How do you put lyrics to music?

Question

Question sounds silly, i know, but its easier said than done. I have a lot of music that I came up with on guitar, and it seems to come pretty easily, but the lyrics are killing me. I can hum to my music and it sounds like a hit, but when I start thinking about lyrics to put in place of the humming I just get overwhelmed and frustrated.
My mind goes somrthing like this...
"what do i write about? how bout that girl i saw? no no, thats way overplayed. Well, what am I thinking about now? I'm thinking about writting a song! no that wont do. How bout what Im interested in. Ok. Im interested in writing this song. DAMMIT! ...etc.
What am I doing wrong? Should I write poetry? Read poetry? Read other peoples Lyrics? Listen to music for insperation? Learn other peoples songs? What comes first the music or the lyrics?
Your comment will help,it may just be the missing link in my dilema. In fact, if what you say turns me into a lyrical genius, i will give you 10% of what i make when i get famous

Answer 1

Coming from a guy who's toured with some of the biggest names in music in the 70's 80's & 90's I have the following advise for you.

#1, Don't think so much! Some of the coolest songs ever written started with an idea in the middle of the night, or sitting on a tour bus mindlessly bored on a highway somewhere between Omaha and Newark or walking through the grocery store and hearing a 3 year old kid say something funny to his mother. Songs usually start with a thought or feeling. A lot of times, they happen by starting with one line and seeing where the rhymes take you. There is no right or wrong way to write. There is also no such thing as an original song topic so don't worry about it. There's millions of "I love you", "I hate you", & "you're so hot, why don't we go have wild monkey sex" songs out there. No one is going to penalize you for adding another one to the pile, except maybe Simon Cowell, but nobody likes him anyway. Just have fun.

#2, Don't pressure yourself. You'll squish any creativity that's roaming around between your ears. Find the inner kid within yourself and let yourself have fun. Think about song writing like a kid would approach finger painting. Just dig your hands in and smear something on the paper. If you don't like it, you can always change it later.

#3 Don't be afraid to work with others. Read the liner notes of any record and you'll find many colaborative efforts. Elton John doesn't write any of his own lyrics but he's done pretty well in the business.

#4 As far as the "what comes first question", the real answer is both. It happens differently for everyone. Find the way that works for you.

I hope this helps. When you start popping out those hits, be sure to send my royalty check to Stefan P @ PO Box 1462, Makawao, HI 96768
Good luck.

Answer 2

Songwriting and poetry come easy for me so I guess I am lucky. Most of the time the song comes all at once, like creative nausea.I've written 5 songs in a day and then gone for 6 months without writing at all. For ideas though I keep a notebook and a pen with me at all times. I also keep journals. Any interesting or odd thing I write down and sometimes use them as subject matter. I learned guitar about 35 years ago just so I could write songs. Your own suggestions were good, the ones above are good. I found that paying attention to how words sound together, making sure they flow, helps me. I read and listen to other songwriters and have been influenced by several. I have songs about everything from Norse kings to honkey tonk queens, false pride to murderous brides. Having fun with it is good, don't pressure yourself. Just get goofy until you get into your own rhythm. You might look for a musician buddy who writes lyrics and do co-writing. That can be fun. Two heads better than one and all that jazz!

Answer 3

From my experience, it's easier to fit music to words than words to music.
If you write songs just for money, then you might want to research what majority likes to hear and write about that.
But otherwise, you could write about personal experiances, some brutal or sweet, because alot of people like to listen to music that they could relate to.
You could write about your childhood, or how you used to be until something happened, etc. Just keep it real. A love song may be overated, but its still nice to hear one once in a while...

Answer 4

sounds like you and i have the same problem.. so far ive only assisted in the writing of song..