Great Lyrics - Examples of and how to write them

[fep]

A good title can 'inspire'.

Yes

I think there is something that might be akin to inspiration. I'll describe as being constantly present with your songwriting, or, always have songwriting on your mind. In this 'state' one might hear a phrase, or a story, or just see something that will give you an idea for a song. Or you might just make a note of it in your songwriting notes (I use a smart phone). These things might be considered inspiration by some, I'll settle for the word inspire instead. Inspire sounds a lot less magical or spiritual and sits with me better.

An example...

I was watching a show on CBS called Sunday Morning a couple of weeks ago and they were interviewing a old guy who grew up adjacent to a car junk yard that his parents owned. He still lives there and the woods have taken over, the junk yard has now become a museum of sorts. During the segment he talked about being a kid sitting in the drivers seat of the junkers and pretending to drive. He said,

"I drove a million miles and never traveled an inch"

I wrote that down. That line could be used in so many ways and could inspire a lyric. (But I wouldn't call that inspiration).

[MarkRhodes]

"I drove a million miles and never traveled an inch"

I wrote that down. That line could be used in so many ways and could inspire a lyric. (But I wouldn't call that inspiration).

Great line! I stay on the lookout for those. Sometimes they are obvious, such as in a song I wrote called, "If You're So Smart, Why'd You Marry That Bitch?" It's so simple I couldn't believe it hadn't already been done. But it was fun to write and I still sing it sometimes. Another---and this is actually a more compelling song, although it is far simpler musically--simplistic, actually--is "I've Learned So Much From Her Mistakes." (Both those were in my e-book collection of lyrics, which is no longer on the market, so I'm not pluggin' 'em here, but some other day, they will be on the market in some form or other and I might mention it then....)

I like the chorus of the latter song:

"Her mistakes are my great teacher
Taught me everything I know,
Everything, that is, except
How to let her go."

[destinytot]

"If You're So Smart, Why'd You Marry That Bitch?"

Ha! (Kind of reminds me of the line "Yo' momma don't wear no drawers - we was there when she took 'em off!")

[Lazz]

if you like labour and sweats so much you could go mining probably?
(not meaning anyone here for sure!)

I used to be a tunnel miner but my back is no longer so strong and my stamina dissipated.
Now I apply expertise of a different order, with love, in pursuit of beauty.

what they do is about love and beauty and inspired

So I will take love and beauty as chosen guiding principles, no problem.
Yet still find the idea of inspiration can be a little .....er..... creepy.

I wonder how others here---who wish to talk about inspiration, and maybe even some who recoil from the term, define it or understand it.

Perhaps there are different orders of inspiration which seem to become confused in discussion.
An example I offered previously was Fran Landesman's "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most". Is there really any point or mileage in identifying T.S.Eliot's "The Wasteland" as its "inspiration"? Or is it more realistically seen as a mere starting point for the craft-work of building a song?

I posted a song-lyric of mine in amongst the "words we don't like" because it was apposite - being about linguistic style and fashion. So, was language abuse my inspiration? Or is it better to see my frustrations with malpractices as being simply an impetus to get to work on the idea, just as you suggest. Similarly, I have another witty ditty moulded from a phrase overheard at a bus-stop. "Inspiration" would seem to suggest so much more to me than this, something other-ly, mysterious and external, which my puny examples don't express to my satisfaction.

These initial stimulations I guess can fairly be recognised as "external" - but not from any spirit dimension. When others claim inspiration it seems they suggest authorial credit resides in a non-physical realm where a wand has been waved or an angel's pointing finger has annointed them special, all without need for them to break a sweat.

So, I don't know, the idea of a ghost being behind the work doesn't sit well with me.

Maybe envy plays a role in my reluctance. I mean, if others can just hand the steering wheel over to another entity and don't even need to be awake, why am I having to invest so much time and effort in my work? And what is it makes kenbennett so certain that without the interference of a higher power work will only be mediocre? The necessary corollary seems to be a devaluation and dismissal of my own investment of accumulated expertise and commitment. I cannot warm to that idea.

But I believe for me the greatest recoil punch issues from the implication that a wannabe writer doesn't have to learn or study, has no need to pay attention to how the giants who went before did it, and is exempt from any requirement to cultivate any deep love and appreciation for language and language arts. While none of that may apply for our jazzguitar.be people, elsewhere they are indeed preached enough as common articles of faith to cause me pain.

Interesting word, 'inspiration' - I see it as related to 'spirit' (as in 'life') and 'breath'.

The etymology is rooted in both.
The root of "enthusiasm" proves much more personally illuminating though. And I think it has relevance here, so I would like to share. It comes from the Greek "en theos" - which I interpret as "the god within" - which makes a lot of clear sense to me if we want to think of that little secret magic driving power inside ourselves when we engage with something we love. Instead of an external god notion, we have a god inside.

That works for me because it establishes desire as motivating life-force.
And because to give form to that desire requires discipline.
Craft.

The only time I engage with what I recognise as "spirit" is in performance.
I don't really know what it is or how it comes about and don't care to talk about it much other than knowing it as an ESP zone of shared consciousness we aim to conjure and invoke on stage.

I think Britain's Tony Hatch was 'inspired'.

I can't think of him that way. I think of him more on the highly skilled journeyman end of straight commercial hack work from where he can toss-off jingles and stings and TV themes as easy as spit..... and yet I am unable to identify any of his song catalogue which I would welcome into the realm of standards, or which I could imagine attractive enough for a jazzer to toy with. That doesn't mean that I don't admire his professionalism and ability to deliver the goods - at least he genuinely does all his own work unlike, say, Danny Elfman or Henry Mancini - but, for me, his work does not transcend his time and places like the work of others does.

Sammy Cahn---who wrote many great lyrics---when asked 'Which comes first, the lyrics or the music?' answered, "The check!"

Maybe that was someone else.
Sammy Cahn's real answer was "The phone-call."

[Lazz]

I like the chorus of the latter song:

"Her mistakes are my great teacher
Taught me everything I know,
Everything, that is, except
How to let her go."

I like it too.
Nice work,

[Jonah]

I really respect your opinions (and my posts were not arguments against yours actually)

The root of "enthusiasm" proves much more personally illuminating though. And I think it has relevance here, so I would like to share. It comes from the Greek "en theos" - which I interpret as "the god within" - which makes a lot of clear sense to me if we want to think of that little secret magic driving power inside ourselves when we engage with something we love. Instead of an external god notion, we have a god inside.

I like it but..
Inside - outside... not that simple.

[destinytot]

Hardly a standard, but great pop

[destinytot]

I like it but..
Inside - outside... not that simple.

+1 For me, 'inspiration' is more more than a subjective emotional state, and it involves accountability - not to persons/people (including imaginary ones) but to 'truth', 'knowledge' or 'ideals'.

[MarkRhodes]

The etymology is rooted in both.
The root of "enthusiasm" proves much more personally illuminating though. And I think it has relevance here, so I would like to share. It comes from the Greek "en theos" - which I interpret as "the god within" - which makes a lot of clear sense to me if we want to think of that little secret magic driving power inside ourselves when we engage with something we love. Instead of an external god notion, we have a god inside.

John Wesley and his brother Charles started what we now call the Methodist church (-the root, if not all the current branches) with an emphasis on private revelation and enthusiasm. I am not a fan of this idea, though I am aware it is hugely influential, even among many non-religious and even anti-religious people. (Harold Bloom's "The American Religion" makes for interesting reading in this context.)

[Lazz]

I never had any idea what Methodism professed to be, although I once suggested it was about acting religiously. Disappointingly, my correspondent had little humour and it was poorly received.

The father of one of my old co-writers spent a great deal of his life playing piano in touring religious tent-shows full of that stuff - "private revelation and enthusiasm" - plus loads of ululation and speaking in tongues. Must have been a fun household to grow up in.

Thanks for the Harry Bloom suggestion.
Another Jewish atheist.
Cool.

[destinytot]

Thanks for the Harry Bloom suggestion.
Another Jewish atheist.
Cool.

+1

[Jonah]

Thanks for the Harry Bloom suggestion.
Another Jewish atheist.
Cool.


))


I have a friend who is a religious Jew... when someone asked him something about Freud, he said: Oh come on... just another Jewish atheist who did not learn Torah well enough as a kid..

[MarkRhodes]

Speaking of Jewish friends, my friend Gail (from Queens, NY) always has a houseful for her annual Christmas party, which she calls a Christmas party. O, and she serves ham.
I once said to her, "You do know you're Jewish, right?"
She waved her hand and said, "That don't mean nothing. I love Christmas."
I didn't see that one coming.

[MarkRhodes]

The father of one of my old co-writers spent a great deal of his life playing piano in touring religious tent-shows full of that stuff - "private revelation and enthusiasm" - plus loads of ululation and speaking in tongues. Must have been a fun household to grow up in.

Those two don't often actually go together. My mother grew up going to tent revivals in Mississippi but no "holy rollers" (as the phrase was) went there. Wholly different deal. Methodists thought Christ died for all humanity, not just a limited group, and stressed building loving relationships with all people. They didn't speak in tongues and would look askance at anyone who did.

When I was in a Catholic seminary (-I was raised anti-Catholic), I served at an evening Mass with a Haitian friend from seminary. (He was obviously ordained by this time.) The Mass was for a small "charismatic" group in the parish, and they spoke in tongues.
After the Mass, they wanted to pray over us. Fr. Jean cut me a 'why not?' look and so we knelt while they formed a semi-circle around us and played in tongues. I felt like I was in the belly of an animal. (This sounds more negative than I intend.) It was an odd thing, though not unpleasant. "Life is wide," as the Spanish say (or so I've heard). But I couldn't help thinking, "I grew up among Southern Baptists who would stand for such 'foolishness' and here it is happening to me in a Catholic Church!"

Later, while spending a summer as a hospital chaplain, I befriend a woman who was a Pentecostal minister. (Her name was Evelyn and her license plate read "Rev Ev"). I learned that it was customary for her--and members of her community--to all pray together but with no one leading the prayer. Everyone prayed spontaneously, simultaneously. ("Hey, this is life free jazz!") It was another curious experience. From outside, it would sound--and be---a cacophony, but from inside, it feels radically different. (Not that her faith / practice became mine, but I realized it was different than I had imagined it to be.)

[Jonah]

"I drove a million miles and never traveled an inch"

Hey fep,

for a few days I tried to remember where I heard the line... and finally this morning I found in my notebook of about 20 years ago: 'I walked so many days but never made a step' )))

But then I saw that phrases are different


In the context with the guy living in a truck it may have a sence - more positive - like he never moved but with the power of his soul and imagination he was through all the world... that could be used as a impetus for a positive song - story...

The line I found actually was used in a sketch about Coriolanus' excile (those days I was inspired by ancient history) and the idea was that 'he thought he could leave the place but after all this he's still here'.
So it is more negative.

Probably we could take 'I drove..' line out of context and use it as 'Coriolanus' sence but

There are 'miles' and 'inches' - both mesearus of distance - it will work only in the context with the story about junk-car otherwise it is not so good.. because in my opinion metaphors should be still realistic to certain extent, and litterally you cannot drive a mile without traveling an inch...

In 'Coriolanus' line there are 'days' and 'step' - gives much more freedom to interprete, becasue 'days' is about time, and 'step' is about distance but not only, also 'making step' can have idiomatic meaning of 'taking decision'

Anyway both this 'I drove..' line and the story is great...


I

[Jonah]

I struggle to come up with my favorite lyrics for a jazz type of tune. For me, jazz is about improvisation, rhythm, interesting melody, and interesting harmonies. The lyrics get lost in the mix. Jazz for me is not the best music for enjoying lyrics.

I think simple and more repetitive music provides a better canvas to really highlight and draw ones focus to the lyrics.

Here is an example of Lyrics that I really like. The lyrics aren't completely obvious, they're thought provoking, ambiguous, mysterious, ... and there are probably more elements that I like that I'm not consciously aware of. I really should analyze lyrics that I like as part of the process of improving as a songwriter.

Many think this is a religious song. Rather, " “Hallelujah” is a robust canticle to lust, a wry ode to the glory of sex and a sad hymn to the eventual end of relationships."

“Hallelujah” – written by Leonard Cohen

I am not a Jew - but I have had serious interest in Jewish culture and I came to the conclusion that there are many 'atheist' Jews of the late periods (coming from assimilated families) who - probably unconciously - reflect and continue Jewish tradition... (Bob Dylan is really re-incarnation of some hassidic leaders...)

Hallelujah is this kind of song to me, if I had to illustrate it I would have taken Mar Chagall's Bible series

[MarkRhodes]

I am not a Jew - but I have had serious interest in Jewish culture and I came to the conclusion that there are many 'atheist' Jews of the late periods (coming from assimilated families) who - probably unconciously - reflect and continue Jewish tradition... (Bob Dylan is really re-incarnation of some hassidic leaders...)

Hallelujah is this kind of song to me, if I had to illustrate it I would have taken Mar Chagall's Bible series

Jonah, you are a gift to this community! What an amazing series of posts you have made.

[Lazz]

touring religious tent-shows full of that stuff - "private revelation and enthusiasm" - plus loads of ululation and speaking in tongues.

a woman who was a Pentecostal minister.

Ah yes - these were the geezers speaking in tongues, the pentacostalists and their pentacostalisms (of which my guess is there are five)

I came to the conclusion that there are many 'atheist' Jews of the late periods (coming from assimilated families) who - probably unconciously - reflect and continue Jewish tradition...

I don't know for sure how you mean them, Jonah, but the convention in my English-English world is that sticking quote marks (single or double) around a word or phrase is indication of either a real quotation or the fact that you are being ironic and don't really mean it. So I am now curious which notion your 'atheist' falls under.

Post-Shoa it seems easily understandable that so many Red Sea pedestrians would remove god from their equations. In my experience, the cultural traditions reflected and continued are the tiresome and tireless habit of proceeding through argument, and the legacy of Torah reduced to "whatever it is you don't like being done to you, don't do that to anyone else".

Among the non-assimilated sects, however, we see instead the terrible irony of fascism.

'I walked so many days but never made a step'

Oh yes.
Thank you.
I find this version much more satisfying than its previous rendition.

[MarkRhodes]

Ah yes - these were the geezers speaking in tongues, the pentacostalists and their pentacostalisms (of which my guess is there are five)

Actually, one should expect fifty, not five, as 'Pentecost' means fiftieth day (after Easter Sunday).

[Lazz]

This place is an absolute mine-field of information.

[Jonah]

This place is an absolute mine-field of information.

I thought you said you did not go mining any more?

I don't know for sure how you mean them, Jonah, but the convention in my English-English world is that sticking quote marks (single or double) around a word or phrase is indication of either a real quotation or the fact that you are being ironic and don't really mean it. So I am now curious which notion your 'atheist' falls under.

In my multi-language world it does not necessarily mean an irony... I used it becasue it was used before and I wanted to keep connection with previous posts but at the same time it does not seem to fit perfectly - aince I meant people from assimilated families who are not necessarily atheist in general sence (could be Christians fro example).

Among the non-assimilated sects, however, we see instead the terrible irony of fascism.

I see here only the terrible irony of internet so far

[Jonah]

Jonah, you are a gift to this community! What an amazing series of posts you have made.

Thanks Mark..

all I have to do now is to post something on jazz guitar)

[destinytot]

Thanks Mark..

all I have to do now is to post something on jazz guitar)

Frankly, your posts 'inspire' 'jazz' guitar. (They also 'inform' - especially about aesthetics, about which I'm hungry for information.)

Of course, others' posts inspire, too. On this thread, I've read some fabulous lyrics to songs I might otherwise not have considered - included several from outside 'jazz'.

Hearing those songs inspires me to turn to them as an important sources that I may have overlooked - and to arrange and orchestrate them to my taste: (rhythm section) MOOG/synth sub-bass + double bass & percussion, plus electric keyboard chords + cello & flute counterlines for 'sweetening', with (mostly) vocal + guitar melody. (If anyone is interested to know, I've actively sought out a keyboard player from hip-hop - I know what I'm doing, and it's going to be great.)

It also suggests a 'home' for lyrics I've written but haven't found a place for within a repertoire (for reasons of style and compatibility).

(I only need to notate an indication of 'groove' and melodies plus lines for cello and flute, because chord symbols cover the rest - but I wish I was able the actually produce notation more quickly.)

[destinytot]

This place is an absolute mine-field of information.

I'm being pedantic, and perhaps I'm slow to catch irony (in which case, please excuse me), but I'm curious to know whether you meant 'mine' as in 'a tunnel within which one digs' (which is what I understood). I understand a 'minefield' to be an area in which explosives have been buried.

[MarkRhodes]

Another favorite lyric, Cole Porter's "Just One Of Those Things" sung by Ella Fitzgerald, complete with verse.

As Dorothy Parker once said
To her boyfriend, "fare thee well"
As Columbus announced
When he knew he was bounced,
"It was swell, Isabel, swell"

As Abelard said to Eloise,
"Don't forget to drop a line to me, please"
As Juliet cried, in her Romeo's ear,
"Romeo, why not face the fact, my dear"

It was just one of those things
Just one of those crazy flings
One of those bells that now and then rings
Just one of those things

It was just one of those nights
Just one of those fabulous flights
A trip to the moon on gossamer wings
Just one of those things

If we'd thought a bit, of the end of it
When we started painting the town
We'd have been aware that our love affair
Was too hot, not to cool down

So good-bye, dear, and amen
Here's hoping we meet now and then
It was great fun
But it was just one of those things

If we'd thought a bit, of the end of it
When we started painting the town
We'd have been aware that our love affair
Was too hot, not to cool down

So good-bye, dear, and amen
Here's hoping we meet now and then
It was great fun
But it was just one of those things

Just one of those things