Lyrically Speaking: The Art Of Writing Lyrics and Poetry
Stan Grimes
November 06, 2008
Lyrics are a very personal and intimate form of poetry. Sometimes known as sonnets, odes, or elegies, lyrics express a writer's deepest emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Lyrics are song-like and generally rhyme. Most often lyrics are set to music. We call them "songs." Brilliant deduction, eh?
Years ago I wrote a lyrical poem and submitted it to an American Song Festival contest. I came in second place (Folk Category) and won seventy-five bucks. Hey, back then seventy-five bucks was, well, seventy-five bucks. The way I did it was probably a little unconventional. I thought of a song written by Arlo Guthrie and hummed it while inserting my own words in place of Arlo's. Since the contest was only for lyrics, the only thing submitted were the words…in case you were thinking "Stan is a plagiarizing creep."
Though unconventional, the lyrics contained a rhythmic beat and carried a message of emotion. If you are a lyrical poet, you will definitely want to keep an eye on the rhythmic flow of your words. Generally, though, rhyming poems or lyrical creations have a natural flow to them unless of course you are like Steve Martin's character in the classic movie, "The Jerk." His character, "Navin," had not an ounce of rhythm, not even in his little toe.
I have noticed that in much of today's music rhyming is not a necessity, but flow and rhythm are. Songwriters are often musicians and therefore create their own lyrics set to their own melody. Or, as many songwriters do, they collaborate with another artist to create their masterpieces. Perhaps you will remember, as I have, the fantastic creations by Elton John and his friend, Bernie Taupin. Bernie wrote the lyrics while Elton created the music. These two men created a plethora of hits never to be forgotten, e.g., "Bennie And The Jets," "Crocodile Rock," "Rocket Man," and many others.
Now, if I may be so bold as to jump forward a generation or two, I would like to give you the first four lines of a song by one of my favorite groups, Coldplay. The song is "Yellow" and it is an example of a song with lyrics that do not necessarily rhyme, but the flow is marvelous:
"Look at the stars
See how they shine for you,
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow…" (Coldplay)
Obviously the word "yellow" does not fit into the rhyming scheme, but if you have heard the song you will notice that just after the last syllable in yellow, the rhyme is created musically. A guitar chord finishes it with sort of a "do" sound, which of course rhymes with the line before, a genius bit of creativity.
Whether you choose to rhyme your lyrics is not as important as what you are trying to say. What is your message? Many songs are politically oriented, humor-oriented, or emotionally oriented, i.e., love, sadness, hatred, etc. Or, your song could be a combination of all-of-the-above. There is no question you must write with your heart, but you also must keep your passion at bay with remembering form, rhythm, and rhyme. In other words, keep your head about you. Don't be afraid to try some new ways to say, "I love you," "I hate you," or "this government sucks."
Okay, grab your dictionary, thesaurus, rhyming dictionary, a pen and paper, and have at it. Have fun. It's your song. You own it (be careful not to plagiarize an old song you remember from the past). You don't want to end up in jail now, do you?
Years ago I wrote a lyrical poem and submitted it to an American Song Festival contest. I came in second place (Folk Category) and won seventy-five bucks. Hey, back then seventy-five bucks was, well, seventy-five bucks. The way I did it was probably a little unconventional. I thought of a song written by Arlo Guthrie and hummed it while inserting my own words in place of Arlo's. Since the contest was only for lyrics, the only thing submitted were the words…in case you were thinking "Stan is a plagiarizing creep."
Though unconventional, the lyrics contained a rhythmic beat and carried a message of emotion. If you are a lyrical poet, you will definitely want to keep an eye on the rhythmic flow of your words. Generally, though, rhyming poems or lyrical creations have a natural flow to them unless of course you are like Steve Martin's character in the classic movie, "The Jerk." His character, "Navin," had not an ounce of rhythm, not even in his little toe.
I have noticed that in much of today's music rhyming is not a necessity, but flow and rhythm are. Songwriters are often musicians and therefore create their own lyrics set to their own melody. Or, as many songwriters do, they collaborate with another artist to create their masterpieces. Perhaps you will remember, as I have, the fantastic creations by Elton John and his friend, Bernie Taupin. Bernie wrote the lyrics while Elton created the music. These two men created a plethora of hits never to be forgotten, e.g., "Bennie And The Jets," "Crocodile Rock," "Rocket Man," and many others.
Now, if I may be so bold as to jump forward a generation or two, I would like to give you the first four lines of a song by one of my favorite groups, Coldplay. The song is "Yellow" and it is an example of a song with lyrics that do not necessarily rhyme, but the flow is marvelous:
"Look at the stars
See how they shine for you,
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow…" (Coldplay)
Obviously the word "yellow" does not fit into the rhyming scheme, but if you have heard the song you will notice that just after the last syllable in yellow, the rhyme is created musically. A guitar chord finishes it with sort of a "do" sound, which of course rhymes with the line before, a genius bit of creativity.
Whether you choose to rhyme your lyrics is not as important as what you are trying to say. What is your message? Many songs are politically oriented, humor-oriented, or emotionally oriented, i.e., love, sadness, hatred, etc. Or, your song could be a combination of all-of-the-above. There is no question you must write with your heart, but you also must keep your passion at bay with remembering form, rhythm, and rhyme. In other words, keep your head about you. Don't be afraid to try some new ways to say, "I love you," "I hate you," or "this government sucks."
Okay, grab your dictionary, thesaurus, rhyming dictionary, a pen and paper, and have at it. Have fun. It's your song. You own it (be careful not to plagiarize an old song you remember from the past). You don't want to end up in jail now, do you?