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25 Proven Steps

To Lyric Writing Heaven

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1. Practice, practice, practice. Just like any other from it.
creative process such as playing guitar or
programming synth sounds, lyric-writing is a skill 9. Use perspective. For example, a classic
that CAN be learnt and improved upon. songwriting trick is to describe an event in the first
verse, and add perspective by describing how it
2. Don’t be disheartened if your lyrics aren’t perfect affected you or made you feel in the second verse.
on your first draft. Many professional writers will Another view point can put an interesting spin on an
rewrite a song’s lyrics dozens of times before they otherwise straightforward point.
make it onto record.
10. Choruses require a different approach to verses,
3. Persevere. More often than not, songs aren’t born, especially if you’re writing pop. They often need to
they’re created and sculpted. Don’t expect a song to be more ‘plain’ and easy to remember. A common
arrive fully formed - they sometimes take time and trick is to write the ‘setup’ during the verse, and the
you’ll need to work at it. emotional ‘payoff’ in the chorus.

4. If you can’t quite figure out how to say what you 11. Experiment with rhythm within a line. A line
want within a particular line, jot down the gist of it can have its own rhythmic bounce or flair and still fit
and move on to another part of the song - you can in within the overall rhyming scheme.
come back to it later. That way, you won’t spend
hours wrestling with one small line that might turn 12. Use light and shade. Contrasting the
out to be insignificant in the wider context of the happy and positive with the sad and downbeat
song. within a song can be very powerful. Context is
everything: a joyous chorus after a more solemn
5. Try to have a clear idea of what the song is about. verse can make the chorus even more uplifting.
You should be able to sum up the essence of the song
in one sentence.

6. Analyse other songs. Try to pick out the
differences in lyrics between your favourite songs
and your own, and apply any lyrical techniques you
learn to your own work.

7. Make sure the lyric has a clear structure and
progression. This is particularly important in
narrative songs (songs that tell a story). A quick test
is to read the finished lyric through from start to
finish, asking yourself “does this make sense to me?”

8. Use context. Adding a back-story to explain the
situation (for example) can add interest, and can
change the entire meaning of any lyrics following on

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