Page 8 - Write Away November Issue

Turning Good Lyrics Into Great Lyrics
How to Increase the Emotional Impact of
Your Lyric Writing
Good songs elicit an emotional response in your
audience. You make your audience feel something.
Great songs take you on an emotional journey, telling
a story not just with a plot but also with emotions.
You can take control of your lyric writing by
planning the emotional journey in the early stages of
lyric writing.
Most simply, an emotional journey is moving
between two or more emotional states. The song is
more interesting to the listener because of the
tension between different emotions and how the
story is resolved.
Sample Example:
Verse: We were unhappy together
Pre-Chorus: I didn’t see the end coming
Chorus: I’m free and happy now
Bridge: The breakup was for the best, but I didn’t
know it at the time.
This is more engaging than 3 minutes of “I’m sad
you’re gone.”
Examining songs you love will give you insights into
how other songwriters craft an emotional narrative.
It will also help you get past surface details to the
emotional core of your lyrics. You can create a more
powerful experience for your audience.
Three Musical Examples of Emotional Journeys/
Click the title of each musical example to watch the
song on YouTube.
Adele, Rolling in the Deep.
Written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth.
Never get on the bad side of a songwriter… the world
will find out about it!
Verse 1: Anger with clarity, “Finally I can see your
crystal clear”
Pre-Chorus: Regret because “we almost had it all”
08
Chorus: I’m okay now, “We could have it all”
Verse 2: Vengeful anger, “Think of me in the depths
of your despair”
Bridge: No regrets, I’m stronger now “Turn my
sorrow into treasured gold”
Meghan Trainer, No.
Written by Eric Frederic, Meghan Trainor, Jacob
Kasher.
On the surface, No is about a woman explaining to
her friends how to ignore sexual advances. At a
deeper level, it’s about women taking control of a
situation and defusing a potentially dangerous
scenario.
Verses: I’m not interested in your advances. I know
what you’re doing, don’t take my rejection personally.
Pre-Chorus: Ladies, there is a way to feel safe, do
this…
Chorus: I’m in control, this is how to block unwanted
advances.
Bridge: I’m safe from sexual
harassment “I’m feeling
untouchable”
Neil Young, Keep on Rockin’ in
the Free World.
Written by Neil Young
Watch Neil Young: Why Rockin’
in the Free World is so
Misunderstood for insights into
the political references in the
song.
This song is a criticism of the
political and economic world of
the late 1980s, with specific
references to the United States.
Neil Young uses a simpler
framework than the other
examples, with only verses and a
chorus. He develops the
emotional journey through the
verses. Each verse presents a
different angle on some of the
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