So I'm starting a band that will play original songs. I've been in countless cover bands, but this is my first time with writing pieces for a rock group. I've got all the theory you'd ever need to write rock music (being a jazz guitarist as well), but I've always had a hard time writing good lyrics. Now I've heard all the "listen to your emotions" and "just let it pour out" but that hasn't been working. How does one go about writing lyrics?

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1988 Kramer Striker 200
1941 Gibson Hollowbody
2010 Fender American Standard Stratocaster
2010 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III

As an occassional songwriter I have found that I truly have to be inspired to write lyrics. I too have had difficult times finding words to go with music that I wrote.It is true what people say you have to wait for the right moment of inspiration or some kind of epiphany. Maybe you could contact someone you know who has a way with words to co-write lyrics to go with your melodies-you never know you may be the next Elton John -Bernie Taupins of the music world.BTW lyrics don't always have to be the boy-girl,miss you-kiss you type but could be something not at all to do with love or relationships like John Lennon's Imagine or Ten Years After-I'd Love To Change The World.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Cowboys91, cool that you're starting a band. There is a thread "Your Poetry" on this Forum were some of the Bros have written. Lyrics are a form of poetry that have the musical quality of a song, that musical quality makes those words or verses very expressible for singing. My secret for writing words? Reading. It's not as easy as it sounds or perhaps easier, you will tell us. Kidding aside when ever I hit a block that seems like a wall, I just read some one that I am fond of or listen to something musical and inspiration returns eventually.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Sounds like any Dylan song

I went thru a long period long ago of coming up with one verse and a chorus and then getting stuck. I got past it...

First, take on the attitude that it will be easy and that you are good at it. Then don't make it so personal. Remember anything that comes out of your brain is yours. Write from a perspective that is not your own as an exercise.

Try doing a whole song, words and music, in your head. It will sound different than a song your write singing over your guitar.

Here is an example of some lyrics I came up with:

I could be so good for somebody,
Somebody that's for me too.
I don't want to hand you a line;
I want to tell you something that is true.
I want to show you a good time.
Don't want to make you blue.
I could be so good for somebody,
I'll bet you could be good too.

(chorus)
When you wait for love,
Love keeps you waiting,
When you try too hard you fall.
The only thing worse than thinking about love,
Is not thinking about love at all.

We could be together so easy,
Like grapes grownig on a vine.
Hanging close, soaking up the sun,
And turning into a wine.
Say that you'll give us a try,
And share your heart with mine.
We could be together so easy,
I'll bet we would be just fine.

(Chorus)
(repeat first verse & call me in the morning)

Good luck to you, pal.

How about writing down lyrics about having difficulty writing a song? Once you get started even if it is not good, gets the flow going or try finding a writing partner to bounce things off of. Has worked for me in the past.

FWIW

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

'Am a prose writer.

How people write music and lyrics is as much a mystery as the math behind proving Supersting Theory.

Ten years ago or so I came to the conclusion that most songs I hear on the radio have really simple lyrics and I thought I could do better. So now I just make up songs about whatever I'm doing -- driving in the car -- going to the grocery store -- making tea. My three year old daughter challenges me to make up songs about whatever she is currently thinking about. Last night she told me to sing a song about animal doctors.

I never write any of the songs down though. I am far too self critical to do that.

Don't worry about if the words don't rhyme or make sense. Just get the words out. You can refine them on the second, third or fourth go around.

Writing songs is easy
d8 d8 c8 d8 c4 bf4

Got them in my head.
d8 d8 c8 g8 bf4 r4

Singing them is harder
ds8 ds8 d8 ds8 d4 c4

Wrapped around the bed. So don't you
ds8 ds8 d8 bf8 c8 bf8 g8 a8

know
b2 r2

just take it
r2 r8 d8 c8 d8

easy
c2 bf2

it won't be
r2 r8 d8 c8 d8

long
b2 r2

before its
r2 r8 d8 c8 d8

easy.
c2 bf2

Hi Cowboys91: as a complete non-natural when it comes to songwriting I find lyrics very hard work indeed. I have three small tips.

1. Constantly ask yourself what the song is actually about. You should be able to boil down the "message" of the song to one short statement, even if it's only something like "I like this woman/man" or "it's raining today". Doesn't have to be earth shattering, but a song needs to be saying something. Sometimes you can get too distracted by constructing lines and forget what you're actually trying to communicate.

2. A dictionary of synonyms is worth its weight in gold when you are trying to find the right way to say something. Personally, I find a book you can leaf through more useful and thought inspiring than looking up synonyms on a computer. The Penguin dictionary of Synonyms is efficient and inexpensive.

3. Some of the greatest poets have used a rhyming dictionary so there's no shame in you using one too. Again, the Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is as good as most.

Those books won't write your lyrics for you. But they sure do help.

Cheers - C

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Along the line of Ceri's suggestion, but decidedly more low tech:

Write out the alphabet at the top of your page.
Take the word you want to rhyme say as example "Spain", just run the alphabet with it starting with "A". For Spain I get some workable rhyming words:

Bane, cane, Cain, Dane, feign, gain, lane, main, mane, Maine, pane, pain, rain, rein, sane, seine, vane, vein, wane, Zane.

Remember it not so much the words, but where you take the words. Bob Dylan rhymed, moon and June, and free and me. Sometimes I think the first step in song writing is getting over ourselves and any artistic pretensions. There are a lot of songs that we all like that have no meaning at all, even to the person who wrote the song. The songs take on meaning to the people who hear them. To me, that is part of the beauty of song writing.

my lyrics sound like suicide notes. i don't even try anymore.

Wow, thanks to all of you for all of the great advice. I think that I might be able to get something going now. I've had a couple riffs and progressions floating around in my head, so I'll give it a go.

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1988 Kramer Striker 200
1941 Gibson Hollowbody
2010 Fender American Standard Stratocaster
2010 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III

Writing songs, for me, can be very therapeutic and a lot of times I just write about things going on around me, and in my life. I never sit down with a plan to write a certain type of song, I just start playing and let my emotions dictate the direction. With lyrics I find that the hardest part of any song is the first line. I will either go back through old notebooks and rehash things I've written in the past and not been able to finish. Most of the time, that doesn't do anything but inspire me to write something completely different, but sometimes I look over them and find it simple to finish the songs. I never throw ANY lyrics away.
I think the best advice I can give is to not force it. Just go with the music, and write about something that matters to you.

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https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilandMe.Music

Man just ask solid the word smith, he'll stire you straight, tell him what you want to get
across and he'll build you a bridge! no hokie there man for real.
ah jees tim, didn,t know you were there, but yea ask tim he can for shure tell you how to do it.