Writing Lyrics That Hit Home: Who Are You Actually Writing For?

lyrics Photo by Marcella Hose

If you've been writing songs for any length of time, no doubt you've been asked how you get your ideas. It's a hard question to answer. In fact, there may not be an answer that makes sense to anyone who doesn't create. There isn't a single answer. Ideas come from just about anywhere. Songwriters, ideally, are sponges. We absorb life around us, and what comes out when we squeeze the sponge is a blend of those things, which then becomes our unique perspective.

One thing we don't do if we want to be successful is wait for the mythical muse to deliver a lyric. It may seem to us that the words we write came from some magical source, but they're actually a result of hard work. A good lyricist is talented, yes, but also understands the value of augmenting that talent with hard work, study, and building an understanding of the craft.

By opening yourself to the world around you while you continue to learn and perfect your craft, you magnify your skills as a lyricist almost naturally. All of this becomes your raw material – the stuff you mold and shape into song lyrics that hit home with your audience.

Who are you writing for?

This is important. I've heard many of my songwriting friends say, "I write for myself." That's a good answer, but it can't be the only answer if you want to reach an audience with what you write. If you're writing for yourself, great, keep a journal. If you want to write lyrics that will make people laugh, cry, get angry, or think about something in particular, then you need to consider an audience when you're writing.

It may be essential for you to feel something about the lyric you write before you write it, but many great lyricists know how to "feel" for the masses. This is a skill you'll need to develop if you want to reach an audience.

Structure your masterpiece

While you don't need to be a whiz with music theory to write lyrics, you do need to have at least a basic understanding of song structure. Here's a general overview of the basic building blocks of a song.

Verse: This is the section of a song that develops the story or idea of your song. You can have as many of these as you like, but a typical song may have three or four verses. Verses share the same (or similar) melodic and rhythmic patterns.
Chorus: A chorus is the section of the song that adds information to the verses or emphasizes and clarifies the central theme of the verses. This is also the part of the song your audience will be drawn toward or will find themselves singing. The melodic and rhythmic structure of the chorus is usually completely different than those used in the verse.
Bridge: A bridge is exactly what you might think it is. It bridges either a verse or a chorus to another part of the song, and is often used to break up the monotony. The bridge isn't only different melodically and rhythmically; it can even be written in an entirely different key, which helps add variety and color to the song.

Does it have to rhyme?

It isn't necessary to rhyme a lyric; many great songs have been written without rhyming lines. Never sacrifice a great lyric by forcing a change in the words just to create a rhyme. It's true that listeners usually respond better to a consistent pattern of rhymes, but a bad or cliché rhyme will stand out horribly and can ruin an otherwise great lyric. If you insist on rhyming, make use of a rhyming dictionary and a thesaurus to help you find something that's unique.

There's no better way to develop as a lyricist than to write as often as you can. Don't wait for inspiration. Make your own.

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Carl Hose is a songwriter, screenwriter, and the author of several horror novels and anthologies. He is also editor of the Dark Light anthology to benefit the Ronald McDonald House charities. He spends his free time hanging out with his wife Marcee and their six kids.