The Secret To Writing Lyrics

Lyrics are one of the most important aspects of songwriting: They're the first thing most people listen to, and they convey your song's story more clearly than anything else. But they're really hard, right? Language is so complicated and weird that many of the structural approaches we theorists like to take for chords and stuff just don't work. Well, fortunately for us, we're not the only ones asking these sorts of questions, and the answers are out there. We just have to look a little further afield.
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Script: docs.google.com/document/d/1A...
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And thanks as well to Henry Reich, Eugene Bulkin, Logan Jones, Abram Thiessen, Anna Work, Oliver, Jc Bq, Dialup Salesman, Adam Neely, nico, Justin Donnell, Michael Fieseler, Rick Lees, Ben LaRose, rhandhom1, Harold Gonzales, Marc Himmelberger, Chris Borland, StarsServant, jason black,Nick Olman, Dutreuilh Olivier, Davis Sprague, Justin Bronstein, Justin Aungst, David Roulston, Dave Mayer, Thomás, billy roberts, Elliot Burke, Alex Atanasyan, Joey Strandquist, Daniel Gilchrist, Amlor, Greg Borenstein, Tim S., Elias Simon, Paul Quine, Anamol Pundle, David Tocknell, Jerry D. Brown, blalo'u, Christopher Wright, Lauren Steely, Fabian, Nikolay Semyonov, Ohad Lutzky, Jon White, Eivind Vatshaug, Josiah R. Hazel, Kurtis Commanda, Bate Goiko, James A. Thornton, Jacob Friend, Benjamin Cooper, Kevin, Joe Galetti, Arnas, CodenaCrow, Sarah Spath, Skylar J Eckdahl, Kristian Bredenbeck, John Bejarano, Gerhard Blab, drunkwookiee64, Brian Dinger, SD, Revolution Harmony, Aa Markus, Paul Apicella, Pawel Sit, David Barker, Adam Wurstmann, Dave Wray, Shadow Kat, Adam Kent, Michael Alan Dorman, Caroline Simpson, Lee Rennie, Richard T. Anderson, Thomas Schryver, Angela Flierman, Matthis Knopf, Kelsey Freese, Peter Wells, Zion Suppasan, Dan Lizotte, Seth Keller, Mark Feaver, Tyler Lukasiewicz, Kevin Johnson, Brian McCue, Kevin Hellon, Stephan Broek, Richard Walker, Wú QióngYuǎn, Nathan Petchell, Blake Boyd, alex, Calvin Blitman, Magnus Guldbrandsen, Ross Relic, Stefan Strohmaier, Lilith Dawn, David Baker, Jonathan Beck, Dmitry Jemerov, Jason Foster, Ian Seymour, Brett Haines, christian madsen, Luke Rihn, Rob Holton, Devon Wilhelmy, Ben Horwood, Jaroslav fedorčák, Allen Edwards, Brandon Lanning, Ryan Nicholls, ml cohen, Brandon Hamele, Darzzr, Rodrigo Roman, Francois LaPlante, Matthew Fox, Paper Coelacanth, Britt Ratliff, Patrick James Morley, Koen Hoogendoorn, Tae Wook Kim, Eddie O'Rourke, Ryan, Timothy Field, Jon Bauman, Drew Mazurek, Jacob Luedecke, Vincent Sanders, Victor L., Tommaso Ghidetti, JJ Deman, Volker Wegert, Linus Abrahamson, Matthew Kallend, Patrick Callier, JH, Joshua Gleitze, Ben Zotto, Jan Macek, Trevor, Michael McCormick, Charles Gaskell, Sylvain Chevalier, Yuriy Honcharuk, Roger Grosse, David Hardin, Jeremy Zolner, Leon Saleh, Valentin Lupachev, Paul Koester, and Danny! Your support helps make 12tone even better!
Also, thanks to Jareth Arnold and Jade Tan-Holmes for proofreading the script to make sure this all makes sense hopefully!

[@DennisTrovato]

me: rhymes "fire" with "desire" my brain: genius poetry

[@peterg5383]

then there's the patented KISS rhyme: "down on my knees / beggin' ya 'please'"

[@skakirask]

Don't forget "girl" and "world"

[@sirbaguette8378]

Robert Frost: *intense sweating*

[@eudaimonixx9909]

believe: when i say

[@user-df9kd4kq7o]

@@skakirask i'm in love with the world through the eyes of a girl

[@HairJordan]

The secret: become left handed and draw backwards

[@jebusrice1340]

furry rights

[@shwetatalwar9976]

I agree with the one person above me.(Continue this)

[@lua5462]

I agree with the three people above me.

[@jbenze]

I agree with the four people above me.

[@alexandriastewart8522]

I agree with the five people above me.

[@randomhuman4621]

lyricists really out here rhyming "virtue" and "choose" and it sounds fucking phenomenal

[@ferdtheterd3897]

Sir choose a few dirt shoes for your virtues

[@jdinsomniac7504]

@@ferdtheterd3897 ch(oose) a few d(irt) sh(oes) for your v-irt-ues. it’s sounds like choose and shoes which is so cool

[@ferdtheterd3897]

@@jdinsomniac7504 Thanks dawg i rhyme as a hobby

[@jdinsomniac7504]

@@ferdtheterd3897 i’m just teaching myself

[@Shvetsario]

Virchoose or something like that lol. "tue" and "oose" kind of sound similar

[@realAdamClinch]

1. Find topics you are genuinely interested in, love is a fine topic sometimes but it's been overdone 2. Read a lot of old and new stories/lyrics and you'll find that characters are always the foundation to some degree, so when you write lyrics, try imagining character traits that fit the type of person that's saying it all as you decide what words to use (singing style and technique play a massive role in this too) 3. Just keep doing it, good lyric writing can take years to improve on and in the end you may not find your unique style for a long time

[@camiloangarita5548]

love has been overdone ???

[@camiloangarita5548]

everyone lives and experiences love in an entirely different body and perspective, love is infinitely abstract and cant be overdone, love songs and poetry will never get old bc love never gets old

[@realAdamClinch]

@@camiloangarita5548 Of course love is unique for everyone, I agree. What I meant was, the way emotions are described can either make bad or amazing lyrics. A lot of love songs play it safe and use basic phrases and whatnot, but instead of explicitly saying how the character feels, you can implicitly reference it however you'd like and the reader or listener can pick up on the implied body language, atmosphere, or whatever you use. That's where expression and personality come out in writing, which is necessary to take lyrics to that top level.

[@camiloangarita5548]

@@realAdamClinch yea i agree

[@PunkRockRog]

Exactly

[@reayxx]

or just have a breakup

[@burdensofparasol]

REAY yeah but can you make the break up into good and original lyrics that aren’t a cliche

[@Basu117]

Not necessarily. Thousands of songs in the metalcore/emo genre are about breakups and... not many of them are good lyrically.

[@xan230]

I can only think of a handful of good songs about breakups, such as She by Green Day or Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac

[@trikks5578]

Yeet Yeet you fw lil peep ?

[@xan230]

@@trikks5578 nah i found it on a meme a few months ago and I found it funny

[@JoboostrGekkepekkie]

i am getting nervous because he is drawing from the right to the left

[@tepe9369]

he's left handed and doing that prevents him from smearing the ink

[@hairyhairison2820]

same

[@bias3026]

Lefty

[@loafofearl3236]

Us lefty’s do that

[@randomness200]

@@tepe9369 lol...i noticed only aftr checking ur comment

[@deejaybundst1671]

i feel like there's a lot of good lyrics out there that are just missing a voice that can get them into people's ears

[@novanity9611]

For real I feel as if it’s like 40% about lyrics and 60% the way they are executed in tone of voice and emotion etc

[@TheJokerandTheJean]

Amd some are there with me. If anybody wants, they can have..... Also, there is a channel named Augustsprings, you can have the lyrics of already uploaded song, make a version of yours and upload it. Tag the channel when you make a better version than them

[@3333218]

That's something that happens often! Tons of Bob Dylan songs got more attention when interpreted by others, etc.

[@3333218]

Interpretation is everything. It can change the whole meaning of a song!

[@felixputz5190]

true .. for example i dont think we would have ever heard smells like teen spirit all around the world if it wasnt Kurt Cobain who sang it

[@Gaenico]

One thing that totally changed my writing (I write in French, 'cause I'm French tho but that's a global advice I could give) : I stopped overthinking. If I wanna say something silly, or naive, I write it. If I wanna go on something more complex, or which makes only sense to me, I do it. And I stop being ashamed of the words I write. And, it changed everything to be honest. By the way, reading a lot, and developping my global culture and subjects gave me way more things to say and write about too, and a lot of new ways to express the same feelings.

[@HorribleSonofa]

My best 2 pieces of advice: -Read lots of good and bad lyrics, and think about out what makes any given lyrics seem bad. (Learning to recognize cliches, ham-fistedness, clumsiness, distractions, poor flow, etc.) -Write lots of bad lyrics. Write lyrics about stuff you don’t care about and that doesn’t matter to you. This is a great way learn to practice using language without being judgmental or letting your expectations interfere. Trying to say something you care about saying ..before you learn how to say it well.. is frustrating. The more crap you produce, the more you’ll learn how to produce stuff that isn’t crap.

[@intergalacticpeachpatrol]

Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis

[@EasyIsHere]

Start a channel NOW

[@TheBigDean18]

True true true, I've been writing for myself for 4-5 years now and I'm much better (too me atleast), writing songs than when I first started.

[@saracroughan529]

FoggyNoggin thank you for this

[@Basu117]

Same goes for all songwriting really. The first dozens of songs are gonna be garbage probably (unless you're among the 0.01% of gifted individuals), both musically and lyrically, but after that is where the good stuff starts happening. Just gotta let it out and move on to the next thing.

[@etherealessence]

Honestly, when I write lyrics, i find it most effective to just start writing. not caring if its good, perfectly in time or meaningful or even rhyme. It gets my mind thinking about what i want to write and the structure i want it to have. As I keep writing, i'll start re-writing sections which invariably come out better. the more i write and try to fit that structure i want, the better I get at being able to do it. The real hurdle is that first bump, the one that keeps my pen from the paper.

[@halunkarecord]

best advice so far. I appreciate you.

[@sdw-hv5ko]

Same! I'll say certain spur of the moment phrases that I actually like and then use that as a starting point. It's good to improvise a bit and then build structure

[@Random-yh3jl]

sameeeeeeee

[@vivsavagex]

To make something good you have to first start with something. Writing is human. Editing is divine.

[@northernninety7]

I’ve used this method for years. Whatever comes to mind, I write it and improve it later.

[@leowatley]

one thing i've always found makes writing anything better, but especially lyrics, is to remove the words 'i', 'me' and any other references to one's self - you wrote it, people assume it's from your perspective. it'll always make the writing more dynamic and allow people to see themselves in it more if they aren't constantly reminded that it's about the author. when i realized this, my writing jumped up a huge amount in quality. it's the single best piece of writing advice that i can give.

[@paulhill6067]

Too many songs are written in first person singular when it is just as effective to write from an objective rather than subjective stance. It gets tedious to listen to people projecting their own feelings. Having said this there are many famous songs that are written in subjective mode but over the years so many people have sung them together it feels like a global bonding between kindred souls. The 21 Pilots video of " I can`t help falling in love with you" is an uplifting example.

[@leowatley]

@@aayush7322 you're just reinforcing my point - all those songs are specifically about the singer, keeping the listener at arms length and denying immersion. also, except for walk the line, all those songs are super shitty.

[@johncatson6658]

@@leowatley Really? "And I love her" is shitty?

[@Cherri_Stars]

How do you do this? Like, if the song isn't from a first person perspective, is it telling the same story through a character? Using the second or third person? Or just describing things? I love this idea but can't figure out how to apply it.

[@leowatley]

@@Cherri_Stars i find second-person ('you walk...'; 'you look...', etc.) to be effective, same goes for calling characte4rs in the song 'he', 'she', 'the man', 'a woman', or other things like that leaves a lot of room for the listener to insert whatever characters the want inside their head. it's a bit odd to write in second-person, at first, at least, but i find that if you write in the first-person, and then convert it line by line to second-person, it's a good way to figure out the hang of it.

[@DeesNerds]

I really judged myself harshly on lyrics for a long time. Then one day I was listening to some of my favorite artists and realized how simple and plain spoken their lyrics were. I’ve been kinder to myself since. And sometimes a cliche is okay, especially if it comes from the heart.

[@raygunn95]

"There's no formula for great lyrics, anyone who says differently is selling something" 12tone, tellin it like it is!

[@bradcoles5511]

agreed... only exercises for stimulating creativity and of course learning the technical aspects like rhyme scheme, rhythm and meter, perspective. Lot's of practice and you might get good.

[@pinkajou656]

is that a reference...

[@blade7506]

funny bc i got an ad like this on the video

[@ProdJamesCultz]

Their actually is cadence algorithms that a more likely to be hits I should upload a vid about it

[@weatherbitten]

life is pain, highness

[@an_annoying_cat]

The secret: Obsess over love.

[@Jill-In-The-Works]

Lol X3

[@TheBigDean18]

True some of the best stuff I've written about love.

[@jazz98lol]

Well thats a check for me. Lol

[@xelio9050]

Chair Turtle Aye! I wanna hear the song

[@jchugg2820]

XXX Tentacion?

[@easoo_]

I always try to remind myself that lyrics are poetry, and that poetry doesn’t always make sense to people. I like my lyrics to be a little nonsensical with my own deeper meanings sprinkled in. I use a ton of metaphors just cuz that’s what I like, and try to connect ideas people wouldn’t necessarily think of at first. I imagine if I were to share them with people, they would find their own meaning in it and that’s the beauty of lyrics !!

[@anshikakashyap2000]

"The fire of my desire never exhausted, It kept me burning like a forest, All I knew was her denial; the sounds of my heart pounding and my dials." Great Video!!

[@beastcoastlc5319]

Just read Dr. Seuss books

[@NeoNorr]

yessssss dr Seuss books for life!

[@yeolfilms6746]

"I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them sam i am."

[@ipudisciple]

The way that Shakespeare writes is split in twos, so every other sound is soft or hard. And music often does this with the stress. The common time is often like the Bard. The pattern of Seuss, though, is usually threes. He uses an accent: one heavy, two light. Now music can do this as well, to be sure, in 3 time or when there are triplets in sight. Now everybody knows the line: "I do not like green eggs and ham", but this is not his normal way. Allow me, please, to quote some more. The "Sleep Book" has a lot to say. “The news just came in from the County of Keck, that a very small bug by the name of Van Vleck is yawning so wide you can look down his neck. This may not seem very important, I know, but it Is, so I'm bothering telling you so.”

[@n_t_over_the_morrow]

You may be joking....but you have sparked my brilliance....

[@Yeeterson2727]

Cat in the hat intensifies

[@weebemo1144]

Roses are red Violets are blue But they don't rhyme with lyrics So what the hell should I do

[@chensgold]

Write words that don't rhyme and mispronounce it to make them sound alike

[@mi-y]

Try searching synonyms!

[@jordantaylor2625]

literally listen to roses by juice wrld

[@mrslippyfist9155]

It doesnt always have to ryhme

[@derdurstbursch]

Roses are red Violets are blue We're opposing the threat Making violence come true I just wanted to help calm down the riots But now am sitting in a turtle of iron Screaming and blindly firing Children and women are crying And on my best friends foldable bed Not far from here Lie roses in red. I know I'm neither Shakespeare nor Eminem, but these things can be rhymed, my dude.

[@whoathatsalotofdamage3718]

Hot take, Matt Bellamy does an amazing job of writing lyrics that have a consistent "sound" without necessarily rhyming. The more I listen to the lyrics, the more I'm convinced Matt doesn't necessarily care what the words are, and care more about how they sound

[@WCmoon36]

I felt good about myself when I said “practice makes perfect” before you said the secret is practice. I’ve been doing this everyday for 6 years

[@TheJokerandTheJean]

If you want lyrics, let me know....

[@-1subswithoutuploadingavid621]

The secret is using a pen

[@user-om9jl5jv5y]

Truck Boi are you trying to sell me a pen?

[@-1subswithoutuploadingavid621]

Вадим Баев Well I do have a cracking deal on these pens, 5o pence for one, £4.50 for a pack of 10, you'll say wiw everytimr you use these pens! Pick rm up quick! If you order now I'll thriw in an extre pen for free!

[@Gamelunatic1992]

My brain leaked out of my ear from sudden realization of what a pen is used for

[@mondaay2495]

*seCRET

[@Iceteanpizza]

Omg thanks ive been doing it all wrong this whole time!

[@blacklvrboy7683]

It’s not the lyrics for me, it’s the melodies. I want my words to go with my melodies but I don’t want the melodies boring and basic-ya know?

[@YamnayaSintash]

Semantic meanings in music have little to zero importance.

[@gauravthadanii]

That's the same problem with me

[@91Definite]

That’s exactly how I feel! You wanna mind blow people

[@dragon-kun199]

Keep Listening to music, see where the melody is inclined to go. In American pop, it’s by whole notes and step and sounds smooth and used a lot of consonance. In Japanese Pop, it loves to be unresolved with half step notes and evokes power through octave switching with the melody. Japan/China loves dissonant sounds in contrast. Key Changes almost always gives chills to the person if done right. The more you hear, the more ideas you get about where to land your melody. As A song writer i know the struggles.

[@randomleni]

Same man. Lyrics are no problem but the melody? Bye

[@one2micreview846]

Best lyric advice ever given to me. Record it. Play it back. If you feel embarrassed about listening to those lyrics, you already know that it’s wrong

[@vronika1052]

I love the tips and the advices you gave ..I've been writing for more than a year now and I can tell you the only way you get better at it is just to keep on writing everything you feel.Whether you are so hyped or whether you are so down ,trust me the words and melodies will just start exploding right out of nowhere.

[@perbox2123]

5:41 "like a loved one, a hobby or a treasured object" *draws heroin needle*

[@_satanic_cyanide_]

I think it’s a microphone 😂

[@perbox2123]

@@_satanic_cyanide_ XD what does that say about me

[@_satanic_cyanide_]

Perbox 🤣

[@anemicroyalty3412]

*Kurt Cobain has entered the chat*

[@artscrafts4685]

Are you okay?

[@ThePi314Man]

You just have to be a *SPIRITUAL LYRICAL MIRACLE CRIMINAL INDIVIDUAL IN YOUR SWIMMIN POOL*

[@icecreampimpdeux]

ThePi314Man hi Rihanna

[@isabeldulce6345]

Hey rihanna

[@bigmost4300]

Marshal is that you?

[@SuperNova-xb9qk]

My favorite artist Politikz!!!!

[@SANTANA1deep]

Joe: "ooowowoooooooooooo"

[@gabs7102]

All this explanation just make me respect producers and song writers even more than before

[@JonesJr876]

6:13 "There is no formula for great [ insert anything here, see: lyrics], anyone who says differently is selling something" that's an amazing quote 12tone!

[@cailiosaegan3427]

Me: wants to write good songs. Also me: ooooooh why do you hurt me whoah even tho i looove you soo ooooh leet me goo woa woaaa.

[@antonio_090]

Same omg

[@hylt3704]

Why are you calling me out like that-

[@person_is_present9401]

Why do I write rap songs that complains about the genre lol

[@shwetatalwar9976]

Lol

[@j.c7719]

@@shwetatalwar9976 what was funny?

[@thefinstasis]

My problem with lyrics is that I can’t really write them, lyrics just come to me like a lightning or something. When I just try to write to something, it doesn’t work at all, but sometimes lyrics just come to your head and you don’t even need to do something. It’s weird af. I guess it’s because lyrics is literally poetry, and poetry is self expression, and the most of the time you don’t really have anything that emotional to think about. Patience is the key

[@Ciaoao]

It's the same for me too. So I just record myself saying stuff out loud then write it down after

[@Shvetsario]

Nothing emotional to think about? Even when depressed, I find plenty of ideas

[@hijack69]

Holy Shit. I thought it was just me. I have this thing where lyrics just come outta nowhere but when I sit and think nothing just comes to my brain

[@ironCondor623]

@@hijack69 yeah, usually a specific rhyme or line just pops into my head and then i try to build a verse around it

[@mariettamay]

saying you don't have something "emotional" to "think" about contradicts itself.

[@hannahmichaels9992]

Been struggling writing music lately, and lyrics are a super important factor to me. I’ll watch this again in the future and practice these, this was a nice reminder that writing stuff I’m proud of again is possible

[@walshling16]

best advice I can give is to write songs that already exist. steal a lyric from your favorite song or borrow a song concept and just see where it takes you. will you end up with a similar song? maybe, maybe not. it’s just a great way to take what you’re already comfortable with and expand upon it.

[@lazarus-lake]

"Being able to evoke emotions and ideas indirectly is crucial." You summed up the importance of imagery in that one phrase. That's very helpful for me as a musician. Thank you.

[@yaj126]

"There's no formula for great lyrics, anyone who says differently is trying to sell something" AMEN

[@Jerry_Fried]

The two best points I can make about lyrics are 1) choose a single theme and make sure every single line in the lyrics supports and advances that theme and 2) learn to recognize clichés and to avoid them. A corollary to this - and this is true across the board regardless of the art form you're practicing - is to be absolutely ruthless in your self criticism and to delete anything that is in the smallest detail less than it could be. Don't allow yourself to be substandard. I've known many artists who thought their every turd was a golden nugget, making it impossible for them to improve.

[@honestalex5790]

I just say how I feel and make it rhyme, then add more to it. Usually write within the spark of the moment

[@Firewalkerbg]

“That’s what drummers are for” I mean, they’re usually fit. They’re clearly meant to carry heavy stuff, like my keyboards for example. Don’t give them any crazy ideas, please.

[@Spacecat2]

One thing I was taught in college that has stuck with me to this day is that the kinds of things that make good poetry don't necessarily make good song lyrics. Songs tend to use much simpler and concise language than poems. If you write lyrics as if you're writing poetry, you're likely to end up with something like "MacArthur Park" or "Elusive Butterfly" (or something much worse than either of those). And whether or not songs like that are bad is matter of taste, but so is whether or not it's bad to emphasize the "RET" in "secret." And just as it's a useful rule of thumb to not accent unaccented syllables (unless you have a good reason to), I've found that it's also a useful rule of thumb to generally not use flowery poetic language when writing songs.

[@pikasfed]

I agree. I believe being a good lyricist really comes down to identifying your own style, your own way of looking at something and describing it, and finding the right musical style that complements that view and personality, and just expanding on that, without forcing a style that for others may come really easy but for you it's really unnatural.

[@romaneingram8922]

You have to hide your education and write as if your reasoning with the average man

[@jules8159]

Well I mean The Beatle were pretty flowery at their beginning and Daniel Johns based Neon Bllroom on poems so

[@welikerosafloyd]

Tell that to Luis Alberto Spinetta

[@JacobCookMusic]

I mean yes. Unless your an indiefolk artist.

[@Rainbow-Rare]

Thank you for the hard work and time put into this video. You've got a great soul and I appreciate ya getting information out to the people that are trying to find their voice in writing.

[@wuhuislandnewspaper5675]

It’s so nice to watch videos about music, knowing you’re going to be a great artist on the future.

[@domc3040]

So the main thing I took away from this is.. diatomic nitrogen has a triple bond?

[@12tone]

The strongest triple bond of any single element, if I recall correctly.

[@snewcomer22]

@buzz magister your comment should have way more likes!

[@theologicalmonochromaticbo7290]

@buzz magister poetry. oh, indeed. From woe is me, to golden peaks. Either known to read, or spoke with speech that glows to thee who overhears.

[@bonecanoe86]

For me at least the effectiveness of lyrics is very subjective. Very often I will find lyrics that don't stand out in any objective measure but hit me in a particular way. Sometimes it is because I can relate to the lyrics, but not always. Sometimes I will even find myself saying "I have no idea what they're singing about but I love these lyrics".

[@threenplustwo9105]

Sometimes lyrics make no sense (or they aren't meant to) but just sound good.

[@ImamuraCross]

Some tracks from Persona 3 come to mind o_o

[@morganadamson5466]

Nirvana... 🙄😂

[@hairohukosu433]

Origin of Symetry...

[@e.hhampsen4508]

I believe the key to being truly expressive in your music is to write things that make you feel, deeply and also through stuff together because it sounds nice and why not. One of my favorites, Janelle Monae does this a lot. Her occasional silliness is empowering in its own way

[@American-Dragon]

Mosttly this. Sometimes I go back and forth on 2 chords and keep huming until some words come forward for a starting point

[@SynthGirl64]

I personally think the best way for your lyrics to stand out is to just use words that you don't hear often. "Flow so sick, and I'm talking straight rancid, Sumn machiavellian catch me plottin like I'm Manson, Clique stay tight I stay posted with my bandits, Move in four four, we be marching like the band did"

[@LSSTmusic]

i've been writing songs for about ten years and i kind of discovered most of this on my own, which really drives home the idea that just working at it and practicing WILL make you better. i remember when i realized that the accents of my lyrics were all awkward, i felt like i was on some galaxy brain shit at that point ahaha. i think it wouldn't have taken me so long to get to a point where i was happy with how i wrote if i had learned more about poetry, but for me... i still really can't stand poetry. i just don't enjoy poetry. to me, poetry feels incomplete, like someone started writing a song and just forgot to make the song part. i know that's not really a fair way to look at it, but i've never been able to shake that feeling. i definitely respect the people who mastered the craft, just isn't for me.

[@mariamandure867]

I want to write a song

[@identifierat]

I agree with you, I think that it's easier to publish a song than a poem because for a poem you don't have any nice rythm to disguise what you are saying, and also if people don't like the lyrics at least they might like the way it sounds, but it's not like that in poetry.. It makes me unconfortable to say things so directly without anything to conceal it with, and it's not that I even need to, it's that writing only a poem feels strange for me, I would feel quite exposed just sharing my feelings like that hahah (I've never written a song but that would be a nice thing to do).

[@kryzs_kornhell]

@Hash Kushum But not all poetry is songs.

[@1900rugrat]

@@kryzs_kornhell factual

[@1900rugrat]

i had the same reaction to this i feel like you discover rhyme patterns by actually just writing and your craft becomes way more unique when you develop knowledge of cadence and wordplay over time

[@hhdhpublic]

If one is interested in getting into poetry, I recommend the book Break Blow Burn - Camille Paglia reads forty-three of the world's best poems. It is literally that, 43 short(ish) poems and then few pages of Camilla explaining her interpration of the poem. It is great for several reasons. First of all, it teaches you how to read poetry and you learn to understand the symbolism, the rhytmh and all that. Secondly, it moves from Shakespeare sonnets into modern poetry and even to rock lyrics, so one gets a good idea on different styles of poetry, their structure, rhytmh, how they use rhymes and so forth. After all, poetry can encompass anything from very strict forms to free verse which is exactly that, verse that basically doesn't follow any pattern or structure. Thirdly, one will probably find at least few poets that they enjoy in the book and thats a good start for getting deeper into poetry. And best of all, Camilla's essays aren't theoretical or academical at all and can easily be understood by the layman.

[@arroraseliant8482]

I would also recommend Kenneth Koch's Making your own days: The pleasures of reading and writing poetry; the book goes through the subject in an impressively engaging way, how to understand the structure behind it, the way the sounds of words are connected to their meaning, how to write it, how to read it, how to develop a poetic skill and so on. He also ends the book with a large collection of poems to illustrate Koch's point with comments explaining his thoughts on them. It is genuinely the best non-fiction book that I have read.

[@notaname8140]

Stephen Fry also did a good book on writing poetry, called The Ode Less Traveled. It breaks down pretty much all the major forms of poem (ballad, ode, sonnet etc.) as well as a few more "exotic" ones, and also the theory behind metre and rhyme, and is also written so as to be easily understood by someone who doesn't know much about poetry

[@killitwithfire5377]

I'd also recommend "SET ME ON FIRE - a poem for every feeling". It's an anthology by Ella Risbridger and it came from of a conversation with a friend of her's who doesn't get poetry. It's just a collection of her favorite poems with a focus on ones for beginners. Most of them have little notes where she explains what she loves about this poem and her enthusiasm is absolutely contagious. Additionally, the poems are sorted by emotion, which is great as a starting point for an interpretation. Risbridger put particular focus on diversity, both in poetry style and identity of the writers, so it really is a neat little summary of the world of poetry with a very charming guide.

[@FoodStampHero]

Y’all gonna have to narrow it down, I’m not buying 4 different books on the same topic 😅

[@isabellamorris7902]

@@FoodStampHero Paglia is really really good. Recommend.

[@JusticeTheMusician]

I am soo glad you made this video! Much love man.

[@MasterEth]

I love rhyming the middle of words the most, the amount of creativity you can from that is astounding. With that logic, Rhyme, Benign, define, and lies, work well together.

[@Kaname2002]

Lupe fiasco loves doing that.

[@Iceteanpizza]

*talks about how to write lyrics* *starts drawing*

[@nani5230]

The secret: Be left handed

[@michelleottley5292]

Welll morning Glory -oasis

[@QS1597]

Hasn’t helped so far

[@espinozachristian8231]

Then I’m set for success

[@TheRamblemanWhoSings]

Then I'm already set

[@angeldoglps114]

Woo, yay me!

[@mariomontgomery5516]

Thank you for the advice. You helped me see what style of writing helps me be successful in making something pleasant to hear.

[@CoraStanley-ue7rw]

Thanks for this video. I have watched your videos on song analysis and enjoyed them but this video comes at an opportune time for me. I am an aspiring songwriter just starting out and I found this to be most encouraging. Currently I am in the process of writing something, (getting something no matter how small or simple) down on paper each day. I have been doing this for almost 7 complete months now and have found it to be most valuable. It has stretched me and caused me to approach writing from different perspectives and has produced a mass of material to work with for a variety of song ideas. I like the ideas and information that you present here and will incorporate it into my learning and practice. I have no real experience with and slight knowledge of sonnets so I will look into those and explore writing some. Thanks for the tips.

[@coleemmersonhallman5329]

An 80 has perched itself upon my wrist, A 100 has mimicked it. Demar DeRozan, Fourth letter flower, D Rose.

[@alexarriaza8339]

Lil Pump in 1938

[@Pedro-mw3nk]

Comethazine retweeted

[@VividFilmProductions]

Cole Hallman genius

[@EchoHeo]

Writing lyrics Fighting with Eric Rhyme without possessing spirits Memer bones Wiener owns How the heck do I write lyrics

[@diegocano5756]

Beautiful

[@Vanguard448]

Man, why you gotta bring Eric into this? Don't have to fight the poor guy.

[@kevin_dasilva]

This is amazing as it is, don't know what you mean

[@ShaunCollins]

Weinerville lol

[@hollicide1]

Why you want to fight me, my guy?

[@dice.brain.]

I screamed “YES” when you mentioned Watsky. Thank you so much

[@Cr3b1]

I love how to draw out the things that you say. It's really a nice touch and creative idea for a channel!

[@joeyhardin5903]

for writing poetry, try setting yourself some limitations. once i had a specific rhyme scheme, a limited number of syllables per line, and the first letter of each line had to be specific. it ended up being one of my favourites because the restrictions end up forcing you to be creative and clever and stuff

[@itsdragonman6174]

Lil pump : what is this thing called lyrics?

[@ed-xq5jd]

Dragonmanthefire Is that a Clickie I see??? ||-//

[@heidigilsonmusic2800]

I love your content!!!!!! These are so fun to watch and listen to

[@batsumoto]

This video is really helpful. Thank you for this.

[@baltpit2439]

When i write lyrics for a song i always tend to use the same words & rhymes that i used in past songs. It just comes naturally but sometimes frustrates me cause i can’t break from the habit.

[@Klatyno256]

Its because you not experiencing new things

[@Wolta]

If pop punk can make a career out of one topic, I'm sure you can to :) The way they do it is instead of speaking about a specific topic as a whole, example: breaking up. Talk about a specific experience that you had within that. "girlfriend slept with my bestfriend" and try and exaggerate the story. Try making different versions of the same story, a serious one with serious words, or a playful comedy one (pop punk uses comedy a lot, or at least the music will sound boppy) with comedic words and rhymes. I think it's fine writing about the same thing as long as there's variation. Look at all the Star Wars medium, all about the same thing, all different stories.

[@Vanguard448]

I can recommend flipping this on its head and doing poetic structure breakdowns of popular songs or songs you like, as well. It's a pretty useful exercise. Plus it's fun, or at least it is to the grown-up version of the kid who spent lunch breaks reading William Blake when he was 12.

[@kylelanger8611]

Vanguard448 we had to do this in my English class my senior year of high school, it was great

[@Smoothaltheleet]

Vanguard448 Would you mind elaborating on this with an example?

[@SeeEmPunk]

Example?

[@felipestella4669]

Wow, really love the way you explain and draw! Subscribed!!!

[@MistaZipps]

First time on your channel and this was fascinating to watch your flow and script line up with the images.. I can't even lie at first I wasn't sure what was going on until I started really paying attention. I think it's worth mentioning that this exercise alone of drawing images to match your vocabulary is probably an incredible exercise in improving associative lines and metaphors.. sometimes it's hard to think of a good tie-in to a concept. Breaking down the psychology is one thing, but clever expression and imagery is half of the creative journey. It's a prime way to exemplify "what do you think of when I say this".

[@lautreamontg]

Ah, finally an episode in my wheelhouse. I'm a published poet, and I've spent most of the last decade working with formalist poetry, some forms pretty well known, some rather forgotten. That said, in college I competed in slam competitions and most of the stuff I published was free verse I wrote when I was younger. Of all my time spent writing poetry, I think outside of writer's copies, I've maybe been paid around 100 bucks in prize money from local competitions and 20 dollar gift certificate to a book store, so Imma play a tiny violin when a gigging musician complains about how little money it makes ;-) So as a poet, let me get on the one thing that grinds my gears a bit and why written poetry is so marginal now compared to music and written prose respectively. Somewhere, during the mid-decades of the 20th Century, the emphasis on genuine self-expression of emotional or intellectual content as the most important metric for poetry became paramount. Form was seen as impeding budding poet's voices from emerging. Hence it could be dispensed with. Heck, take any writing class. A student will rightfully get graded down if their essays are not constructed with strong arguments, or their short stories have muddled trite plots with paper thin caricatures. But poetry? A teacher will tell a young poet clumsily constructing moon/spoon/June rhymes with a clunky metre to discard that and just try "to get at what you're feeling". Honestly, to me, telling aspiring poets to go straight to writing free verse is like telling freshman band students that the best way to get really good at music is to forget about practicing scales and writing simple compositions, but instead to go straight to improvising free jazz, because it's all good so long as it's truly heartfelt or raw. So what do we end up with? Purple prose aphorisms arbitrarily sliced into lines, somewhere between a Hallmark card and a confessional post on Instagram. Oh, people still hunger for the metrical spoken word. Heck, that's what rhythm and flow of hip hop evokes in people. They just aren't going to learn it in any school nowadays. That's just my old fusty opinion, though. I'll admit it's not popular.

[@Aleph_Null_Audio]

This is great. You've got to know the rules before you can break them, right? Then you can break them on purpose and with intent. As a composer, I do enjoy the challenge of working with odd metered lyrics or incomplete stanzas. It can break you out of four and eight bar phrases and that can open up novel melodic or harmonic structures.

[@columbus8myhw]

I bet more people know Reddit user poem_for_your_sprog than any other contemporary poet.

[@columbus8myhw]

I bet more people know Reddit user poem_for_your_sprog than any other contemporary poet.

[@lautreamontg]

Read him/her just now. It's not bad, certainly better than Rupi Kaur (the other famous social media era poet) technically speaking. I can see why they're popular and the person is obviously aware and *ahem* well versed in poetic devices and techniques. It's just too arch for my tastes, but then I'm a giant fuddy-duddy who would wear tweed suits every day if I didn't live in Hawaii. YMMV.

[@WhimsyHeath]

Too 'Arch' for your tastes? what do you mean by that? But yes, the dispensing of meter ahs been a real shame, metered poetry is difficult but very rewarding. I seem to remember that "The love song of J Alfred Prufrock" was one of the early free verse poems, and it was incredibly powerful because that destruction of structure and fragmentation of meter was just like modernism itself, and it's combined with a lot of uncertainty in the character's actions and expressions. Of course, that may be wrong, it's only my recollection. I need to get started writing poetry again, Other than the advice in the video, do you have any advice for practicing it? Especially metered and formal poems, since meter, as you are saying, is difficult. Also, since you think the hunger is there, do you think that poetry could see a revival? Or is the hip-hop genre precisely a transformative revival?

[@RMoribayashi]

My favorite lyric rhyme is from Elvis Costello's Every Day I Write The Book. It's a song filled with literary rhymes but at one point he abandons the song's rhythmic structure to squeeze in the lines: *_Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal_* *_I'd still own the film rights and be working on the sequel_* Damn, that's cool.

[@forestcochran4196]

It's a good illustration of how accent is more important than the number of syllables. That song is nice because the melody and meter don't have a chance to get old with all the variations.

[@shanelarue8162]

Very cool and useful analysis. The lack of pauses kinda hurts my brain but u really crammed a ton into this vid

[@jerrysbrain]

I have a notebook in my room, and I’ll just spend however long i feel before bed just writing thoughts, rhyme schemes I’m thinking of, just anything that comes to mind. I’ve felt it’s helped with just coming up with ideas and having words in the bank

[@Solozolo_]

This was literally sent to me from the universe. I've always wanted to write and sing my own music and I have a lot of good ideas for songs but I'm not good at tying the words together to make it sound good. I've never looked up anything about song writing before and the fact that this is in my recommended could not be a coincidence. I'm thankful

[@LukeElectric]

I have been writing and recording music in my basement. I have yet to write lyrics for the new songs. I haven't looked up anything involved with music writing... ...and here is this video, out of the blue, for me to see. I must've needed it. Thanks, Universe!

[@Noitisnt-ns7mo]

Cosmic.

[@wanderfra42]

Nice to see that my approach to songwriting found by trial and error, anxiety, breakup, crisis, hard study, reading and practice finds support in your analysis! xD

[@KSURMAHEART]

such a great video. it's straight to the point and the drawing is very entertaining

[@MrDaviddesouza]

Love your analysis and your doodles are lyrical.

[@lowercase_ash]

Me: **writes poetry** Me: **wants to write song lyrics** This guy: Practice poetry!! Me: **cries** edit: thank you to everyone in the replies, you're all so helpful

[@LJesse722]

If you got the words then you’re basically there, just manifest it into whatever instrument you were thinking about combining it with

[@alexandertownsend3291]

Just sing your poems in whatever way sounds the most natural to you. The worst thing you can do is overthink it.

[@manigupta2299]

Same 😂 I too write poetry but really don't know how to write songs. Hope this video will help!

[@tot4ldisfuckery]

just practice writing over beats

[@tot4ldisfuckery]

write with the song

[@midsummerlightone5336]

I got you on my browser search by using the words, “how to write a song when you know absolutely nothing.“ But I can write poetry. Some good some bad. Probably just like everybody. I am a 35 year English teacher so that helps. I love your advice. I agree with the people on here who say you should have your own channel. Thank you very much

[@Nicholas32906]

What I find works for me is to look at the lyric structures of your favourite lyricists; mine is W. S. Gilbert, who (generally) puts large emphasis on rhyme. He will do direct rhyme, but sometimes he will delay the resolution to a rhyme by putting in a new line to have a rhyme with. You also want to think of getting intellectual with your word choice-sure you could use regular words that everybody recognises, but you could also use larger words. Gilbert will even mispronounce or misspell words for the sake of rhyme-he also would create new words, or rhyme with words from other languages. Another thing that he will do for ballads is: in one verse he’ll take a hypothesis and come to one conclusion, then in the second verse he’ll take another hypothesis and come to a conclusion opposite the first.

[@zajka00]

the quality is incredible

[@luliby2309]

This is an awesome lesson on lyrics. Thank you! I also remember this tip I saw on Ultimate-Guitar once about trying to "detach" your lyrics. IE...don't be super literal and/or specific with what you're writing about, write about the associated emotions and thoughts and such to get something where more people can relate to it even if they haven't had the specific experience that made you feel/think however you did. Nice little tip for less experienced writers. More experienced poets and lyricists probably don't need that though.

[@TimelessBlizzard]

I can write, but the thing is I don't know how to compose my lyrics , it's in my mind, but I don't know anything about making chords or melodies

[@tergsankian7440]

Freestyle

[@tergsankian7440]

Even of you aren't trying to rap, and even if you sound a lil wack. I had the same issue when I used to do vocals for a metal band when I was like 14, but when I started freestyling a few years later I found my grasp of the structure of all genres of music was boosted immensely

[@SynthApprentice]

Don't worry about that when you're just writing lyrics. The main thing you want to focus on is rhythm, and how your lyrical lines fit into the bars of the music. That's what I struggle with.

[@paulbylaska1446]

I found the message helpful and the way it was illustrated very compelling. Definitely worth subscribing to see more.

[@blanebeats8647]

Don't ever let anyone sell you anything. Great video fr

[@RonnocFroop]

One aspect you didn't talk about that I find particularly interesting is vowel progression. Lyrics sound much better when the vowels all move in the same direction. The first time I realised this was in the difference between "Mars Flame Shooter" and "Mars Flame Sniper" (not at all related to music), where the latter sounds much better because of the rising vowels, while in the former they go all over the place.

[@The3baconboys]

I’m too distracted from the drawings. I forgot I was watching a video about lyrics.

[@OneHundredYearsAgo]

Beautifully said my brother, thank you.

[@Umar092]

It's so hard to get it right, When I don't know what to do. But I'll try it for once tonight, Seek the answers through and through. Thank your for the knowledge, And that special note from you. Now I'll go back inside my cave, And figures out what I can do...

[@thonovo8129]

Ah, the divine essence of rhyme Your presence online enlightens the mind to bless us refined, insightful and prime lessons inspire to repay in kind Thank you, 12tone

[@geoffreytester3815]

A quote from the book thief “if your eyes could talk what would they say” Don’t write what thing is but what it represents to you I was always inspired more by the metaphysical style of writing as it’s adds grace intelligence and is very thought provoking. It opens limitless ideas as anything can be a metaphor for something else. Also has different meaning to each person making it more relatable to there own life’s with out making it a pity party That’s not to say that standard literal worded songs don’t have there place depending on how there written. The flaw is there very limiting. Also I have heard songs that actually rhyme very little. The soul destroying thing as a lyricist is that people focus more on the melody but couldn’t careless about the words

[@lisaia7877]

Geoffrey Tester thank you for this. I’ve been trying to write raps now (started with normal song lyrics and poetry) but I’ve found emotional rap seems harder than normal song writing/poetry. Your comment makes me remind myself of an aspect of writing not to forget when expressing the self and how to make it more colourful without a struggle. Sometimes When writing raps, I get lost in the literal interpretation and standard cliche of expression if anything and forget how to make it colourful without making it overly complicated.

[@melsdino]

Watsky is a fantastic lyricist and to hear you give credit is so fantastic

[@micahbarfoot3846]

Yo I really like this vid I learners heaps man I'm a new subscriber but I'll be looking out for more vids like this in the future good job bro 🙂

[@jonnyp1340]

My fav'rite poem? Oh, definitely haikus They're really clever

[@BeyBattleBoy]

The first line is 6 syllables. My fav.o.rite po-em.

[@jonnyp1340]

@@BeyBattleBoy fixed

[@BubbaJ18]

@@jonnyp1340 Oh neat Haikus are like feet They smell It's easy to tell But limericks are like meat I like limericks

[@peterg5383]

@@BubbaJ18: best comment

[@firstlast-wg2on]

I found a great thing I use and it speeds up writing a lot even though it sounds boring; imagine the lyrics like an essay. Your chorus is your thesis, your ultimate statement, the thing you want to say as the message/concept of the song. Your first verse is the introduction, your first statements that create the basis of your arguement. Your pre-chorus is optional but if you have one it's simply some supporting statements regarding your thesis, perhaps leading into it. Thesis. Your statement. Second verse would be your supporting arguements for your thesis, so generally maybe a little more informative. Pre-chorus, and thesis again. Your bridge are oversights, maybe devils advocate arguements, or simply a climactic point of your arguements (in that case, you'd want it to be more personal!) Then your chorus. So as an overview, without actually being written as lyrics yet, let's say the concept is that Keanu Reeves is a cool dude. (I dunno, feel free to reply with your lyrics, if you want). Verse 1. Remember all these movies that star Keanu? Well guess what he's a nice guy! Let me explain why! Pre-chorus. Of all the guys, you should know that Keanu takes the crown, cause he's different to other celebrities and we love him for it. Chorus. (Nice, simple lyrics of some kind that are immediately repeatable), Keanu is a cool dude! Verse 2. Point out his philathropy, general niceness, maybe a cool story about him being nice to randoms etc. etc. Pre-chorus. Chorus. Bridge. Sure, we don't know him personally because he lives a private life, but that's just because he's humble as fuck, and when you look in his eyes you know he thinks that YOU'RE BREATHTAKING! Last chorus.

[@happyguycmb2883]

I really like this method to build the basic structure of a song. With this, every opinion someone has can be made into a song. The opinion is the chorus. 3 reasons you have that opinion are the verses. Opposing opinions are the bridge. A bonus is that this effort in lyric writing forces you to examine the strength of your opinions. Are there 3 reasons or examples to support them? What does the other side say? Perhaps that object of your affection you're pining about and writing about can't stand up to such scrutiny. Then you realize you can and should move on. You turn out happier than when you got involved with trying to write lyrics. Even if you never were able to complete the "He Was So Wonderful" song due to lack of content.

[@MrCroam]

Bro... I heart this video and the effort you made doin it 🙏🙏🙏 respect for the spreading the knowledge

[@dist0rted320]

Bro I lit up when you mentioned Watsky, I love that man's music so much!

[@SeanTBarrett]

Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (1977): "when the rain waSHES you clean you'll know" - Number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

[@JacksonDreyer]

Sean Barrett the exception is not the rule, however. This song is so great that one prosity error is not detrimentally distracting

[@joetroutt7425]

Damn ! It was that easy?

[@GalenWillettMusic]

Great example. Terrible prosody, but the song is so special it apparently overcomes it. Why do we have to go and make things so complicáted?

[@prysmakitty]

I think poetry is a useful foundation for other things involving wordsmithing. This isn't quite the same thing, but the parallel struck me. I'm an indie novelist - and some of the best advice I ever got on writing came from a poet, many years ago. He showed me how to look at the patterns and sounds of what I was writing, not just the technical meaning of the text. From that short lesson, I learned how to listen to the rhythms of the individual words and phrases, think about the connotations and not just the definitions, and also look for boring repetitive sentence and paragraph structure. I learned to show (tears trickled silently down her cheeks as she lowered her eyes) instead of telling (she was sad). I always read a new manuscript out loud to a friend midway through the editing process, to check the rhythms. All of that has made an enormous difference in making my writing more fluid and expressive. Conclusions? None really, I just thought I'd toss this in as another way learning about poetry is invaluable even if you aren't writing "poetry" as such.

[@e.hhampsen4508]

I love this because one of my biggest pet peeves reading my peers writing is they have no concept of rhythm. Your sentences should flow. Don't use the same word twice in a paragraph (generally) sometimes the same sound in two connected sentences turns your writing from prose to tongue-twister. Get me?

[@elletangere8964]

Writing to show has been the number one tip in writing though.

[@OmniphonProductions]

Thanks for your mention of Hip Hop with regard to complex rhyme schemes. "Hamilton" is filled with such examples. In fact, there's a section in the opening number that contains a word, "...squalor,"...that is then followed by _thirteen_ rhymes in rapid succession. I wrote a Hip Hop piece once; my longest rhyme chain only had _five_ total links. As a songwriter, I _agonize_ over getting my lyrics just right...including rhythmic/melodic accents, storytelling, and emotional expression...so I respect artists whose poetry is on a level I would never even attempt.

[@sharknerd7966]

I love Watsky so much. I can't help leaving a comment about it since he mentioned him. Such a great guy. Such a good poet

[@icantthinkofanamesothisisi7814]

him drawing is literally my entire page in my school books

[@turnleftaticeland]

lmao same

[@nacoran]

Another thing I think is worth mentioning about lyrics is cliches. I'd like to say to never use cliches, but lots of popular music these days uses cliches. They'll straight out steal common phrases and use them as a hook... and sometimes it actually works. Country music and pop are particularly egregious offenders, and rarely in clever ways. A lot of popular music is about repetition- trying to get the lyric to stick in your head, and using popular phrases gives you a head start. But 'popular' and 'good' aren't always the same thing. If you are going to use a cliche as your hook try to turn it on it's head. "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink" is a terrible song line. It's got a nice meter, it says something profound... but it's been done to death. "You can baptize me in the water, but I will still drink", well, now maybe you've done something creative with the cliche.

[@JohnPaul-oq6ud]

For me the coolest part of this video is finally putting legitimate terminology to word structures I have found while listening to music. Basically, when I really like the rhythm, percussive, and melody of the phonetics of a song, I dwell why it sounds good. I'm still working on it. I'm also working on understanding song meaning - implication/inference. So far my favorite is saying something without saying it directly. Something like "her face was wet" = she was recently crying

[@cyperus4589]

Sandy Pearlman gave Blue Öyster Cult both of their names (They were formerly Soft White Underbelly) from his own poetry. Alot of their lyrics tie back to his poetry.