The Birth of a Song: Lyrics and Development

So I have explored the first steps leading up to a first demo of a song being recorded, ready to be filled with actual "meaning". And then "wooords... don't come eeeasyyyyy to meee", well in some cases, anyway.

I have had times when I saw or encountered something that was "meant to" become lyrics for a song; if I manage to capture them, they become what I call "honest" lyrics, that just come flooding out of you almost word after word, sometimes even rhyming, but sadly, this is only the minority of cases. I guess certain events in your life or strong impulses you occur are commonly what trigger this inspiration on the back of your emotional response to them, but again, this is not exact science. Some events in your life may be so overpowering, good or bad, that you are just too busy processing them and and your emotional mechanisms dictate discipline limiting your creative self. And that is ultimately what you need; unleashing your creativity, lifting you barriers and just translating your thoughts and feelings into words.

It is certainly not always easy to loosen up to this point, and I guess this is again a skill that is not given but need to be learned. It works in a similar fashion as two timid people sitting down in pub for a few pints - after the second round, they likely start opening up and talking more and more about what's on their hearts and minds. Often I find I just can't seem to find a good topic to write about, but more often than not I think it's my own guard that puts these boundaries in place. I suppose the key here is to - excuse my metaphors here - "not giving an eff" and "putting your *crock* on the table", meaning being confident in what flows from you naturally and organically. Ultimately, I think this is the key to writing "honest" lyrics.

Okay, but what if I genuinely can't think of anything to write about? Well, it's just like love. It will find it's way to you when you are least expecting it, all you've got to do is to keep an open heart and open eyes on what surrounds you, and a notepad handy for when it comes. And when it does, all you have got to do is just write it all down. Rhymes don't matter at this point, only your chain of thought. I personally find listening to a certain song, may that be the one I am looking for lyrics to, or just one that really moves me, or a change of environment stimulates me to a point where I find it a easy to just sit in the mood, like a bath full of hot water and just immerse myself in it. Having said that, for me it's equally important to be in a state of mind, where I am "feeling" it; of course, a little self-motivation can be necessary at times, but writing is certainly not something that can be forced - even if you manage to screw out something out of yourself, the chances are you not going to like the end result. You need to find the reason for your creative block to successfully overcome it.

Just like with song ideas, I have a number of lyrics ideas kept in my notepad, that I use from time to time when looking for words for a specific song, sometimes puzzling them together, like I did with "Room 605". Sometimes these are relatively well structured already, however in many cases, especially when talking of those ideas written in that imaginary bath of mine, these are just lines with some metaphors and turns of phrases I deem punchy or strong, perhaps with a common theme or context connecting them.

When it comes to forging verses and choruses, I often end up changing some of the words to help with matching syllable count and rhyming (if you scrutinise my songs, you probably noticed I don't overdo it lol) but always aim to retain that core message or mood that was captured in the original notes. Simultaneously, I either try to sing the words and lines over the demo, or just play the song on an acoustic guitar to hear how it would actually fit, how the rhythm of the vocals be good or not so much, whether I will have enough pause to draw breath between lines (overlapping words are allowed in my book as long as there is a clever way around it when playing the song live) and so on. 

And there I have it! All what's left now is to record vocals - easy, peasy, right? Errrm…