The Words vs The Sounds
Thursday 02 July 2015 LyricsBlog
When I was younger, and I first started out writing songs, I never cared about the lyrics.
I wrote, experimenting with music and songwriting, and filled the lines with school-girl poetry. Not surprisingly, my first songs were almost laughable subject matter. I remember, at the age of 13, writing a song with my best friend that started with the lines:
“I walked in the club last night, couldn’t help myself,
Bass was pumping, bodies jumping to the rhythm of the night”
As if we had any idea!
But, perhaps because we wanted to merely copy what was being played to us over the radio waves, or perhaps since we had nothing better to write about, that was what we thought songs should be about.
I hadn’t had any major life-forming experiences that I thought were worth putting into song - like falling in love or dealing with heart break. I hadn’t developed any central themes, messages, causes or beliefs that I could eloquently express. And so lyrics took a back seat. They were safe. They were average. They were... fine...
But even though the lyrics were childish or not the way that I was able to express my creativity, at that young age I was experimenting with making music that was more interesting than the pop on the radio. Playing with chord progressions, harmonies and time signatures, I wanted to be known as a “real” musician; someone who made music that was interesting, clever, inspiring and multi-layered.
I wanted to get away from the from the G, C, D standard chords that I heard all around me on the radio, in church, in music class even.
Of course, I didn’t make any major musical breakthroughs or invent a new genre!
But that was where my focus was. I didn’t really mind what the lyrics said, as long as they served the song. They had to compliment the melody, form and rhythm,
Today, I think I am probably almost entirely at the other end of the scale. I feel that I have seen so much, met so many extraordinary people and learnt so many truths that I am desperate for people to hear the lyrics. On stage, I silently implore people to not just be passive receivers but active listeners, taking in the words and the soul and the depth of each song.
And I am not so worried about writing “clever” music. I wouldn’t want it to distract or overwhelm the theme of the song.
But, as I reminded myself by reading a previous blog about songwriting, as writers we should find that perfect balance between lyrics and music, the words and the sounds; each piece of the song from its poetry to its form to its melody to its instrumentation should serve the purpose that it is written for.
And that goes for all forms of art: What are you trying to say? And knowing what you are trying to say ultimately comes out of knowing who you are.
And once you know what you are trying to say, you are able to pile on the pieces of what you know about your craft to make sure that comes through.
Happy writing!