Different Forms of Lyrics

Video Transcript

"The narrative is one form of lyric, more of a form of storytelling, like a balladeer. Another form is a more poetic form. The Beatles were very good as examples of that kind of very simple language, but language that would use metaphors instead of speaking directly about something you'd use a metaphor. Even something like "Norwegian Wood," as an image or "Strawberry Fields," as an image. Were not necessarily specifically about those things, those places. They were about the concept and the idea that was represented. That's more imagistic writing or metaphorical writing. Instead of saying, you know, "you broke my heart," you might say, "my heart is weeping, or my heart is bleeding, or waters flow from my heart for you." What is unique about lyric writing is that lyrics are designed to be sung. And so, as songwriters, we often struggle with how is the best way to say this. And my advice to you is that you first start with how it kind, exactly how it comes to you. I'm going to start, use an example of a song that I wrote which I struggled a little bit with, because as I stated earlier, this is more of a poetic song and it's more of a metaphorical song. It's called "The Light I Release." And I decided to use an image, although I didn't decide consciously to use that image. I decided that because it sort of kind of appeared to me that way. This idea of, the concept of this song, the heart of this song, is about fully being who we are and allowing that being of who we are as light to come through us and to be released. So that's the heart of this song. So I started, when I started writing this, these are, this would be an example of lyrics that are more metaphorical because it's about me as a person, or anyone of us as a person. But it's using the image of light through a window. So it goes like this, "There is a light through my window, a shining light at my door. And as I open to each moment, the light is shining more." So that is the first phrase of that song, the verse. The interesting thing about this is that the reason that I leave these measures at the end is to allow the space for the notion of light shining. So that the listener has a rest and is allowed to see that light shining through the window in whatever way the listener, the listener's imagination can see it."