Using Lyric Images in your songwritingIn this article you'll learn the importance of using lyric images in your songs and how it will take your songwriting to a new level. At the end of the article I'll give you some exercises in using lyric images when you're writing song lyrics. A Picture Is Worth A Thousand WordsAlright, I know what you’re thinking, “A picture may be worth a thousand words, but since we’re talking about writing down words and not painting a picture, what does it matter?” Well, what matters is using the idea of a picture, an image, as a way to add another level of meaning to your song.For example, let’s consider the Jimi Hendrix song, “Castles Made Of Sand.” Each of the verses are about the normal structure of a person’s life being changed into something unexpected. In the first verse, a man finds his relationship with his girlfriend/wife ended. In the second verse, a “little indian brave” finds his dream of becoming a mighty warrior doused when he is killed in a surprise attack on the night before his first battle. And the third verseis about a young girl who is crippled and decides to commit suicide to escape her plight, but then finds an inspiration to live.
Here we have an example of a powerful unifying image that tightly binds together the three different stories in the three different verses. Not only is this a powerful and memorable image, but it also complements the ephemeral guitar work of Hendrix on the song. One simple image binds together every aspect of the song, from the verses to the music. lyric images Finding Your ImageNow that we’ve seen how an image can be used to create a cohesive whole out of a song, let’s talk about how we can find our own images.We’ll take two approaches to this; the first will be finding an image after already having music written for the song, and the second will be finding an image when having only an idea for what kind of song you want to write(a love song, an inspirational song, etc.) or how you want it to feel( happy, sad, etc.). Classic songs Some of the classic songs that have strong images are Simon and Garfunkle’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” Both successfully use images to bolster the subjects of the songs (a stalwart friend and an unfettered spirit, respectively). By listening to some of these classic songs, as well as the songs of the genre you want to write in, you’ll find some great techniques that can be used to fully flesh out your song once you have an image selected. For example, check out the lyrics to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and see how many references to water you can find. You’ll see references to tears and sailing. While on their own these lines would still work fine, when combined with the imagery of the bridge, they add an extra meaning that resonates throughout the song. Once you’ve found your image using the exercises below, try to use this same method, but in reverse. Write your chosen image at the top of a piece of paper and then brainstorm a bunch of different words and actions that are related to it. You’ll find that the bulk of these won’t help your chosen image and theme, but you’ll also find some that you would have never thought of before that can take your song to the next level. Remember Thomas Edison’s famous quote, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” That applies just as much to lyric writing as it does to inventing gadgets. Okay, that said, let’s move on to the exercises. lyric images Exercise 1 - If You Already Have The MusicThis exercise is going to involve a lot of brainstorming. What you’re going to do is play the music over and over again (it’s best if you have it recorded already so you can be free to write ideas down at the same time. It doesn’t have to be a studio-quality recording or anything, just something that allows you to make out the rhythm and the melody), and as its playing, write down random thoughts.You may find that a guitar riff sounds a little bit like a train chugging along, or maybe a melody line that reminds you of a bird. Whatever you find, write it down. Don’t just think of the music in terms of what it sounds like, though. Also think of how it makes you feel. Do you want to stand up and dance? Do you want to sit down and cry? Whatever thoughts pop into your head, no matter how random or unrelated they seem, need to be written down. Sometimes, this exercise is all that you need to come up with a great image, but, if you can’t come up with anything, don’t worry too much about it. What we can do is take those feelings that you wrote down and transfer them to Exercise 2 and find an image that way. lyric images Exercise 2 - Starting From An Idea Or FeelingOkay, this is the exercise that will get a lot of use. There are a lot of different ways to develop an image and we’re going to list a few of them. Before starting through this list, make sure that you’ve at least got a basic idea of what you want your song to be about, a theme. Themes are very basic and can usually be summed up in one or two words. For example: freedom, slavery, love, hate, unrequited love, unwanted affection, hope, despair, etc. These themes are the basic units of emotional expression and will serve as the first step in building our image. Here’s the list:
lyric images Opposites: Take your theme and find the opposite. Then, search for a song, movie, short story, novel, etc. to find an image that has been used to portray that opposite. Take that image and try to twist it to suit your original theme. This is a great way to take an image that is commonly used to represent a certain attitude, and twist it to your own needs. For example, a dove commonly symbolizes peace, but what about a dove that tries to peck out somebody’s eyes? This is a bit over the top (maybe you want that), but you get the idea. Another example: the song “Free Bird” is about a free man, so if you want to write a song about somebody who is imprisoned by work/family/love/society, then how about a caged bird? Maybe a pet who seems to have all the food he needs, but will never know the freedom of the open skies? lyric images Everyday Action: Think about what you did today. Odds are, there are some pretty basic and mundane tasks in there, like getting groceries, taking a shower, driving to work, and so on. How can these actions be used symbolically? Let’s take the morning drive to work. Did you get stuck in gridlock? That could be an image used to talk about somebody stuck somewhere in their life, right? This approach means you’ll have to work hard to make an everyday task symbolize a deep theme and great emotion, but because so many other people share these experiences, you can more easily connect with your audience.
lyric images Other Art: Go to your local library and check out a few books on paintings. Go through them and look for paintings that really catch your eye. Find the part of the painting that you like best and try to describe what kind of image it is and how does it connect to your life. After all, if we’re trying to find an “image” for our words, why not start with an actual image? This technique also works great with movies and TV. lyric images There are lots of other places to find inspiration for images, these three are by no means the only methods. Still, give these a try and see how you like them. After writing a few songs using these techniques, start to change them or combine them to better fit your process. Once you’ve got a solid image, its time to start writing the lyrics, and for that, you’ll need a great opening line lyric images
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