Songwriting Tips - Listen for Lyrics

Do you ever have a time where you're searching for lyrical ideas? I know I do. Some of you may have already my newsletter 'Super-charge your lyrical Ideas' - and hopefully you've grabbed some idea's from it. Here, I'll go into it a little bit more. You should certainly take what is happening in your daily life and try and 'listen for lyrics' as they happen to you.

Overheard Chit-Chat For example, I overheard a conversation at a restaurant the other day (which usually isn't very difficult) and somebody said the phrase "there's just no use in me trying". I immediately jotted it down, came home and starting to write a song based around that phrase. The song was about a relationship and the girl tried her best to keep it together, but it was sinking situation and the hook (chorus) would sing "there just ain't no use in my trying". This is a very simple yet powerful idea.

Write about your Friends Situation There isn't anything like taking ideas from your friends or relative's life. Of course, if it's seemingly negative then you may not want to tell them where the inspiration came from ;-) If your friend's mother just had a heart transplant and the family is going through grief, then why not write a song about it? In fact, why don't you go one further and make out like the father is cheating with another woman? Fictionalizing a real life story is often a great way to write a song. Perhaps the father cheating can be a feature of the song. Yes, this may seem harsh - but look, who's to say you have to reveal your sources of inspiration? Remember, you are only writing a song here.

Grab the Daily News What's happening in the world today? Earthquakes? Tsunamis? Politics? Violence? Racism? Think about the implications of events that are unfolding before your very eyes. These are the things and the people of the world are listening and watching. Remember to take things to a new level with your song - meaning think of the depths of these events and circumstances and write from a 'how this effects us' stand point. This is incredibly powerful because people will WANT to sing your song as it effects them too.

Ideas from TV and the Movies How many times have you watched a movie and have been completely moved by it? This is exactly the feeling people experience when listening to a song they love. It makes them feel validated in some way. The lyrics are totally congruent with their emotions. Writing about specific situations from TV and films in realistic genres (ie. not sci-fi and horror) will be a route to evoke somebody and then hopefully to like your song enough to want to hear it over and over.

As you can see, the above will surely get your ears listening for lyrical ideas in different situations. Once you make a habit of this, ideas will be flooding in your mind - sometimes non-stop.