Page 4 - Write Away November Issue

The Lyrics Doctor

Thomas Ray Hinks from UK Midlands asks start riffing
about co-writing and collaborating. on words and
lines, you can
While my writing tends to be very personal, often come up
I’ve also benefited greatly from collaborations with some-
over the years. If you’re in a band, of course, thing that’s
you’re often going to end up co-writing on better than
some level. When I compose a song, even if it’s what you
very complete in my mind, it’s really more akin might have
to a visual artist’s pencil sketch than a fully done on your
realized landscape painting. Yes, you can see own.
the broad outlines--the bridge, the river, the
trees--but you don’t know the colors and many Recently, a friend and I co-wrote a silly country
of the details that really fill things out and song called Between Wives, an the idea that
provide the was sparked when I overheard an
nuance and acquaintance say, “Yeah, I’m between wives
richness of the right now.” So we started musing about what a
composition. couple of old guys who’ve been married
Once the multiple times might have to talk about, and
drummer we came up with the concept of a duet in which
comes up with they complain about their failed relationships.
a drum part We each tossed out various ideas such as how
and the marriages went bad and sordid details of
percussion, the the women they’d married. (Guy 1: My fourth
bassist wife was a dancer / Guy 2: My fifth worked in
develops a bass a school / Guy 1: She waltzed with all the fellas
line, the violin and trumpet work up their solos / Guy 2: Mine taught me I was a fool ). I could
and backing parts, and I’ve added extra guitars probably have come up with a lot of that
and perhaps changed bits here and there to suit material, or something similar, on my own, but
suggestions from the others, it becomes it was much more fun working with a
something different from what I initially co-writer, and
brought into the rehearsal room. likely faster
(we got a draft
But I’ve also worked with other songwriters on of the song
more classic collaborations along the lines of that was pretty

Tin Pan Alley in New York around the turn of close to final
the last century, the Brill Building in the 1950s in just a
and ‘60s, or Music Row in Nashville today. In couple of
those situations, I like bouncing ideas off hours).
another person and getting immediate
feedback. If you start with a concept and just I’ve also

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