Writing Lyrics Part 2

I mentioned in part 1 that I sometimes write down simple phrases that I hear during the day - phrases that I think might form part of, or inspire, a lyric. Recently I have added the following phrases to my ‘Scraps’ note in my songwriting folder:

Refresh, Reboot, Replay

Never let me down

Party Afterglow

You’re the girl I never really knew at all

i’ve been riding since I was seven

Take me to the picture show

The wind howls through the apple trees.

When I looked at my list the other day, ‘Parrty Afterglow’ stood out as a great concept - and possible lyric. So, I did some work and turned it into the basis of a song called (not surprisingly) Party Afterglow. This is now a completed song. See Songs … Pop Songs.

Among my finished songs, there is one titled Livin’ on the Edge. This came about because I read sbout a young Australian adventurer who had been killed in an accident. His parents, when interviewed about his death, said he loved adventure and was quite prepared to take risks. He hsd a website which said “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room’ .I thought that was a great line, so wrote it down and used it for a song some months later.

Sometimes, the idea - and the song title that emerges from it - dictate the style of the song. For example, because of the title and the young man’s inspiration, to me Livin’ on the Edge had to be a rock song. See Songs …. Rock Songs.