Do's and Dont's when using time references

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Elmo89m

Elmo89m

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Though there are no strict rules when writing songs, here are a few pointers when dealing with referencing time.

Don't

reference a specific year unless you are also referencing a major event that happened within that year. Like the song that says "were gunna party like its 1999" this should be avoided in songs because when listening to it years later the lyrics seem disconnected.

Do.

Use non-specific references to time. So many songs have been written about vague references to time. Yesterday by the beatles, Today by the smashing pumpkins, tomorrow by silverchair, eight days a week by the beatles (a stretch)


Note: with songwriting this is all obviuosly just my opinion
 
"It was the summer of '69..."

"San Quentin you've been livin' hell to me
You've listed me since 1963"

"1984" (times how many - including the recent opera?)

Some timeless songs there IMHO...
 
im font think im familiar with 1984. the reference to 1963 would be okay because hi is saying since then. Summer of 69' you've got me. I guess if its a good enough song it doesnt matter...but i always am frustrated hearing songs from a few years ago that throw around the year they were made in, in them. I think in most, as you pointed out definitely not always, references to time in that way arent good.

But again its just opinions
 
Time dos and don'ts

I think it is always easier and less dangerous to talk about specific times in the past. Those songs don't become dated because they start that way, and a nostalgic feel can work really well. They can be "timeless classics" even though (I guess you could say) timed. Talking about a specific future date seems dangerous, though. It would seem that those run the risk of eventually being dated.

Like you said, though, with such a personal art, this is all personal opinion. :)
 
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Elmo89m said:
Don't reference a specific year unless you are also referencing a major event that happened within that year. Like the song that says "were gunna party like its 1999" this should be avoided in songs because when listening to it years later the lyrics seem disconnected.

All through 2000, one of my favorite things to do was to paraphrase that part of the chorus...

"Tonight we're gonna party like it was last year." Sometimes I'd feign a look of confused shock, at realizing I'm singing about something going to happen in the future, but with a specific year that's in the past. I'd stumble, and sing it like "...party (confused/shocked look) like it (searching my brain for the right replacement for 1999) was last year."

But...I'm also one that, for 2001, created a "personal theme for 2001" by juxtaposing a movie title with a song title...thus "2001: A Spaced Oddity." :p

I think Pink Floyd's Rick Wright pulled off the time reference bit splendidly, with the song "Summer '68" on their Ummagumma album. The song title sets the specific time frame, while Wright sang about what happened during that time frame. Thanks for the heads-up, on this bit of songwriting consideration! If I'm ever leaning in that direction, in the future, at least I'll have a couple of examples (Rick Wright's "Summer '68" and Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69") of how to reference specific dates, without sounding dated. :)

Matt
 
If you are an independant songwriter trying to make a steady income from songs, I agree that you have to avoid dating your songs in any way. If you are a performing artists writing your own material it doesn't matter so much.

Summer of '69 is a very dated song, not just in terms of the expressed date, but also in terms of the references... "drive-ins" for instance. The song was a hit becuase Bryan Adams already had a huge fan base and garanteed radio play/ lable support, because it was a nice reminiscence that many of his fans could relate to, and becuase it's butt-simple and catchy.

However, a song like that would never sell on it's own... and in another few years will be completely lost on new listeners. "Mommy... what's a drive-in?"

I wrote a song a while back about a guy that lost his dad in WWII, and now had a son of his own off to war that he was worried about. The first feedback I got from people whos opinion I trusted was: "Geez.... he'd be like 80 years old now. Who's gonna sing this? Plus.. wouldn't that make his son about 50 now?" So I replaced the WWII reference w/ a reference to war in general. The song was instantly more marketable.

A
 
There's probably a broader theme here, which is that if you can write lyrics cleverly enough, they will seem applicable to all sorts of individual circumstances and resonate with a greater number of listeners. Horoscope writers are very good at this (I am not being entirely facetious).

So the date thing is very specific and limits not only a song's longevity but also the number of people who will understand the reference. On the other hand, there's the 1812 Overture....
 
Aaron Cheney said:
If you are an independant songwriter trying to make a steady income from songs, I agree that you have to avoid dating your songs in any way. If you are a performing artists writing your own material it doesn't matter so much.

Summer of '69 is a very dated song, not just in terms of the expressed date, but also in terms of the references... "drive-ins" for instance. The song was a hit becuase Bryan Adams already had a huge fan base and garanteed radio play/ lable support, because it was a nice reminiscence that many of his fans could relate to, and becuase it's butt-simple and catchy.

However, a song like that would never sell on it's own... and in another few years will be completely lost on new listeners. "Mommy... what's a drive-in?"

I wrote a song a while back about a guy that lost his dad in WWII, and now had a son of his own off to war that he was worried about. The first feedback I got from people whos opinion I trusted was: "Geez.... he'd be like 80 years old now. Who's gonna sing this? Plus.. wouldn't that make his son about 50 now?" So I replaced the WWII reference w/ a reference to war in general. The song was instantly more marketable.

A
Gotta go along with this, although once a song has become a "classic", the date reference may be forgivable. An example would be Love Potion #9

"I told her that I was a flop with chick
It's been this way since 1956"

If the singer was, say, 10 or 11 when he got interested in chicks and became a flop, that would make him about 60 now, and a 60 year old guy kissing a cop on 34th and Vine would be grounds for breaking his bottle.

Still, every time I hear that song, I sing along. Great tune.

So once you've made it, you can maybe get away with it. Till then, probably a good rule to follow.

Just my opinion.
 
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