How to Write Your Own Song Lyrics
If you’re reading this, you’ve either stumbled upon it by accident or you are looking for some advice for writing original music. If it is the latter, you have come to the right place.
Writing a song is a fun, exciting, and creative process. Song lyrics are a form of poetry. They can tell stories, connect to emotions, bring people together, and sometimes they are just entertaining.
If you want to write your own lyrics, there are a few basics that are good to know:
- Many popular songs follow the structure of Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus
- Verses of a song usually have the same melody, but they contain different lyrics while the chorus of the song is typically the same throughout.
- The bridge is often treated as either the most impactful part of the song or as a ‘breakdown’ in which things quiet down for a moment before building up to the final chorus.
- Song lyrics usually rhyme in some way. These can be full rhymes such as “night, light, fight” or slant rhymes such as “time, hide.”
- There is no “correct” way to write a song. The structure can change, more parts can be added or taken away, and lyrics don’t have to follow a specific rhyme scheme. For every “rule” that exists in songwriting, there are many examples of songs that break them.
Where to Begin
I have heard people say you should start with the title of the song and then write the lyrics to expand on the title. I personally prefer to worry about the title of the song last. Usually while you write the lyrics, there will be a word or phrase that tends to stand out as a good title for your work.
Decide what topic or story you want your song to be about. Then brainstorm ideas, words, and phrases that come to mind when you think about your topic. It is not necessary to phrase them into lyrics at this point, unless you already have lyric ideas planned out in your head. For now, you are just coming up with inspiration and ideas.
Writing the Chorus
When I write songs, I like to begin with the chorus (but you don’t have to if you don’t want to). The chorus will probably be the most repeated and most memorable part of the song. Look through your notes from earlier and start rephrasing them into lyrics. You can think about how the melody will sound when you sing the song if you want to, but if you don’t have an idea for the melody yet, you can just focus on putting the lyrics together.
Look for words that you can rhyme, but be careful. One mistake I always made when I was younger was that I tried to rhyme the end of every single phrase. In some cases this can work well, but sometimes if you focus too much on rhyming, the lyrics can sound forced and less genuine. Again, this all depends on what you believe to be the best way to present your story.
Take my original song, Embrace, for example. The lyrics in the chorus are:
I thought I could be strong
But Lord I need your grace
Don’t let me run away
Away from your embrace
In this particular case, lines two and four rhyme, line three is a slant rhyme, and line one stands on its own without any rhyme.
Writing the Verses
Usually a typical pop song will have two verses with identical or nearly identical melodies. There are exceptions, but generally the verses have the same melody but with different lyrics. The verses can expand upon the idea that you have in your chorus. They are the details of the “story” while the chorus is the “main idea.” Again, look through the ideas you brainstormed earlier to find inspiration.
Writing the Bridge
Depending on your song, you may or may not include a bridge. Some songs don’t have a bridge, some have a third verse, some include a rap verse, and others might just have a guitar solo until returning to the chorus. There are many avenues to take when it comes to writing the bridge and it all depends on what you want to say here.
When you write your bridge, try to come up with a melody that is different from the chorus and verses. Try to find something that makes this part of the song stand out. Maybe this part of your lyrics is the “turning point” of the story, where some big change is going to happen for the narrator. Maybe you have said everything you want to say already so you won’t include a bridge, or you might just have a bridge with some “oh’s” and a few words repeating from other parts of the song. Using my own song as an example again, this is what I did for the bridge of Embrace:
Oh, oh, oh
Don’t let me run, don’t let me, let me run away
My bridge didn’t add anything new to the story, but it accented the phrase “Don’t let me run away” from the chorus.
Other Parts of Your Song
There are many other things you can do with your lyrics besides the standard Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus.
Some things you might consider adding could be:
- A third verse after the bridge — If you still have some ideas you want to add to the song, add a third verse. You might even want to repeat some lyrics from previous verses if they have significant meaning.
- An intro — This would be the very first part of your song. It might be a segment from the chorus, the same melody from the verses, or something different entirely. Add an intro if you want to open your song in a different way than starting with the verse.
- An outro — This would be the last part of your song. If you want something different at the end of your song, you want to add an outro. Some ideas for an outro can be repeating the bridge, repeating the chorus or verse but with new lyrics, or it can be just a line or two to conclude the song.
- Prechorus — A prechorus is a segment that leads into the chorus. If you don’t want to jump straight from the verse into the chorus, you can lead into it with a prechorus. This part of the song may have its very own melody, and if you decide to add one, you don’t need to use it every time you go into a chorus. You might only use it once, or you might use it just in between verses and choruses. I often don’t add a prechorus after the bridge but it always depends on what is best for the song.
Congratulations! You wrote your own song lyrics!
Songwriting can be a lot of fun if you put your heart into it. It is a great way to tell your story or to create new stories. One final word of advice: don’t worry about perfection. Not every song you write will be the best song ever, but don’t be discouraged. I often start writing a song that I end up hating and I set it aside for months only to come back to it later with fresh ideas to turn it into something I love. It takes time and effort to improve on any skill and songwriting is no different. Don’t rush it. Just enjoy the process and see what beautiful things you can create!
Twitter: @musicunwritten
Instagram: @musicunwritten
If you want to check out my music, here is a link to my original song and music video, Embrace:
