Here’s a list of hugely successful holiday songs. Every one has something offer to today’s songwriters as examples of great song craft. I’ve included links to YouTube where you can hear each song along with a short note on songwriting techniques to listen for—structure, lyric imagery/action words, melody style, and production.
Category: SONGWRITING TIPS
Write a Song in the Folk Song Form
I recently got this question from a songwriter who’s just starting out.
Q: Is it okay if my song is a string of verses, with no chorus or bridge? It’s short, too. Can it still be a good song?
A: If a song is a series of verses, it’s in a form that’s been successful for hundreds of years—the folk song form. You can certainly write good songs in that style. These songs often feature a storyline, such as a lost lover, a historical event, or travel to a distant land, but they don’t have to. Good examples of the folk song form are “Scarborough Fair,” “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow,” and recently Passenger’s “Let Her Go.”
Great Song Lyrics: Using Clichés
Have you ever noticed how some people can describe a simple, everyday event and make it sound hilarious or tragic or just plain interesting, while another person can tell the same story and have you snoring with boredom in an instant?
If the language you use to tell a story is vivid and fresh even a familiar experience or idea can come to life, but if you’re talking in overused, predictable phrases—in other words, if you’re using clichés—the most exciting story can become dull. It’s all in the words you choose.
People often speak in clichés
Clichés are familiar phrases that have become an acceptable shorthand way of expressing an idea: “Time flies!” “Love is blind.” “He’s full of hot air.” “You can count on me.” On the plus side, everyone understands what you mean. But these phrases are so familiar and overused they’ve lost their emotional impact. The result is bland, forgettable language. For example, here’s a description of a workday that’s filled with clichés.
- I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. My cup of coffee tasted like mud. On the bus, people were packed like sardines. My boss was hopping mad when I got to work late. The day seemed to drag on and on. I thought six o’clock would never come!
While this paragraph gives you an idea of what the speaker’s day was like, it doesn’t make you feel the boredom and frustration. Familiar phrases such as “packed like sardines,” “hopping mad” and “seemed to drag on and on” have been used so many times listeners no longer picture the images, experience the sensation, or notice the comparison; they don’t feel the crush of bodies on the bus or picture the boss hopping up and down in anger. In fact, listeners barely even hear clichés at all. They’re wasted space in your song unless you do something to change that.
Give your clichés new life.
1. Use a fresh or unexpected comparison
Comparisons are a great way to add energy to a description. There was a time when “packed like sardines” was vivid, fresh, and funny. Listeners really pictured it when they heard it and it made them react. Eventually, so many people liked it and used it that the idea became stale and listeners stopped reacting.
LYRICS: Write a Strong Opening Line
“I have trouble coming up with the first line of a song. I try not to write something obvious and cliche but I can’t seem to figure out how to start.”
Five Ways to write a strong opening line
A strong opening line for your song is essential – it may make the difference between keeping a listener tuned in or losing them. You’re right about not wanting to be vague! Here are a few ideas…
1) Use a line from later in the song
After you have a first draft of your song, check to see whether your second verse is stronger than your first. This can happen as you get deeper into the song and know more about what you want to say. Try opening with your second verse then replace it with a new one or use your original first verse there.
Do Your Songs All Sound the Same?
by Robin Frederick
Q: I have one big problem and I’m wondering if you can help. I have written over 160 songs. My words, melody, and my voice all seem to sound the same. What am I doing wrong?
A: If you have a “signature sound”—your songs have a recognizable style and sound—there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. To my ears, many of Jackson Browne’s songs sound very similar in terms of music and vocals, and he’s certainly successful. He relies on powerful lyrics to tell unique stories filled with emotion and character. Vocals and music are secondary, while the lyrics hold the listener’s attention.
So, the real question is, do listeners respond to your songs and your sound the way you want them to? If you feel you’re not reaching them, then it’s a matter of upping your skills in one or more areas to make your songs more original.