Well, the fact of the matter is that, in terms of writing lyrics, it's all been done before. A good writer just has to move the goal-posts, be thinking outside the box, push the envelope, so to speak, and literally strive to touch base with the listening audience. With all due respect to the writer of this article, sometimes clichés sell. In a nutshell, clichés can be a positive or a negative.
To be perfectly honest, writing is an art ... it's not rocket science. I've been told before that my lyrics sometimes have clichés and I'm like ... "I hear what you're saying, dude, but this is value-added stuff ! We're just not singing from the same hymn sheet." Outside of my lyric writing I basically steer clear of using any clichés at all.
Bear with me on this ...
The average lyric sheet contains 180 words ( ballpark figure ) and up to 24 phrases. Sometimes your between a rock and a hard place to come up with the perfect phrase ... that awesome hook & line that lures them in. It literally boggles the mind to think that, going forward, I'd have to do a cliché check along with the spell check. Like, do I really need to address the issue and on what basis? Because my cliché may irritate someone? Because it may be a barrier to effective communication? Puleeeze! I'm certainly not going to spend 24/7 worrying about such trivial matters. I'm a "glass half full " kinda guy and like to keep a positive attitude.
The bottom line is this ... Do what feels right. Write what feels right! At the end of the day, you'll feel better about yourself and your lyrics. Will it make you a successful song writer? Probably not. Will it make you a happier person ... Absolutely!
Note : The above writing exercise is the result of multiple expressos at 9PM and nothing to do at 3AM. Anyone who tells me how many clichés I used has less to do than I did.
Regards,
Mountaineer
