Squeezing too many words into a lyric is one of the most common mistakes made by inexperienced songwriters—especially writers or lyricists who aren’t singers themselves. They don’t realize the importance of leaving pauses between the words so that the poor singer can grab a breath!
If your lyric lines are too crowded, singers will be so busy trying to fit all the words in that they won’t have space to emphasize the key words—and won’t be able to interpret the song in their own distinctive way.
Putting too many words into your song also makes it harder for listeners to take in the lyrics and understand what the song is about. It’s like someone talking so fast you can’t grasp what they’re saying. People have to be able to make out every word that you’ve worked so hard to craft—otherwise, what’s the point?
As Paul Simon told American Songwriter magazine: “When you’re reading poetry, you read it at a much slower pace. So the lines can be much more dense, and have words which are not usually in a speaking vocabulary, and which carry multiple meanings. But in a song, it’s clocking along, and if you missed it, it’s gone. And if you miss enough of it, well, the song is gone …”.
To make it easier for listeners to remember your lyrics, it’s important to keep them simple and conversational. The great lyricist Hal David, for example, was a master at conveying what he wanted to say in the most concise way possible, despite the complexity of some of Burt Bacharach’s melodies. It’s part of the craft of successful songwriting.
Even if you’re not a great vocalist, try singing the song yourself at the tempo it’s supposed to be played at. Or read the lyrics out loud rhythmically, keeping time as if you were singing them. If you can’t fit all the words in comfortably—with the key words accentuated—it’s likely that an experienced singer won’t be able to do it either.
This will hamper your chances of getting other artists to record the song. And if you’re writing for your own band, even your own superb vocalist may find it hard to impress your fans! If your lyrics are a maze of words, it will be hard for any performance of them to be amazing.
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