Page 88 - Song Maps - A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics - Simon Hawkins
P. 88
hitting a touching moment in the musical. V1 and V2 develop the two characters singing this duet, confirming the positive impact each one has on the other. The Chorus cleverly builds toward the twist, establishing by the end of the song that they have both been changed for good, meaning changed for the better AND changed forever. Brilliant work.
See also "The Hammer" from the musical Matilda for a variation involving one big figurative lyric.
Jazz
Shirley Bassey's "Big Spender" is an excellent example of the kind of subtle word twist I was talking about earlier, taking one word and making it mean something different with a contraction or extension, relevant and cool ("Hey Big Spender, spend a little time with me"). The Map doesn't totally fit as well to this song versus other songs, but if you take the last two lines (the Refrain) as being a substitute for the Chorus and you have V1 building the meaning of what "Big Spender" is before the refrain delivers the punchline. The Big Spender is spending MONEY and spending TIME. No V2 but the B section sells the idea in the Refrain a little more before repeating V1. Cool crafting of a minimalistic classic.
"I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" by Ella Fitzgerald is a great example of a different kind of twist, an idea twist rather than a word or phase twist, using opposites. Great approach.
Exercise
If you have a copy of the Song Maps Workbook, this would be a good time to complete Exercise #7 – Twist.