real emotions to write your lyrics.
For example, if you’re feeling inspired by a recent break-up, reflect on what was unique about the relationship and its end, and focus on writing lyrics that specifically express those unique details.
For example, The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” starts off with the words, “Please allow me to introduce myself/I’m a man of wealth and taste. ” This opening piques the curiosity of listeners because it doesn’t clearly reveal what the song will be about.
For example, in “Both Sides, Now” by Joni Mitchell, the chorus uses the metaphor of clouds to discuss the singer’s conflicting feelings about love: “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now/From up and down and still somehow/It’s cloud’s illusions I recall/I really don’t know clouds at all. ”[10] X Research source
For example, Tim McGraw creates imagery for this topic in the song, “BBQ Stain:” “I had a BBQ stain on my white T-shirt/She was killing me in that miniskirt/Skipping rocks on the river by the railroad tracks. ”
For example, you may end up with a song about life on Mars because you simply let your imagination run wild and jotted down lyrics as they came. You can then look over them later and decide which lyrics you’d like to keep.
For example, you may challenge yourself to write a song about loss where you do not use common words like “cry,” “sad,” or “goodbye. ”
You can also try sitting in a public space and thinking of song lyrics from the perspective of strangers around you. Or you may write from the perspective of a parent, peer, or close friend.
You can also cut words out of magazines and newspapers to form lyrics.
You can also try writing a song that is a duet with someone else. You may both decide to sing your own verses and the chorus together.
You should also make sure there are no spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors in the song when you sing it aloud. If you are writing from the point of view of someone who has bad grammar or spelling as part of their character, it may be fine to leave them in.
Be open to constructive criticism, as this will make it stronger and better in the end.
If you do not play any instruments, you can ask friends who are musicians to set the lyrics to music for you. If you’re very familiar with an instrument, you might find that it’s easier to write the instrumental music first, determine the vocal melody, and then write the lyrics.
