Step AWAY from the cliche!!

[scoobz]

Everytime I try to write lyrics I end up with the same old cliches. Granted I'm trying to write 'pop' lyrics but still, how do you guys write vocals and hooks?

I get a theme, a story, a flow and go from there but find myself walking the same tried and tested route and giving up because it's so generic.

Frustrated,

Scoobz.

[1-2-Many]

I find lyrics go better when it's something I'm connected to and invested in. Maybe your ideas feel shallow because you're merely aping them, not experiencing them???

[Armored78]

any examples? are you rhyming(?) in your lyrics?

right off the bat, i feel that stepping outside of rhyming can really expand your lyrical borders. once you do it a couple of times, it becomes much easier.

also, try writing about something completely mundane as opposed to the typical subjects (i.e. relationships); for example, i'm currently looking out of my office window at a construction site. there are huge piles of dirt that resemble mountains and puddles of water that look like mini lakes. try taking that image and describe it metaphorically (this is just an excercise, btw). i used to find that doing that on a regular basis seemed to make my lyrics more interesting.

just a thought.

[wrench45us]

listen to 'Between the Buttons' Rolling Stones

then do the opposite

those lyrics read like Mick had a rhyming dictionary at hand 24/7


for positive example listen to Dave Alvin or Tom Waits

[scoobz]

thanks for the feedback, it could well be a combination of all those factors, thanks for the food for thought.

[burkek]

For how NOT to write lyrics, check out KMFDM. Cliche after cliche after cliche ... Zzzz.

Love the music. Hate the lyrics.

KEv

[Ogg Vorbis]

Cliche' lyrics avoidance exercise:

Complete the following:

1. You're always in my heart...
a) whenever we're apart
b) but I don't know where to start
c) Like Cupid with a dart
b) When I think of you I shart

2. Here comes the night...
a) It's gonna be all right
b) Gonna rock 'til the mornin' light
c) Gonna love you with all my might
d) Hope this goat doesn't bite

3. You're the one that I miss..
a) Wanna feel your lovin' kiss
b) Lovin' you is bliss
c) You're my sweet happiness
d) Damn! It hurts when I piss

4. Wanna rock your body baby
a) You know I don't mean maybe
b) You're drivin' me so crazy
c) Are you gonna be my lady
d) And take you down to Haiti

5. C'mon and take my hand
a) You're my woman, I'm your man
b) I'm trying to make you understand
c) Gonna shout it across the land
d) Like a skunk I have a special gland

[Ogg Vorbis]

I have a theory that cliche' lyrics actually serve a useful purpose. In songs with interesting lyrics, the deeper poetic meaning pulls your attention in.

Maybe a song with vacuous lyrics serve to provide vocal content that "goes in one ear and out the other" so that you can focus on the groove and feel and not get "distracted" by anything lyrically challenging.

There are some songs that exist to be heard while rolling your car windows down on a warm evening and speed toward your social engagements.

Some songs SHOULD have cliche' lyrics. So, doesn't it all just depend on what you want your listener to hear?

[eduardo_b]

Everytime I try to write lyrics I end up with the same old cliches. Granted I'm trying to write 'pop' lyrics but still, how do you guys write vocals and hooks?

I get a theme, a story, a flow and go from there but find myself walking the same tried and tested route and giving up because it's so generic.

Frustrated,

Scoobz.

If it's any consolation, I'd say songwriting is a talent that relatively few have as a natural gift. Those who do are both prolific and sought after as collaborators. For everyone else, it's a lot of work and even then only some songs will be more than a string of clichés.

The existence of clichés is proof of a commonality of emotions and feelings among people, and clichés are a shared expression of these. It seems to me the most non-cliché lyrics find new ways of saying the same thing from a different perspective. It starts with a phrase or sentence and then builds from that. Stories are often the most interesting way of expressing yourself while avoiding most clichés.

As a writer, but not a songwriter, I can tell you that the first line(s) can either be the door to more or the beginning of the end.

[Doug1978-OLD]

Scoobz - in addition to the much more sensible ideas above, would you be willing to take a break from worrying about 'pop' lyrics for a short time and instead write something for heavy metal/trance/folk etc?
This might give you a fresh perspective on what makes 'pop' lyrics work when you return to it a few weeks later, and will certainly give you some new view points in any case.

Admittedly, this perhaps isn't the greatest piece of advice ever, given that I usually write dub tracks (with the odd vocal section occasionally emerging from the dense cloud of space echo, spring and ganga)...


Good luck!

[DrGonzo]

I made my own biggest breakthrough after producing an own solo album with 20+ songs. That made me allergic to my own clichés - lyric- and music-wise. In other words - I bored myself to death.

The second tip I would like to share, is to read a good book on the subject. I have read many seriously bad books that tries to teach writing of lyrics and most of them just made me feel worse. The only really good book I've read on the subject is called 'Writing better lyrics' by a guy called Pat Pattison (http://www.patpattison.com/home/). That book takes a structured approach to forming of ideas, developing them, avoiding clichés and how to make good lyrics even more interesting. Check it out!

/Carl

[yellowfever]

I think I'm better (?) at producing, mixing, writing music than lyrics, which is why I collaborate with lyricists / singers from abroad / home. 2 heads are better than 1.

[experimental.crow]

burma shave