too straightforward lyrics?

Sometimes I think that my lyrics are too straightforward and I don't know if should change them or not because I don't know if lyrics are ok if they're straightforward, because most songs I here that I like aren't straightforward but meaning can be "deciphered". So, uh, yeah, what should I do about my lyrics?

Originally Posted by: oib111Sometimes I think that my lyrics are too straightforward and I don't know if should change them or not because I don't know if lyrics are ok if they're straightforward, because most songs I here that I like aren't straightforward but meaning can be "deciphered". So, uh, yeah, what should I do about my lyrics?

Sometimes straightforwardness is good. You don't want to write a song entirely in metaphors, or you end up with something like "I Am the Walrus." Incidentally, that is one of my favourite songs in terms of lyrics, just for sheer absurdity. But it's a hard thing to pull off.

I think a good way to go is to have lines that are straightforward in themselves, but take deciphering in relation to the song. Just using "I Am the Walrus" as an example again (because now that I've brought it up it's stuck in my head), you have a string of nonsense that goes

Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.
Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody tuesday.
Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.
Mister city policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row.
See how they fly like lucy in the sky, see how they run.

followed immediately by

I'm crying, i'm crying.
I'm crying, i'm crying.

In itself, "I'm crying" is about as simple as it gets, but given the absurd complexity of the previous lines, it kinda makes you stop and go "wait, WHAT??"

So my advice would be to try and mix it up like that. Going from wacky metaphors into plain english makes things interesting, in my opinion.

Yea, but the Beatles were prolly on an acid trip or LSD when they wrote that lol. Cuz thats like one of their trippiest songs, and one of my favorites as well lol. Thanks for the advice, but I'll try not to get stoned when I do stuff like that :cool:

I don't see a problem with being straightforward with lyric writing. As long as you're able to tell a story or get your meaning across the way of doing so doesn't really matter. Trust your gut instinct and go with it.

Yeah it's all about what you like. If you like straight forward lyrics write straight forward lyrics. Most pop songs are very straight forward (at least by my standards) some are less so, but if thats what your going for the simpler the better. Apparently most people don't like to be confused when they listen to lyrics and it's been my experience that Americans specifically cannot handle any amount of real complexity without getting upset (in general). Just look at movies, they are the most straight forward things ever. And particularly in action movies they will have characters repeat the bad guys plot or whatever like three or four times (just towards the end they usually go over it one or two times at the beginning too) because otherwise people get confused.

I think my favorite part of "No country for old men" (besides the movie of course) was listening to how pissed everyone in the theater was when it ended. I was floored and all I heard anyone else do was complain about how much it sucked.

sorry, bit of a tangent but you get my meaning. The Beatles pulled off a few ambiguous songs because they were light and fluffy and lots of fun regardless of whether they actually mean anything. But the Beatles were also pretty pimp song writers and had done tons of straight forward pop songs long before their psychedelic days where actually their popularity started to wain and people got pissed at them. They where still a huge band but people (particularly in America) got pissed when they started introducing deeper meaning and such into their songs.

But there again do what you like if you do it well people will notice.

Originally Posted by: Drew77 The Beatles pulled off a few ambiguous songs because they were light and fluffy and lots of fun regardless of whether they actually mean anything. But the Beatles were also pretty pimp song writers and had done tons of straight forward pop songs long before their psychedelic days where actually their popularity started to wain and people got pissed at them. They where still a huge band but people (particularly in America) got pissed when they started introducing deeper meaning and such into their songs.

I feel the Beatle's psychedelic days popularity was due to them already having a following. Like you said the their popularity began to wain. Do you think it was because it wasn't the sound their audience wanted or do you think they just wasn't producing as good of music as in their earlier days? I contribute their longevity because they were constantly changing their style and because unlike a lot in that time period were not really good musicians. The Beatle's lyrics may have been wierd and probable meaningless, but I think their music was always great. What say you?

Originally Posted by: looneytunesThe Beatle's lyrics may have been wierd and probable meaningless, but I think their music was always great. What say you?

I dunno...SOME of their lyrics may be meaningless, but not a whole lot. And really, who can say that every single line they've ever written has as much meaning as the last? But I do think their music was always great. Frankly, I like their later stuff more than their Fab days. The White Album is, in my opinion, probably the finest album ever made.

I think the Beatles were always good song writers but I actually don't think they made any really important music until their psychedelic days. Sgt. Pepper is almost definitely the most important thing they ever did, so I would say that when they started introducing a lot of the psychedelic stuff their popularity wained because a lot of the people that listened to them just wanted that pop sound and didn't want to think and they were the same people who where against the counter culture that was influencing the Beatles to expand and actually try to do something with their music. So those people got pissed, but a lot of people started listening at that point too.

Anyways.

getting back to the topic. Straight forward lyrics are fine if thats what you like. It's more about figuring out how you write and create and getting yourself in a position to best do that. It doesn't matter what your doing, like i said if you do it well (communicate well) then someone will notice, the number of people that will notice just depends on what your doing and how relevant it is.