Songwriting Update (February 2024)....Writing Better Lyrics

Sunday February 18th 2024

Ok songwriting check in time, and… I’m pretty pleased. A consultation with the big black writing book reveals it to be full, leaving songs to be tallied from the new, smaller black writing book. Filling up this first book is an oddly satisfying achievement in itself. Six new songs have nevertheless appeared since the last check in on January 12th, four of which I’d say have promise, tentatively titled ‘That Won’t Change’, ‘Tigers’, ‘The Ballad Of That & This’ and ‘Horses’. Where the animal preoccupation is coming from right now I don’t know, but, fyi, ‘Tigers’ isn’t actually about tigers, and ‘Horses’ (sorry Mrs. K.) isn’t actually about horses. Another one, ‘Outsiders’ arrived yesterday morning. I don’t know how I feel about that one yet. It hasn’t been through ‘the process’......

This current process though, requires elaboration, because it’s on the move. I’ve been reading a book called “How To Write Better Lyrics” by Pat Pattison, a Berklee College professor of music. As I’ve read each chapter, I’ve tried to go back to as many of my songs as I can to see if they pass muster. It’s an interesting read and, as you might expect, it’s got a lot of advice on what makes a good lyric and what doesn’t. I’ve even tried to boil it down to a checklist of maybe half a dozen points I can easily refer to, to see if I’m on course, and you know what my main conclusion is? Music, or indeed I suspect any art, shouldn’t have a checklist. Or at the very least, one you shouldn’t blindly follow. Ok….if you want to be commercially successful, maybe there’s a checklist….beats per minute, hit the chorus in under sixty seconds…..that kind of stuff. That's not a consideration for me though ;-)

The book isn’t advocating any of that though. It’s a considered explanation of successful lyrical structures, clear communication, correct tense, progression, and the avoidance of being cliched and derivative. Which are all things I now understand, but will probably ignore as and when it suits me, because it’s MY art. Just like you should choose what to ignore and what to embrace when you make yours.