Lyrically Speaking

Listen, if you've had success in writing your songs without using correct grammar, then congrats to you. I'm sure you worked very hard to get your songs cut and I applaud you for that.

Somebody tell me who wrote the lyrics for some of the most popular artists themselves. If you read the article in my previous posting, you'll see lots of very successful songs with HIDEOUS grammar.

However, I feel it is misleading to tell a writer who may be a beginner the following:

it's your song, keep it your style

True. Usually, in my song reviews, I get puzzled over the style, though. If they throw me a bone in regards to style, I know where to begin.

Yes, it is their song and will always be according to copyright laws. But once that song leaves their hands and goes into the hands of a publisher, artist, or producer, it becomes someone else's style.

Would writing the music to go along with the lyrics reduce the chance of that? HOw about if the songwriter was given the chance to work with the musicians? Granted, this wouldn't happen on a large scale, but if you just write for pleasure and get interest from a band, it's a possibility. A friend of mine even brought a tape of me singing some of my lyrics to a local band. I haven't heard back, but my friend did ask if I'd sing it.


A song's success depends upon both the artist & the listener - the artist's interpretation of the song, and whether or not the listener related to it. Artists are rarely concerned with how the writer's soul is portrayed, they are concerned with their own. They are who will either make your song a success or a flop - they are going to go with their own gut instinct on interpretation, not yours. And if the song is a success, the consumer rarely cares who wrote the song or why. They care about the artist because of the way that artist touched the listener with the song. Basically, the writer gets a royalty check...the artist gets the glory.

Then why do people tend to pay more attention to artists who write their own songs? In that case, they're getting the best of both worlds, and who's to say nobody around here is a singer-song writer. That's what I would be if I went into the music business (out of sheer masochism). In any case, something is to be said about the writing in any case. Writing lays the foundation. Straying from the foundation can make or break a song. I've seen it make a song more often than break it, but when I listen to songs that were written by the artists themselves, I know they're saying what they want to say. My interpretation would have deviated from the original intention had I performed their songs.


If a writer writes a song in a certain genre & absolutely refuses to have it go any other way...then there's nothing wrong with writing it with improper grammar. Most songwriters just want the song cut regardless of genre. The writing still comes from the soul and will always be a part of them, but writers still have to realize that songwriting is a business. In my experience, the more open a writer is to other genre interpretations of their work, the greater their chances are for success.

A possibility. However, let's be serious. HOw many people on here are serious songwriters? The question will always be demographics. Yes, songwriting is a business, but considering the cynicism towards most recording groups and the music business in general, how many serious writers would want to write lyrics and take a chance in investing in this increasingly soulless business? Myself, I usually tend to write for a certain genre, usually in a sort of rock genre. However, I have been kicking around some jazz lyrics. I write in particular genres because I have a particular instrumental line going through my head when I'm writing. I've been trying to learn how to compose music for years but haven't had much luck yet


If you are a serious songwriter, take my two cents as bunk and be open to new possibilities. HOwever, it is because of things like this that I write lyrics mostly for diversion. WOuld I still try to get them published? As soon as I learn how to write music. Call it a step away from a monopoly, but with the cardboard quality of some musicians today, the songwriter will have to take big steps to prevent the butchering of his/her precious.

















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~ERD (Elisa Roxanne Dvorak to you)













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