Question On Writing Lyrics

[ISuckYoungBlood]

Hey I am wondering since many of you put up lyrics like everyday or every week w/e, do any of you actually go through a process or do you just write them in an hour and then call it a song. And do any of you actually come up wiht guitar parts or do u just write words that you have compiled into your head or for some of you do you just rhyme every line or every other line in a verse? I was just curious. Please answer.

[BuriedAlive]

well i just write whats in my head, i try to get some sorta pattern. i write it in less then an hour. then post so i can get some suggestions to help make it better because i probably will miss it. then i go back and i look at the song. then i just try to get some type of rhythm in my head. then i sing it to myself. if it sounds good then im finished with the song, if it doesnt then i mess with it some more.

[ISuckYoungBlood]

Hmm. Intersting I like your style and how you think. But idk if you can, but if you could play guitar and come up with a riff in my opinion it makes the song much stronger and to the point. Without a riff I feel that you ramble on forever and eventually add non-sensical details and sometimes your song runs on. With a rifff you notice that you cant run it on forever and some words wont fit so you cut down on your songs and make them much mroe compact. Also when many people write songs they dont have any balance to them. Most songs that sound the best have great balance to the lyrics. Having a guitar will surely help the balance.

[BuriedAlive]

ya i dont know how to play guitar. i normally have my friend come over and he plays while i sing. and i will normally shorten it. im not often wrong though. i always find a way to fit it without having to move anything.

[ISuckYoungBlood]

Yea that's always cool to do, it's also good to have someone else there to help you and suggest things in the lyrics. You guys should start a band its a great things to have and it helps you understand music and shit better. Also ask your friend if he can help you learn guitar its a great thing to know how to play.

[BuriedAlive]

ya we do have a band sorta. we still are looking for a drummer. it is good to know but i would never play guitar for my band though. i like interaction with the fans. trying to put as much excitement and joy yet pain and misery in every song.

[ISuckYoungBlood]

Yea I am very much the same, I am starting a band and I would love to have interaction yet I love playing instruments so I am settling with the bass. Although I know how to play the guitar and drums too. I'm best at drums but I am the vocalist.

[DaneTheTrain]

The way I do it is by just starting out with the first line, and a beat for the first first line, then just continue with that beat as i write the song, give it rythem, it helps me write, helps me ryhme when i need to and also makes the finished product alot better. You guys should check out the lyrics ive got posted right now. Its called "The Predestined Traggic Script". And give me some feedback on it if you could.

[proeuthanasia]

inspiration often hits me at strange times. i would say 'innopportune times', but i'm thankful for inspiration no matter when it comes. i just write down words that scroll across my mind, and it's often hard for my hand to keep up with my head. it takes me hours, if not days or weeks, to polish off a song because the words not only have to sound right, but, more importantly, feel right. and i'm not satisfied with a song until i've achieved that feeling that i've said what i want to say in the way that i want to say it. hard to explain, but this is the gist of it.

[ISuckYoungBlood]

You said how your words in your head move faster then your pen. A good idea to helpp you cope with that is to jsut take notes about the topic you wanna write about then eventually put it into song lyrics. I have done a few songs like that. And yes I know that feeling when your head is thinking like 1000 words per second. Notes really help.

[wewin]

actually, the band i used to play in was kinda weird. i'd usually write the lyrics seperately my friends who'd do the guitar and drums. then i'd just sort of try to cram the lyrics somewhere into the song. i never sang the lyrics, i just screamed them. they were thoroughly incomprehensible, but boy, did we look savage.

now i just write. i don't play guitar. i play bass, and i sometimes try to write some basslines, but since i like bass parts that groove and back up the guitar, i don't write much alone.

i don't write much, because i find i often can't write when i force it. i can sometimes type out a stream of consciousness thing and then refine it, or think of like a cool one-liner and write that down. after a while i compile them...i'm not really fond of anything i've written except the two songs i have on here that are liked the least, "culling song", and the stupid oatmeal song with no title. the others feel more like something that should just be read, although if i could figure out how to put them in a song it'd be great.

[ISuckYoungBlood]

Yea, well maybe you can come up with a guitar part or bass part then edit the lines to those lyrics that you say can only be spoken and maybe form something that can be played musically. Hey its worth a try.

[wewin]

i don't believe i was asking for suggestions.

[ISuckYoungBlood]

Did it hurt? No, so why do you care, you didn't have to look.

[TheFallenScene]

Answers the question upon which if I make actual music for my songs and perform them. Yes.

[lifelesslove]

yeah, ummmm...i have a thick black notebook , and I jot down lines in that, just little deep thoughts that could converge together into a song...i never really just say when I see a bunch of new writings on the board, hey, i think I'll write something new, and just cram, like some people who write in here (i won't name names)... But when i get my writings to band practice, i really just shorten it out, and try as much to not let myself get rid of the meaning of a song. the worst thing in the world is to have writings, and look back at them, and realize that you wish you could've had a deeper understanding, or make it sound better.

[ISuckYoungBlood]

Yea I know what you mean. But if you ever have a song you think you can make better, then you can always go back and fix it.

[xxMichaelxx]

When I write lyrics, it usually doesnt come to me till about 3 in the morning, il just get a spurt of energy and type in notepad like a fucking mad man, then the next morning, ill reread it and alter it to make it sound better... or if it is too long, ill shorten it up. Later that day, my band gives suggestions and i alter it, by that night, its ususlly done.

[earlynovemberX]

i usually start with a melody in mind. something catchy and meaningful that i cant possibly forget.... because its so catchy... i dont know if that made sense but it did to me. then just keep adding. it usually takes about 2-3 weeks to perfect a song. all the fills and such work their way in subconsciously when practicing a ton of times.

[ISuckYoungBlood]

Originally posted by earlynovemberX
i usually start with a melody in mind. something catchy and meaningful that i cant possibly forget.... because its so catchy... i dont know if that made sense but it did to me. then just keep adding. it usually takes about 2-3 weeks to perfect a song. all the fills and such work their way in subconsciously when practicing a ton of times.

yea usually I just fill when I know everything else perfect I fool around and sometimes it comes out really good. Other times its just an experiance with the song.

[decisionpending]

yeah, my band hasn't 'broken up' as such, but we haven't practised in ages!!! i usually write lyrics and, being a drummer, come up with a cool rhythm and make sure the lyrics fit that scheme... i don't understand how to play a guitar (!) so i don't be bothered coming up with riffs and bass lines but i might hum a few bars that compliment the melody