Songwriter’s Secret Weapon
#1 for writing killing lyrics
When I was researching my last book, Song Maps - A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics, I discovered a fundamental truth. Now please note, I don’t try to make people cry. That’s not a nice thing to do. But I realized that sometimes there are things that move people to tears in a most profound way. That’s if people are generally open to that kind of thing.
This idea is very much linked to the whole point of the book I wrote, Song Maps, because they affect the flow of ideas. And, for those who are songwriters, this is the secret weapon for many genres of songs. For example, this is why Country songs are all about dogs dying, lovers leaving or running away with best friends. It’s the reason there are so many love songs at all. It's why the Gospel story is such a rich source of songs that deeply move people.
The Songwriter’s Secret Weapon
So, here it is: People are deeply moved by:
LOVE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY
If you think back to all the songs that slew you, that turned you from a happy, carefree person to a blubbering, shaking wreck, it will probably be, on some level or another, because you have been confronted with love in the face of adversity.
Examples
Look at classic lyrics like the lyric to “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston/Dolly Parton or “Leaving On A Jet Plane” by John Denver.
The most potent example I discovered is a song written by songwriting icon, Phil Coulter, sung by Sinead O'Connor called “Scorn Not His Simplicity.” It's not a love song. It's not even a Country song. When I discovered it, I played it to some friends who'd come for a dinner party, and before Sinead had got to the second Verse, one of my friends was in tears (sorry, it wasn’t what I had in mind!).
When I finally got to talk to the songwriter, Phil, I congratulated him on writing such an incredible song, and even he (with his Irish modesty) admitted that he was very happy with the way it turned out. Without a doubt, it's a powerful song, and it demonstrates, almost flawlessly, the power of this principle to move people. I challenge you to listen to it and not be moved.
So, where we place ideas in our lyrics counts. If we place them in a way that shows love in the face of adversity, it counts big time. This is also why writing in 3D is so powerful. This is why we will only develop titles to their full potential if we organize ideas into their most powerful order (a writable idea) and then turn them into amazing lyrics that genuinely touch people when they hear the finished song. This is why we use Song Maps.
Question
Have you tried to use this in your writing? If not, maybe have a go. But be careful with your listeners!
Take care!
– SJLH