Search options (Page 2 of 41)

Thanks Jim, I appreciate the explanation. Being a lyrics kind of guy I'm always curious what the writer of a song was thinking and I suppose my technical/engineering backround sometimes causes me to over-analyze what i think are great songs in an attempt to understand how each part of the song works together to achieve the end product.

Phill - you can call me Ken or Ed, I answer to both. Just don't call me late for dinner.      

Thanks Jim.....Whew! I was worried that I had changed the song so far from your "vision" that you would hate my version.

Years ago I used to drive 80 miles twice a month to attend a songwriters group. We often did songwriting "exercises". Sometimes we would be given a song title or "hook" and we'd each write a song from it. Sometimes we were given lyrics and told to create a melody for it. It was interesting how different the songs would be. I remember once the exercise was to view an event from someone else's view point. A newspaper article was read and then we each were assigned a character and write a paragraph or two about the event from that person's viewpoint. Once there was an article about two teenagers killed during a drive-by shooting. I was assigned to write a paragraph about the event from the viewpoint of the hairdresser that worked at the salon where the two mothers had their hair done.

My favorite was when we were given two slips of paper. On one we would write an idea for a song title and the second we wrote our name. The titles would be placed in one hat and names in another. The group coordinator would pull two names out of a hat and tell them they had one hour to write a song called (then he'd pull the title from the other hat). After the hour was up, each duo had to perform their song for the group. Not many great songs were written, but over time you got to work with a lot of different songwriters and learn their methods and how they approached writing a song. I was able to learn a lot of different styles and little tricks and get some insight how other writers worked.

Jim, you said you played your song in a fast, bluesy style. When I read the lyrics I envisioned it as sort of a "Youth Anthem".  Here's my rendition. I apologize  for changing a few words to fit my style. I used a simple chord progression - just D and G for the verses with an A thrown in at the end of the last line. For the Chorus it was just a walk-down to Em and A.  It's just me and an acoustic and a little reverb. I'm sure some of the more talented chordians could do a better job of showcasing what you've written. It's a fabulous song.

https://soundcloud.com/user-198880521/j … -my-dreams

I'm guessing every young songwriter in Nashville has used that site. The older ones use a pocket rhyming dictionary.      

Excellent example Peatle. Normally a song that lasts over 8 minutes would get pretty boring, but the song tells an interesting story, there are clever lyrics and references, the rhymes and "inner rhymes" are well done, plus the frequent tempo changes, melodic changes  and dramatic pauses all work together to hold the listener's attention and make the length of the song one of the enduring qualities that has lasted over the years.  No doubt most of us that heard it for the first time were able to join in and sing along with the chorus by the end of the song and intrigued enough by the story line to listen to the song again and again.     

Those are three good choices for songwriters Peatle. For me it's Willie Nelson, James Taylor and David Mallett. If they were still alive I would have picked Merle Haggard, John Denver and Townes Van Zandt. Do you have any songs that you consider to be a "roadmap" of how a great song should be written? And if you do, why?     

I disagree. Sure, if a songwriter is rhyming at the expense of the "story" then they're not doing a very good job of song writing and not putting in the work necessary to make a good song. To me, it seems much easier to avoid trying to rhyme and just write a story and attach a melody to it.  I admit  I've written a couple of songs that only used rhymes in the chorus.  I had spent hours trying to tell the story with rhyming verses but ended taking the easy way out.  One of the songwriting seminars I attended was hosted by a successful Nashville songwriter. He said one of the keys to a good song is to write a simple chorus with a memorable hook (which should also be the song title) so upon hearing the song for the first time,  by the end of the song the listener will not only be singing along with the chorus but will remember the name of the song for future reference. If a "song" is basically a story with no rhyme or repeatable chorus, it's doomed to be quickly forgotten IMO. 

Here on chordie we have the luxury of being able to explain the song and post the lyrics before letting others hear it, but normally folks will hear a song for the first time without any explanation. If there is no catchy chorus or interesting rhyme scheme, I feel the song will not be memorable.  I readily admit I haven't written any songs that are "memorable". The reason I normally play my songs around a campfire or at some venue where I have the luxury of telling the story behind the song is because I don't think many of my songs have the necessary "backbone" to stand on their own.     

It's different than what I'm used to but it indeed works!     

I enjoyed listening to the song. I'll have to admit though, that I'm not used to hearing a song where nothing rhymes. Is that becoming a popular genre?     

Excellent song for the Valentine holiday Jim!     

I agree with Peatle, you've got that kinda Bob Dylan groove goin' on.