Great Lyrics - Examples of and how to write them

[matt.guitarteacher]

Don't know if this is anything interests anyone else, or worth discussing , but as a singer, non-jazz mind you, I'm curiously interested in aspects of song lyrics which are directly related to how they work with musical interpretation.

Some of my favorite song lyrics, as stand-alone works separate from the song, kind of like poetry, don't work as well when interpreted musically. Or at least, it seems, phrasing possibilities are more limited. For example, I find it very difficult to vary the phrasing of something like My Foolish Heart very much, without losing the meaning of the lyrics for a would-be listener. (They are a little difficult to convey straight, anyway.) Of course, the setting, speaking to one's heart, is problematic enough, but you have to "hear the commas" somewhat to not lose meaning. Although I find the idea of the song compelling and different, and the song itself beautiful, I can honestly see why there aren't an abundance of classic vocal recordings of it, comparatively.

Meanwhile, Stardust, regardless of its literary quality, is nearly perfect in this respect. It has endless ways of phrasing any part of it without losing the meaning of the phrase or the song itself. And of course, there are a million classic recordings of that tune.

I don't know. This may be more of a singer thing.

[destinytot]

STARDUST is right up my street. Wonderful long vowel sounds with a great melody (and it starts on a IV chord - love that sound - after a fabulous verse).

[destinytot]

Johnny Mercer's lyrics to THE MIDNIGHT SUN - easier said than sung, but I'm determined to get there:

"Your lips were like a red and ruby chalice, warmer than the summer night
The clouds were like an alabaster palace, rising to a snowy height
Each star its own aurora borealis, suddenly you held me tight
I could see the midnight sun

I can't explain the silver rain that found me or was that a moonlit veil?
The music of the universe around me or was that a nightingale?
And then your arms miraculously found me, suddenly the sky turned pale
I could see the midnight sun

Was there such a night, it's a thrill I still don't quite believe
But after you were gone, there was still some stardust on my sleeve

The flame of it may dwindle to an ember and the stars forget to shine
And we may see the meadow in December, icy white and crystalline
But oh, my darling always I'll remember when your lips were close to mine
And we saw the midnight sun"

Getting there - now to start 'relaxing'. God, I lov this song:

[Doctor Jeff]

Re' Chain Gang--I absolutely love that song. Reading the words on the written page though almost makes me want to cry. Chrissie is one of the most insightful songwriters of our generation.

Also reminiscent of Lu Williams' songs Drunken Angel and This Old World, and Emmylou's Michelangelo, among many others by these fine songwriters.

Re' Rimbaud--I have never read his poetry--knowing that Patti Smith idolized him, maybe I should--but he drank and used hashish and other drugs heavily and apparently contracted syphilis in 1881. He succumbed to either syphilis or tuberculosis. Drugs and syphilis will adversely affect your artistic output.

BTW I don't know if anyone has mentioned I'm Beginning to See the Light yet, but that is such a quirky, beguiling lyric. Makes much more sense when sung by a great singer than just reading the lyrics.

[destinytot]

I'm very pleased and excited because my wonderful collaborators have helped me do justice to the original lyrics by rendering them into English in a way that preserves the message while also being 'singable'.

Here are the original lyrics:https://www.letras.mus.br/ivan-lins/972717/

And here are versions and adaptations: Original versions of Lembrança written by Gilson Peranzzetta,Ivan Lins,Vitor Martins | SecondHandSongs
They're very nice, but the original message vanishes - and I think that's a shame.

I'm hopeful that I'll soon be able to post our recording (once proper licenses have been obtained - and also, hopefully, the approval of the composer).

Sharing a simple recording of my rendering into English of the original lyrics:

[Lazz]

you have to live life before you can say anything profound about living life

How about Strayhorn's "Lush Life"?

[Jonah]

Re' Rimbaud--I have never read his poetry--knowing that Patti Smith idolized him, maybe I should--but he drank and used hashish and other drugs heavily and apparently contracted syphilis in 1881. He succumbed to either syphilis or tuberculosis. Drugs and syphilis will adversely affect your artistic output.

so you never read his poetry but probably read some wikipedia?
excuse me this sarcasm but I really never care much about details of life of great artists considering that there real life is in their art...

[Doctor Jeff]

so you never read his poetry but probably read some wikipedia?

Well of course I read more than wikipedia. A few years ago I gave a lecture on infectious illnesses and artists and used Rimbaud as an example. Also De Maupessant, Schubert, Scott Joplin, and a few others. I admit I haven't read as much poetry as I would like, especially non-English poetry. After I retire...

excuse me this sarcasm but I really never care much about details of life of great artists considering that there real life is in their art...

That's one way to look at it, but I think ALL aspects of their lives inform their art. Especially when we're discussing a prodigy whose artistic output waned later in life (as you suggest), one hypothesis being an illness which affects the brain, also of course drugs and alcohol.

[Lazz]

Sharing a simple recording of my rendering into English of the original lyrics:

Lembrança - your re-interpretation/translation is beautiful.
I'm sure Lins will love it.

Did you hear his songs performed with the Metropol?

[destinytot]

Lembrança - your re-interpretation/translation is beautiful.
I'm sure Lins will love it.

Did you hear his songs performed with the Metropol?

Thank you! No, I haven't heard that.

[Lazz]

[destinytot]

Thanks, Lazz!

[docdosco]

This seems to be so. Years ago I read that most prodigies work in one of three areas: music, chess, and mathematics. (Followed by visual arts.)

When we think of literary prodigies, they tend to be teenagers, while prodigies (as normally understood) are under age 10. Music is the most common field in which prodigies bloom. Interesting factoid, no?

The types of savant-like 'geniuses' are interesting. Math. Chess. Music. There is also the military 'genius'. One wouldn't think the control of an army would be entrusted to a child, no matter how gifted the child is (or was) it seems. Perhaps somewhere, sometime, a child controlling an army did occur. After all, Joan of Arc was what, 14? Would that qualify? Genghis Kahn was a teenage warlord, I believe. Come to think of it, boy Kings? Clovis... Edward II (who came to a bad end) etc etc, and the boy Pharaohs, King Tut etc. Whether any were military geniuses isn't clear. They all had their generals. But... Alexander the Great? Now, there may be a real, genuine boy military genius.

All I know is that Napoleon was quite a gifted chess player, so who knows what a 14 year old Napoleon might have accomplished.

Interesting to ponder.....