Like many, I'm in lockdown. I've used the time in isolation to sort through years and years of papers. When my Mum downsized from the family home a few years ago, I took a few boxes from her place that were STILL (after all these years) in my old bedroom closet. I opened one of these boxes today to find my old lyric book. It's a collection of 81 lyrics written when I was 16 and 17! lol
I've had quite the giggle going through them. They are........bloody awful. Most are corny love songs and have earned their place in the fire that now warms the room. Here's a lesson in poor writing. Happy cringe-fest folks...
You are with me in body not mind
I hold your hand, but you don't hold mine [OH Lord!]
I am the heart of what we had
What's inside that mind of yours? [gag]
I can see the daylight
turn to moonlight
in the star light
I can see your eyes
shining out to me [oh dear, oh dear, gag, gag, gag]
And then there's this piece of music history as 16 year old me writes about music history (oh dear):
There was a man
His name was Elvis,
A king in his own time
and the Beattles
they played music
of a different kind
Suffice to say, my house is now 81 pages of drivel cleaner and my lounge is 81 pages of flame warmer. ?
https://soundcloud.com/jennystokes-nz
http://evansandstokes.com
https://www.facebook.com/evansandstokes/
John Lennon lamented throwing away stuff he wrote as a young boy/man, saying, "Who was I to judge?"
You may be seeing a gold mine of youthful point-of-view regarding relationships, love, sense of self that you could mine for insight into emotions and thought that are still common among young people.
Young people handle a few billion dollars a year, making spending decisions, so appealing to them for whatever you're selling, music, or music Synchronization Licensed to sell EVERYTHING else, might be priceless! You might be throwing your gold mine in the fire!
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
"I hold your hand, but you don't hold mine."
That's a metaphor for unrequited love, the germ of a Blues lament!
The "daylight, moonlight, starlight" struck me as something that would sing well.
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
Whoa up there just a minute, don't burn them papers yet,
You're with me in body not mind,
I hold your hand you won't hold mine.
I keep in my heart what we had,
forever more - for all time.
I see daylight turn to moonlight,
and the star light in your eyes,
shining out to me,
reaching out to me.
Tell me dear please tell me,
what is in your mind.
Can't help with the second piece, sorry. Good luck and best wishes,
Speak soon
Music is an international language, say it with a song. deaconmusic4u@gmail.com
Oh, but the second piece is SO good, Deacon. There was a man. His name was Elvis. Can't get any better than that! ?
https://soundcloud.com/jennystokes-nz
http://evansandstokes.com
https://www.facebook.com/evansandstokes/
"I hold your hand, but you don't hold mine."
That's a metaphor for unrequited love, the germ of a Blues lament!
The "daylight, moonlight, starlight" struck me as something that would sing well.
You've got a good point there about the blues lament, Gary, but the daylight, moonlight, starlight is just too sappy I can't bear it. ?
https://soundcloud.com/jennystokes-nz
http://evansandstokes.com
https://www.facebook.com/evansandstokes/
Where I end and you begin
I find my hand in yours again
As my heart aches to wander
Who's the I you most ponder
Every day has a night
Not every star shines so bright
All I see in your eyes
Is your desire smothering me...
https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandid=1449856
Ouch! Imagine being in that person's shoes...being smothered by desire. ?
https://soundcloud.com/jennystokes-nz
http://evansandstokes.com
https://www.facebook.com/evansandstokes/
Ok, being on the young edge here, I am 100% afraid this is what I'll think of my current music when I grow up, haha! There seems to be truth in the thought that without first writing poorly, it is impossible to write well. It is my only comfort XD
Someone sagely observed: "Writers write."
That's what writers do. And by writing, they learn to write.
As a Songwriter, you are the first listener. You should be 'hooked', or not, the same way you hope others will be.
The first sounds you present, your Introductory Movement, has Hook Factor. It hooked you. That's why you kept doing it, until you found that first Line of Lyric, that next chord change on your instrument.
Something in your firs Line of Lyric hooked you anew. You and/or your Singer-Character in the Song were intrigued by the idea(s) expressed in that first Line. You wanted to know more. You wanted your Singer-Character to tell more. Or you wanted to tell more, if it was autobiographical to some degree. The story implied in that first Line began to form in your imagination. That 'world' where the Singer-Character lived started to take shape, become a 'reality' you could imagine. An imaginary reality. Imagine that. Or you wanted to tell other things about your own reality that went along with what you told in that first Line. You wrote. Writers write.
And, by writing, you're learning to write. Each Song is educational toward the next Song. We learn. We learn to express ideas. We learn to sing words in prosody as Melodies, accompanied by your instrument(s), landing words on the beat, in the tempo, fitting it all together. You learn to do all that by doing all that. Soon it becomes natural. Of course you're in tune, on key. Of course you're on the beat. Of course your words form a series of coherent thoughts, telling what you want to tell. Of course you, the first listener, are hooked. You learn to create what you like to create. Creators create. Writers write. Songwriters write Songs. And by doing they learn how to do.
It can be educational to go back and look at writings over time and see what stands out to you. What did you do well? What did you do that you are more critical of now? An actor said, "You can learn as much from a bad piece of film as you can from a good one." You can learn from bad writing, bad Songs, spotting the flaws, in your opinion, by examining them with a critical eye and ear, and learning not to make those mistakes. Writing teaches you to write. So write. Alright? I know! Right?
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
(;U DA MAN GARY;) Da SONGWRITER
Larry G. Killam