Ideas for Songs

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DarkFriend

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Anyone like fiction?

Seems like most of the ideas for songs are personal. In other words, writing about what happened to you.

The past two songs I've written were "made up" fictional stories I came up with. Looking at my own life, there's not much to write about. Or, perhaps I'm not looking deep enough.

However, I'm really digging making up stories and situations that reflect on life's ironies, even if they aren't your own.
 
i really enjoy fictional stories. a song that tells a story is pretty sweet IMO. if i had more of a knack for metaphor or allegory, i'd be all over it.
 
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well, lets try to be creative about it. A lot of what I have read about songwriting that seemed like good advice, always said to write about something that had a great emotional impact on YOU, that way something comes thru from that.

You say you dont have anything like that to write about? Hmmm.....

When I was little, I had a little dog. It was a girl dog. Average medium size sort of cheap mutt thats smart and friendly and you feed it and bang, the kid has a dog, you know?

Well, a 4 year old uses that "mutt" for a pillow. To adukts, that was just a toy in the house. TYo me at 4 years old, it was "she" and her name was Geraldine. Well, Geraldine got hit by a car. A year and a half later I was taken to a puppy farm thing to pick out what i wanted.

Let me see if i can remember what DEATH and LOSS was like, perhaps I am too young to have lost a favorite uncle yet, a dad, a close friend, eh?

No listener need ever know that "Geraldine" was not a substitute human name for the woman or mother I SURELY must have lost to have written that song, eh? Sure, as an adult its no big deal to lose a goldfish, but to a wee little kid its temporarily devastating.

Imagine your dog of 14 years, mans best friend itself... was run over by a car right in front of you. Because he looked back as you said his name, you had no idea this would happen.

imagine the guilt, the sorrow, the pain that would ensue... the name of the best friend in teh song you "killed accidentally" that way with a word? You would switch "spike" to a human name...

do you feel passionately about disappearing forests? Whatever makes you feel a powerful emotion you could try, if you wanted a "fresh topic"

practically every person on the face of the earth has felt love, broken heart, loss of a friend... and that would be why those topics are beat to death over and over, eh? (yet still work...lol)

but, thats me just being a "parrot" with what i have read, when i ever write a really good song, then I will have some input of my own, LMAO, till then? *give me any tips you come up with*, lol

I just wanted to point out that if you think "sideways" you have plenty of emotional stuff to write about.
 
SEDstar said:
practically every person on the face of the earth has felt love, broken heart, loss of a friend... and that would be why those topics are beat to death over and over, eh? (yet still work...lol)

I just wanted to point out that if you think "sideways" you have plenty of emotional stuff to write about.
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THAT'S my problem. I guess although I've felt that stuff before, I'm 1) not comfortable writing about it, and 2) I want to write about something unique if possible.

Last three songs:

1) Real life starts when you retire because then you are truly free. You work your entire life waiting for retirement, but by then, most of life is over.

2) Guy falls for local girl, but doesn't know her name. Figures if he just knew her name, they'd be together forever. By the end of the song, he still doesn't know her name.

3) Guy and girl have broken up so many times, it doesn't hurt one bit at all when they break up now. What is a break up when it causes no pain?

Trying to put spins on common topics..
 
cool

DarkFriend said:
THAT'S my problem. I guess although I've felt that stuff before, I'm 1) not comfortable writing about it, and 2) I want to write about something unique if possible.

Last three songs:

1) Real life starts when you retire because then you are truly free. You work your entire life waiting for retirement, but by then, most of life is over.

2) Guy falls for local girl, but doesn't know her name. Figures if he just knew her name, they'd be together forever. By the end of the song, he still doesn't know her name.

3) Guy and girl have broken up so many times, it doesn't hurt one bit at all when they break up now. What is a break up when it causes no pain?

Trying to put spins on common topics..
Click to expand...


Your opening post reminded me instantly of an old Billy Joel song "Miami 2017", which is not only fiction, but science fiction! lol

Aliens come to New York, start blasting the shit out of everything and causing fires, but Billy sings, "We never noticed it cuz It always burned up there before". lol By the end of the song, they had moved to Florida.

Regarding your 3 ideas, I like #2 the best, so far.

#1 has potential, but to me, it will depend on the author's philosophy which may or may not agree with how others think. For example, the idea is totally right on in one realm, but then in another, people might think life is wonderful and are enjoying it every day, even when suffering and persecuted. Philosophical point. But... I'd still love to hear your ideas on it!

#3 has less appeal, but these are only one-liners so far. If, for example, your guy has something interesting to say in lieu of the relationship that seems to always break down, then the numbness of the relationship could be juxtaposed with some other thing that the guy really grooves on. It could end up being a great escapist song.

#2 is something every person in the world can relate to. So it immediately has feeling and an open heart from the audience (the whole world, I'm sure!). So it's an old story, but we are always interested to see it in new light, told by a different interesting character, etc. We always want to take that type of possible love story, and see it pushed to new heights, whether the person does or does not meet the person, is not the most important thing, though the tension, if properly done, is felt by the listener and waiting for resolve, right up to the end.


Hey, I like this thread. Good idea!
 
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DarkFriend said:
Anyone like fiction?

Seems like most of the ideas for songs are personal. In other words, writing about what happened to you.

The past two songs I've written were "made up" fictional stories I came up with. Looking at my own life, there's not much to write about. Or, perhaps I'm not looking deep enough.

However, I'm really digging making up stories and situations that reflect on life's ironies, even if they aren't your own.
Click to expand...

Occasionally I've written 'fictional' lyrics, and they have been satisfying as you assemble the bits and pieces needed to create a credible scenario and persona . . . you sink into that role somehow. But for the most part, my songs are highly personal. However, most of them are extrapolated from visual images - sometimes just a single image (e.g. a dog scavenging in an abandoned house (and this image becomes a metaphor for some aspect of my life)).

At other times, my songs are stories extrapolated from bits and pieces related to me by others (e.g. their own trials and tribulations).
 
About 90% of the 200 + songs I've written are not personal but rather a compilation of things I've heard about or read about - or simply characters that enter my mind and ask me to tell their story. I don't view my songs as "fiction" but rather as stories of characters I may never have known.

I've written about hookers (based on a stripper I knew), a serial killer (based on various news stories), cowboys losing the range to city sprawl (based on a movie), an encounter with an old indian in a jail cell (this simply came to me from nowhere), etc. etc. I always seem to write about characters who are down on their luck - I guess those are the characters that visit me in my sleep and whisper their stories in my ear.

I really prefer not to write personal stories, perhaps my life has not been too traumatic and I have no angst to write about. I don't think I've even written a love song (I consider them too cliche') - and I think I've only used the word love 2 or 3 times out of the many songs I've written.
 
mikeh said:
- I guess those are the characters that visit me in my sleep and whisper their stories in my ear.
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I wish those guys would visit me in MY sleep. In fact, I wish I COULD sleep.:eek: Typically my inspiration comes during long bouts of insomnia.

PS. The "visit me in my sleep..." is a great line. May I use it in my next tune? :confused:

Dave's Awesome Blog
 
DarkFriend said:
THAT'S my problem. I guess although I've felt that stuff before, I'm 1) not comfortable writing about it, and 2) I want to write about something unique if possible.

Last three songs:

1) Real life starts when you retire because then you are truly free. You work your entire life waiting for retirement, but by then, most of life is over.

2) Guy falls for local girl, but doesn't know her name. Figures if he just knew her name, they'd be together forever. By the end of the song, he still doesn't know her name.

3) Guy and girl have broken up so many times, it doesn't hurt one bit at all when they break up now. What is a break up when it causes no pain?

Trying to put spins on common topics..
Click to expand...

You might want to listen to "The Next Time I Leave Here" by David Mallett off his "Ambition" album. #3 reminds me of it. Here's a bit of the lyric"

The next time I leave here I'm leavin' for good
The show's almost over, so somebody should
I've bought it and fought it as long as I could
So the next time I leave here I'm leavin' for good

If I ever come back I'll come back for my things
Like bad breaks and heart aches and old wedding rings
And everything else that your memory brings
If I ever come back I'll come back for my things


Also Dylan's Boots of Spanish Leather.


Personally, I write personal and fiction.
 
mikeh said:
Up-Fiddler
Please free free to use "visit me in my sleep" or any other gibberish I may offer on this site:D In fact, I think you should lie awake tonight dwelling on how you can fit it into a song:eek:
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"You must spread some reputation around before giving more to mikeh"

Since I can't seem to sleep longer I am now trying to sleep faster.


Dave's Awesome Blog
 
didn't?

up-fiddler said:
I wish those guys would visit me in MY sleep. In fact, I wish I COULD sleep.:eek: Typically my inspiration comes during long bouts of insomnia.

PS. The "visit me in my sleep..." is a great line. May I use it in my next tune? :confused:

Dave's Awesome Blog
Click to expand...


Didn't Cheap Trick use that line already in "Dream Police"?
 
Updated my MySpace page to show all three songs mentioned below.

http://www.myspace.com/evanlesser

Would love your comments on the lyrics.

1) Real life starts when you retire because then you are truly free. You work your entire life waiting for retirement, but by then, most of life is over.

2) Guy falls for local girl, but doesn't know her name. Figures if he just knew her name, they'd be together forever. By the end of the song, he still doesn't know her name.

3) Guy and girl have broken up so many times, it doesn't hurt one bit at all when they break up now. What is a break up when it causes no pain?
 
I think we can get too hung up on feeling the emotions of our songs. In fact even the songs most close to the composer are heavily mediated by the craft of song writing.

If we write for ourselves then it is a personal reflective process that may or may not be stimulated by real life experiences.

If we write for an audience (I don’t just mean commercial target market; any imagined listener) then we want them to engage with our material. Does the fact that I have written several ‘brake up songs’ while happily married betray a subconscious desire to end the relationship? Does the fact that I am not braking up – well last I checked – make the listener of my song any less real to the listen?

I enjoy the vitality of your sound and harmonies and remember the great narrative of ‘If I knew your name’ – real life or not I like them. Will try and crit the lyrics closer later.

I do not think there is any truer way to write or any betrayal to the craft if you write about something that didn’t actually happen to you. I think the folly of many songwriters is believing that their material must be based in fact.

Empathy binds us not truth, because we each have our own truth, but we can still choose what we care about.
 
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Hey all, new here and really don't have any experience writing songs. My situation seems similar to the author of the thread. but I just figured I'd add this thought about writing songs not completely based on you: take a look(or listen rather) to Sufjan Stevens songs on his albums like Illinoise. It is/was part of his "50 States project" where he writes whole albums about each state. Obviously he can't avoid putting his own footprint into the song, but the subject is completely external.

on Illinoise, John Wayne Gacy Jr. is a most beautiful song about a most gruesome subject.

Well there's my 2 pennies.

-JL
 
Most of my songs are fictional... stories about a socially inadequate drunk sailing around the world. I wish it was autobiographical. I at least have the socially inadequate drunk part. :D

And welcome to the forums, Choice!! It's a good crowd, here.

Peace,
 
Chili said:
socially inadequate drunk

Peace,
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Now that is a great phrase - I don't think it would roll off the tongue well as a song lyric.......but it would be a good charactor to write about.
 
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