Page 76 - Song Maps - A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics - Simon Hawkins

Map 5 - Roles
Roles is another lovely Map for developing a plot or story.
Roles could mean any number of things, the obvious being different characters. It could also take on different viewpoints, such as my feelings for you and your feelings for me (e.g. "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran) or what I think of you and what you think of me ("Blank Space" by Taylor Swift).
Again, there are great examples of the effective use of Roles across all genres of music, in Country, Modern Country, CCM, Pop, and in Musicals and Jazz.
What does Roles look like?
Roles is a great technique to build the context of a title by spotlighting different points of view on the same idea. It is similar to Timezones and Places insofar as we are using different scenes to drive the song forward.
It's also very effective because with each section we can include a lot of "furniture," or specific detail, to recolor the Chorus from fresh perspectives.
The trick with Roles is not so much what characters or perspectives we spotlight, but the very best crafting will move the story on with each section rather than just repeating essentially the same message two or three times. So we are looking for plot development at the same time as fresh perspectives.
Roles can be represented as follows:
How to use Roles
In working with Roles, the key decisions you will need to make are as follows: