[James Nighthawk]

I have written songs in a bunch of different ways:


Sometimes I have a stanza written which I put to music, and the song grows from there

Sometimes I play around on guitar, humming melodies and then a line appears. Or I use place-holder nonsense (scrambled eggs reference here!) until I write something more befitting.

Sometimes I just sing nonsense (driving is a great time for this) until a hook line appears. I have written entire sings at the wheel...singing the lines over and over so I don't forget them before I get home!

Sometimes I have a lovely chord sequence that can sit for months unused until I work out an opening melody.

Sometimes I have the idea for a decent song and lyric, but nothing comes to me for months (some are still waiting!)

Sometimes I have young Bob Cratchit do all the work for me, while I eat mince pies by the fire...

[andy5544]

Nearly always out, in the woods  walking the dogs , then almost without realising it i'm singing a tune in my head , sometimes i record it on my phone whilst in the woods and hope no one walks round the corner whilst i'm singing into my phone , i have done whole songs in my head before , and forgotten them before i've got home !!!
a few times i've just played stuff on the guitar and thought , yep , thats a song. but i dont have a set method at all.

[Lee F]

I don't think I've ever written lyrics first, I've occasionally had a title in my head before and then written the music around the mood that it evokes but lyrics are always last for me. I tend to write the music, sing nonsense to get a melody, and then write lyrics around that melody.

[man of simple pleasures]

i write everything on acoustic guitar first then the lyrics which i find to be a right pain sometimes, takes me ages to be happy with getting lyrics what i'm happy with

[Nathaniel James]

For me it's always music and more importantly MELODY first.

In my humble opinion, when you are writing a song, the melody is the most important thing (in relation to the chords of course). I am not downplaying the importance of lyrics, but I don't call myself a poet, I call myself a songwriter. As such, I aim to write songs that move people and convey a particular emotion. I also want people to be able to sing along to my songs so that it stays with them for longer than one listen. And this I think comes mainly from a strong melody.

So I always set out to find a good melody before I add any words. But that is what works for me, and I would love to hear more from the people who write lyrics first and see how they approach writing a song.

All the best,

Nathaniel James

[man of simple pleasures]

got it spot on there nathaniel the most important thing about a song is the melody like!

[S.T.C]

I think a good lyricist is someone who sows a melody into their words ....well thought out lyrics can only add to a song not take away...think of your favorite songs, i bet they have lyrics that really talk to you...`

[man of simple pleasures]

hmmmmmm i dont think lyrics really mean that much in songs some songs i mean, songsthatcry i kinda get what you mean but its going into things too deep i reckon, theres loads of great songs that probably dont have great lyrics but people love them (peoples opinions)


for me its either a good song or not, dont matter about lyrics melody or chords??

[The Corsair]

hmmmmmm i dont think lyrics really mean that much in songs some songs i mean, songsthatcry i kinda get what you mean but its going into things too deep i reckon, theres loads of great songs that probably dont have great lyrics but people love them (peoples opinions)


for me its either a good song or not, dont matter about lyrics melody or chords??

I have to disagree with you quite wholeheartedly.There are a lot of songs out there that are extensively popular that have bugger all lyrical meaning but they are pretty fad-based and get old within a few months and stop getting airtime. The ones that are popular and last generally have the distinguishing factor of good lyrics. Yes, some don't, but they are they absolute minority in this field.

Lyrical content means the difference between a good song and a great song if you already have a catchy riff and lyrical melody. They don't necessarily make a bad song (one that is unappealing musically) into a good one though.

[Kafla]

I watched a programme last night about the bee gees

There lyrics are pretty lame but they wrote some amazing melodies & rythmn based songs

They just work ( well for me anyway )

I think melody and hooks are king 

Lyrics are a nice luxury in a song really

[man of simple pleasures]

all about opinions at the end of the day but i think my point was really that great songs dont have to have great meaningful lyrics aslong aslong as theirs a great melody it dont matter about the lyric content or if the have meaning!

jumpin jack flash for me is one of the greatest songs their is, i think their gret lyrics, some people would probably say they aint great lyrics and dont mean anything, those lyrics could be about anything but that gets ya buzzing as its a great song!

anyhow am probably not great with putting me point across haha, but for me lyrics will only be great in a song if the melody is great, if the lyrics are great and meaningful but the melody aint then its its not gonna a great song!

[S.T.C]

I watched a programme last night about the bee gees

There lyrics are pretty lame but they wrote some amazing melodies & rythmn based songs

They just work ( well for me anyway )

I think melody and hooks are king 

Lyrics are a nice luxury in a song really

i watched it as well and the other 2 programs about them...and i was listening to the lyrics..yes there "lame" but perfect for their songs..they got the right sentiment...has for their melodies...not many wrote better!

it`s not that lyrics have to be meaningful ...but to some writers like Bob Dylan..they did have a lot of meaning and there definitely a feature of his songs,,as well as the melody and music..

.

[The Corsair]

I watched a programme last night about the bee gees

There lyrics are pretty lame but they wrote some amazing melodies & rythmn based songs

They just work ( well for me anyway )

I think melody and hooks are king  

Lyrics are a nice luxury in a song really

"You can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man"

What we see here in this line is the primary character of the narrative, we'll call him WM (Woman's Man) henceforth, is confident and has a high level of sexual experience, which he demonstrates in his style of movement so as to display to the opposite gender that he is sexually capable in an attempt to initiate a sexual relationship with a member of the opposite sex.
This excessive need for sex is characteristic of someone with a sex addiction. This idea of a sex addiction is further developed in the chorus where WM explains that he does not care 'whether you're a mother or whether you're a brother', which suggests that he has such an addition to sex that he has turned to bisexualism and promotes adultery just so he can engage in coitus with more people. Further more, the idea that he does this to 'stay alive' shows that the addiction has warped his mind to the point where he thinks he must have sex in excessive amounts or he will die.

[Kafla]

I watched a programme last night about the bee gees

There lyrics are pretty lame but they wrote some amazing melodies & rythmn based songs

They just work ( well for me anyway )

I think melody and hooks are king  

Lyrics are a nice luxury in a song really

"You can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man"

What we see here in this line is the primary character of the narrative, we'll call him WM (Woman's Man) henceforth, is confident and has a high level of sexual experience, which he demonstrates in his style of movement so as to display to the opposite gender that he is sexually capable in an attempt to initiate a sexual relationship with a member of the opposite sex.
This excessive need for sex is characteristic of someone with a sex addiction. This idea of a sex addiction is further developed in the chorus where WM explains that he does not care 'whether you're a mother or whether you're a brother', which suggests that he has such an addition to sex that he has turned to bisexualism and promotes adultery just so he can engage in coitus with more people. Further more, the idea that he does this to 'stay alive' shows that the addiction has warped his mind to the point where he thinks he must have sex in excessive amounts or he will die.

That's world class Corsair 

[S.T.C]

I watched a programme last night about the bee gees

There lyrics are pretty lame but they wrote some amazing melodies & rythmn based songs

They just work ( well for me anyway )

I think melody and hooks are king  

Lyrics are a nice luxury in a song really

"You can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man"

What we see here in this line is the primary character of the narrative, we'll call him WM (Woman's Man) henceforth, is confident and has a high level of sexual experience, which he demonstrates in his style of movement so as to display to the opposite gender that he is sexually capable in an attempt to initiate a sexual relationship with a member of the opposite sex.
This excessive need for sex is characteristic of someone with a sex addiction. This idea of a sex addiction is further developed in the chorus where WM explains that he does not care 'whether you're a mother or whether you're a brother', which suggests that he has such an addition to sex that he has turned to bisexualism and promotes adultery just so he can engage in coitus with more people. Further more, the idea that he does this to 'stay alive' shows that the addiction has warped his mind to the point where he thinks he must have sex in excessive amounts or he will die.

That's world class Corsair 

But is it true??