why do I dislike every lyric I write

[Sage]

my favorite kind of lyric is nonsensical actually. I grew up on nirvana and sonic youth so of course I love some good nonsense mumbling. I think maybe my problem is that I always try to put a message in there or something, I find it hard to just let go and mumble some nonsense. my left brain says "you can't do that, it doesn't make sense"

Cobain wrote his just by working on the melody before the words. If you aren't sure what to do, just hum the melody you want over the track, then go back and try and fit the words in and keep a notepad around to jot down any cool little phrases, then try piecing some together.
I've not had to write lyrics for years though.

[Jekblad]

sage and kranky ftw

the focus needs to be on singing the words. screw paper.

i have trouble with sages method though... i can barely keep a tune if i just hum, so i have to sing outright, and then i feel dumb. pretty weak.

i use a sine wave to program vox to grab a melody sometimes. that stores it better than my memory too.

[Trip Downtown]

Write down your 'retarded' lyrics then just try and say the same thing in a different way. Just having something to start with is a major step. Barely anyone uses the first version of their lyrics. Use a thesaurus to swap out words if you're stuck and those rhyming dictionaries (google it) you can get can be really helpful.

Whenever I write lyrics I also do it away from the computer and away from the actual song if I can. (ie. just sit somewhere and remember the song and write from that) I find having the actual song playing kinda distracting sometimes.

Good luck!

[dave999z]

i heard sammy hagar (whatever, it's a good tip) explain that he wrote lyrics by listening to songs he liked on the radio and singing along with them. he'd never understand the lyrics correctly and so would be singing the wrong words. then, whenever he'd find out actual lyrics to songs that he had gotten wrong (because someone told him or whatever), he'd take the words that he thought the band was singing and use them in his own songs.

[UncleAge]

I use a bit of a hybrid between what Sage and Trip Downtown suggested with varying results of course. And sometimes I have to force myself to do it. So whenever I have the core verse, chorus or bridge I force myself to hum over it (I record this part as well). Then I make myself listen to that over and over (like 5-10 times). In the end I always change the melody from what I started with.

Next, I sit my *corny* lyrics to the side and start writing down whatever thought enters my head when I hear different parts of the song. And I mean whatever it is, I write it down. Then I take those lists and compare them to the original lyrics and start adjusting each section to match how the instrumental sells that part. 7 out of 10 times it ends in me removing lyrics and letting the song breathe a bit. Other times it leads me in a new direction. But if I'm really beating my head against the wall I walk away from it for a few hours or even days and let knew ideas creep in.

[rbmonosylabik]

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?p=952939#p952939

That might help

[sublimelobc]

There are lots of different methods used in creating lyrics....you can use have fun with metaphors, you can rhyme, you can tell a story......it's amazing how many artists have used some form of automatic writing in a song or two that doesn't really seem to make sense. You can do like Snoop and makeup your own lingo. Do like Beck and throw words into a blender. Be like Anthony Keidis and write every third song about "deflowering".

Ready lyrics from a guy like Cat Stevens or Bono, some are great at creating works that are very poetic even when just read.

I wrote poetry long before I picked up a guitar....I've used old poems at times.

Try studying into the lyrics of some of the songs you like, then figure out what you like about them....whether it's the flow, the message, the rhythm.....sometimes it is easier to start by trying to imitate something that has inspired you, and giving it your own flavor.

Or find somebody that loves to write, honestly....it really is hard to create lyrics, it always is one of the hardest parts for me in creating music, but I enjoy it. If you aren't into it, find something that loves playing with words and work with them on something.

Have fun!

[zalo]

here ill give this one away

the squeaky wheel will get the grease
but the days go by and your away
i see the future i see the deep
the end of wanting and start of me

youre welcome

[dave999z]

Ready lyrics from a guy like Cat Stevens or Bono, some are great at creating works that are very poetic even when just read.

i think U2's lyrics are atrocious. it's hard to think of a rock band (that's actually taken seriously) with lamer lyrics.

I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name

To me that means... absolutely nothing. on any level. (i mean yeah yeah it's utopia or heaven or something. but it's hardly vivid. just don't like it.)

[sublimelobc]

Ready lyrics from a guy like Cat Stevens or Bono, some are great at creating works that are very poetic even when just read.

i think U2's lyrics are atrocious. it's hard to think of a rock band (that's actually taken seriously) with lamer lyrics.

I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name

To me that means... absolutely nothing. on any level. (i mean yeah yeah it's utopia or heaven or something. but it's hardly vivid. just don't like it.)

What? Are you serious? I heard that Sammy Hagar regularly takes the words from U2 songs that he doesn't understand and then uses them in his songs.

[Angstrom]

I don't use lyrics much, so I'm no expert. But one technique I've found was really good fun was to sing funky nonsense into a Looper with a 70% fade on and as the loop keeps coming round you can sort of morph the gibberish into other new and weird forms.
it's like a doodling game, with mouth noises.
EG: starting with some nonsense like :"blah blah deedle dee bam"
as it comes around again you just sing on top of it so it forms a big mushy vocal stack of sound, but you re-interpret it a little bit each time. If you get a word or sound you like you repeat that on the next pass. Like this:

bar bl jar deedle dee ban
bar n car deed a he ban
bar and car deeds a free man
barn a car needs a free man
barnacles feeds a need man
barnacles, creeds and freemen


right, that's one line done!
do not hold your breath for my vocal album

[longjohns]

these are my favorite lyrics at the moment (they are old though - off a key kool/rhettmatic posse cut) (have to look up which dude it is. it's not key kool, voodu or LMNO)

two years ago, I planted a seed
now, I'm making the microphone bleed
when my vocals are freed, they're liable to start up a stampede...
I roll up weed in the track,
and blow out feedback

I hold my jewels when I stroll through L.A.
and my mind is always on cruise control
I swing bats and dope raps over fat tracks,
milk wax, remain sharp as an axe, bet.

I'm like russian roulette with a tape cassette
not a vet yet, just gettin' my feet wet
but dont sweat, when I hit it'll be all net!

my rep's unknown.
many heads get flown.
can't figure out why it took 'em so long...
for them to let me drop my vocals on top of a rap song?!?!

write rhymes strong, so my pockets stay long.
not the counterfeit, my shit hit like a bomb.

[sherman]

Biggest hurdle I got past: Things don't have to rhyme, not even a little.

[Johnisfaster]

oh nice one! I think I tend to think I'm supposed to but I always feel like rhymes are silly. so I guess I'll just throw out the idea makes sense to me.

[timothyallan]

singing is mainly for homos anyways


edit: I can't wait for that to be dug up later on in my life.