“When your song is called ‘XYZ’ or whatever, every line has got to make sense against your title”
—Merle Haggard
I know from personal experience that there is nothing more frustrating for a music publisher than taking the time to listen to a demo by a new writer and then finding that the song just wanders aimlessly with no apparent direction. The irritation that this causes often results in even the most generous publisher hitting the ‘stop’ button after about 30 seconds.
A lack of focus is one of the biggest weaknesses of many aspiring writers’ songs. This is usually because the writer has no idea where the song is heading when he or she starts working on it. As a result, the song simply meanders from one chord to the next without any purpose and with no clear distinction between different sections.
A clear focus is also a critical aspect of effective lyric writing. Can you express the subject of your song in a single phrase? Even if the song is not meant to follow a linear story line, the overall song won’t have a cohesive feel to it if you don’t focus on one subject and develop this theme as the song progresses.
To make sure your lyrics are focused, start with a strong title and then try asking yourself Who? What? Where? When? How? and Why?-type questions prompted by the title.
A title like ‘Heartbreak Sunrise’, for example, would suggest questions such as “What is happening at sunrise?”, “Who’s going to be heart broken?”, “Why are they going to be heartbroken?”. The answers to these questions will generate words, phrases and images that are relevant to the overall theme and can be used in the lyrics.
If your song is simply allowed to ‘evolve’ without any shape or direction, there is a danger that listeners will become completely lost and may lose interest. So don’t just go with the first thing that comes into your head. Set out a clear ‘road map’ for the song.
Once you know where you want to get to, you need to plan your route carefully so that your chord progression reaches your destination—the all-important melodic hook and title line in the chorus—as quickly as possible.
As Jimmy Webb once said: “I usually know what kind of song I’m after. I know what I’m trying to do when I start. I don’t always get there. But I try to visualize what it’s actually going to be.”
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