What makes lyrics good or bad?

[BozzBlonde]

I've written some of my own but what do you think, personally, makes lyrics good? What makes them of poor or amateur quality (not the Brokencyde, crunk-core shit. we all know that's horrid.)?

Share some examples and what about them makes them (in your opinion) good lyrics.

[Idealist80]

Being able to sucsesfully project words into unique, non-cliche ways that people can relate to.

For example:

So you say that I am rated X... Well You suffer from the lack of sex

Unique, not cliche, even a little funny and relateable

[raychull]

It's all pretty subjective, but I think writing how you feel, in a non cliche and unique way, is what catches me the most.

[Barthelme_fan]

It's all pretty subjective, but I think writing how you feel, in a non cliche and unique way, is what catches me the most.

So true, just try to have a unique way of doing things and expressing things, also structure is probably the best way to start writing good lyrics, although the best songs usually lack a clear structure but bad sings easily lack structure as well.

[movingxpictures]

It's writing lines that mean something but can be applied to you. If you have lyrics that are meaningful and people can relate to or interpret to relate back to them, then they're good lyrics. Cliches can be used if you put new spins on them or make them clever (for instance, Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy using a lot of well-worn sayings and puts them into modern day perspective, with lines like "Come hell or high water/Well I'm feeling hot and wet" and "Penny for your thoughts but a dollar for your insides." They're not especially original, but his voice comes out in them because he puts a twist on sayings that everyone knows).

[Idealist80]

It's writing lines that mean something but can be applied to you. If you have lyrics that are meaningful and people can relate to or interpret to relate back to them, then they're good lyrics. Cliches can be used if you put new spins on them or make them clever (for instance, Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy using a lot of well-worn sayings and puts them into modern day perspective, with lines like "Come hell or high water/Well I'm feeling hot and wet" and "Penny for your thoughts but a dollar for your insides." They're not especially original, but his voice comes out in them because he puts a twist on sayings that everyone knows).


EXACTLY WHAT I SAID FOO

[movingxpictures]

;;

[DanPiazza]

to me, a huge part is using a unique vocabulary. i always find it hard to come across non-cliche when i write. i guess it just takes a lot of songwriting over time to get what you enjoy writing and what you don't. make sure YOU enjoy the song you're writing, because odds are no one else will like it if you don't.

[Deadbolt23]

Try and paint pictures with your words. Describe little details, and it'll really put your audience in the song.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

Then the snow started falling
We were stuck out in your car
You were rubbing both of my hands
Chewing on a candy bar

You said "'aint this just like the present
To be showing up like this"
AS a moon waned to crescent
We started to kiss

[ninetyFhOURs]

Try and paint pictures with your words. Describe little details, and it'll really put your audience in the song.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

Then the snow started falling
We were stuck out in your car
You were rubbing both of my hands
Chewing on a candy bar

You said "'aint this just like the present
To be showing up like this"
AS a moon waned to crescent
We started to kiss



I don't think I've found a song with better lyrics. The simplicity makes it so sincere, and allows the listener to fill in blanks. Great pick

[ninetyFhOURs]

Two songs by Iron & Wine, I think, are another pinnacle of great writing: "Faded From the Winter" and "Upward Over the Mountain"

Faded From The Winter
daddy's ghost behind you
sleeping dog beside you
you're a poem of mystery
you're the prayer inside me

spoken words like moonlight
you're the voice that i like

needlework & seedlings
in the way you're walking
to me from the timbers
faded from the winter

Upward Over The Mountain
Mother don't worry, I killed the last snake that lived in the creek bed
Mother don't worry, I've got some money I saved for the weekend
Mother remember being so stern with that girl who was with me?
Mother remember the blink of an eye when I breathed through your body?

So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons are like birds, flying upward over the mountain

Mother I made it up from the bruise on the floor of this prison
Mother I lost it, all of the fear of the Lord I was given
Mother forget me now that the creek drank the cradle you sang to
Mother forgive me, I sold your car for the shoes that I gave you

So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons could be birds, taken broken up to the mountain

Mother don't worry, I've got a coat and some friends on the corner
Mother don't worry, she's got a garden we're planting together
Mother remember the night that the dog had her pups in the pantry?
Blood on the floor, fleas on their paws,
And you cried 'til the morning

So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons are like birds, flying always over the mountain



"Faded From The Winter" accomplishes the great simple, concise feeling of sparse words that say so much

"Upward Over the Mountain" is a basically a tribute to motherly love. I sincerely believe there is no greater love - nor tragedy - than a mother's love. And I think Sam Beam captures that with a master's lyricism in this song

[ninetyFhOURs]

Good lyricism isn't composed simply of rhyming couplets or catchy hooks.

Good lyricism is pure poetry. Good lyricism can stand on its own, without music.

[Deadbolt23]

I don't think I've found a song with better lyrics. The simplicity makes it so sincere, and allows the listener to fill in blanks. Great pick

Aren't they amazing.
I definitely recommend the song. The music adds to the lyrics simply, but beautifully. I always feel as though I am there. I guess that is the mark for good lyrics for me.

[guitarpickheart]

At a basic level, non-cliched lyrics. As in, not rhyming "heart" with "start" and "tear me apart".
Lyrics that are emotionally charged without sounding whiny or overdone.
As stated above, detailed lyrics.
Lyrics that aren't structured the same way as all the other songs on the radio.

Then again, sometimes the simplest songs are the most effective and affecting ones.

[Twikki]

avoid cliché lyrics which you'd hear in any all time low song
the music is always important, dont forget that because alot of people just speak over some crappy three chord progression they have

[griggy]

I think what makes lyrics good is the sense that they give you afterward:

Is it a emotional song? It should make you feel and think about yourself.
Is it a funny song? It should make you laugh.
Is it a story about something you've learned? It should tell a clear story and make the point clear.

Of course, there are other things like not being cliched and such. But, honestly what makes lyrics good is how well they go with the music and what kind of impression they can leave.