Avoiding Cliche Lyrics

[paullad]

I've been working on lyrics for a song and have just been writing stuff down randomly. When I go back and read through what I've written its almost all cliche. Some worse than others.

 

What are you people doing to avoid cliche?

 

Danke.

[john]

Hi Danke

I would ask, cliche in idea, or in expression?

If the first, I would say don't be too harsh on yourself, most ideas have been done many many many times, but then people want to hear about certain topics over and over. The thing is, they want to hear about it in relatively unique combinations (where possible) even if it is just one little detail, and they really want to have them expressed in unique ways. That doesn't mean every line needs to express something differently from the way people commonly express things, but rather you think on interesting combinations, you twist meanings of common phrases, or the context they sit in, or both. One way to think on it is "okay, I like this phrase... Now what will I do to make it mine?"

I am just scratching the surface here. Although not entirely matched, you might find my article on keeping a song interesting in the songwriting articles section useful, http://songwriting.songstuff.com/article/

Cheers

John

[paullad]

Hey John. Actually Danke means thanks in German.

 

Great points you bring up.

[john]

Weirdly I know danke meant thanks, but we have names and nick names and pen names of all sorts and it ich nein clicken lol I guess German just came outta left field lol I used to add Gaelic phrases but almost no one knows them lol

[Janeva]

Hi Danke

I would ask, cliche in idea, or in expression?

If the first, I would say don't be too harsh on yourself, most ideas have been done many many many times, but then people want to hear about certain topics over and over. The thing is, they want to hear about it in relatively unique combinations (where possible) even if it is just one little detail, and they really want to have them expressed in unique ways. That doesn't mean every line needs to express something differently from the way people commonly express things, but rather you think on interesting combinations, you twist meanings of common phrases, or the context they sit in, or both. One way to think on it is "okay, I like this phrase... Now what will I do to make it mine?"

I am just scratching the surface here. Although not entirely matched, you might find my article on keeping a song interesting in the songwriting articles section useful, http://songwriting.songstuff.com/article/

Cheers

John

 

 

I must have seen that link before but I've bookmarked it and will keep as a reference, thanks, John.

 

When I write lyrics I often google phrases I think of to check that they haven't been used too often before - it's always a challenge, though 

 

Jan

[john]

Even with a well used phrase, most writers don't use all that much creativity! It is like they used it all up just finding that phrase.

The truth is, we can all be a little lazy sometimes, but really many writers stop at the literal common use and understanding of a phrase... But for me, and I think most readers and listeners, the magic happens when we take something common and make it uncommon again, give it a unique edge, and fundamentally a new perspective.

This is true musically as well. If you only use common phrases it is familiar, but essentially it is not different enough to either stand out, or to challenge us and make us become interested.

In many ways what you are doing is managing expectation. First we set up an expectation, we build it and when we deliver the bit we've all been waiting for, we twist it, change it and otherwise screw with it to take that expectation and slap the listener around the face with it. The set up is key.

Back on lyrics, let's take a phrase: "I love you."

It is one of the most powerful things to say to someone. We all know this. We all have strong feelings associated with it. But it has been so over used, you couldn't accuse it of being very hook-like.

So how could you change it?

The set up is a good start.

"I will brush the hair from your face

Hold you in a warm embrace

I promise I will always stay true

Baby, you're my only. I love you."

Ok not great. Hey, gimme a break. It's quick and off the cuff and, and, and... Meh.

So there it played straight and was as cliché as it gets. So what can we do to break from cliché, and make it more interesting?

Well a big part come in what we can do to the phrase or to the set up to change perception, give it a shake, twist the meaning.

"I will brush the hair from your face

Hold you in a warm embrace

I promise I will always stay true

But I always tell myself. I love you."

Ok so now our intrepid listener is saying "what the...?" Is this guy saying he loves his partner, or is he saying "I might like you, but I love myself"? With a bit of work it could be clearer to suite your purpose, or not.

"I will brush the hair from your face

Hold you in a warm embrace

I promise I will always stay true

Baby, you're my only. I love blue."

"what? What the hell are you trying to say to me? You're lonely and sad? You like the colour? What?" In this case we change the phrase and kept the context the same. From the listener's perspective it completely doesn't deliver on expectation. In both cases the listener now has questions, and that is a good thing. It helps make it stick.

"I will brush the hair from your face

Hold you in a warm embrace

I promise I will always stay true

Baby, you're my only. I love to hate you."

"I will brush the hair from your face

Hold you in a warm embrace

I promise I will always stay true

Baby, you're my only. I love...."

"I will brush the hair from your face

Hold you in a warm embrace

I promise I will always stay true

Baby, you're not my only. I love you."

Yet again, all just minimal changes intending to put questions into the listener's mind, to take it away from cliché. All scratching the surface.

What do you think?

[Mark Danger]

Just keep writing.  They say that to learn to draw you should take a six foot stack of plain white paper and fill the whole thing - by the time you're done you'll have some idea what you're doing. Writing - as does any skill - operates under the same principle. 

 

When you're not writing, read. Read as wide a variety of works as you can muster. See a word you don't know?  Look it up.  Exposure to words is the only surefire way to not only expand your vocabulary, but to give you a good idea of what's already been done.

 

Lastly, allow yourself to write crap.  Be okay with it. Trudging through your own sub-par work is the only way to get to the good stuff.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Mark Danger

[john]

Hey Dave, one cliché at a time. Dammit, that's just a cliché too far. That's cliché, after cliché. Help,! I am drowning in clichés. You just never know the cliché that's going to get you!

[paullad]

Thanks a lot everyone. This is really great. I can just sit back and take in all of the wisdom here.

[john]

My two cents, for whatever it's worth, is that many lyrics are cliché. Cliches are only bad because they don't have the same power as something fresh and original. Things that can challenge songwriters to write better lyrics? Odd time signatures, narratives, or character studies (think Sting, for one popular example).  You can also vary the bar length of verses or choruses, work with a formal rhythmic scheme and throw in variations (for example, if your lines are primarily iambic, throw in some trochees). What matters most, I think, is style. Even a horrible cliché lyricist can go a long way with a great voice (like the dude from Foreigner, for example). Bottom line is, it works if it works. Just write something that feels authentic, that wrestles with craft issues as well as style. Your heart and soul are good guides.  Just be honest, and surrender to the visionary within. If you need a cliché to make the lyric work, then don't sweat it. If your gut is telling you there might be something better, listen to it.

 

Well said Steve.

[White Soul Black Heart]

I think all writers will find themselves writing cliches at some point or rehashing phrases. So I wouldn't feel too bad if it happens so long as you recognize it. I'd say they are more common in pop/indie music than not; at least the ideas that is.

 

When I don't like lyrics I really let them marinate for a while. I think about them. Sing them. And when it comes time to alter them the idea/expression I intend to make has gained some clarity or another angle and I can work from there. I do this even for lyrics that I like initially but don't truly fit the scheme.

 

I find this is also a good way to find/impart double or hidden meanings to the ideas in your lyrics.

 

Also maybe you can bounce ideas/words off of other people, brainstorming in a way. I wrote lyrics once quite literally by asking a person to do some association with words I already had in mind. I got maybe two or three words from them and the story and the lyrics took off from there.

 

But truly avoiding cliches is hard if you're not a master writer (which I don't believe many songwriters are).

[MikeRobinson]

Just don't write about "baby" "goin' down to the river" "in a (red) pickup truck" "with beer."  There's an entire industry around these parts (Nashville) that's devoted to writing songs just like that, and they don't need the competition.  

 

Sometimes the difference between cliché and originality is:  one unexpected, different word.  And, sometimes, the lyric is cliché to the point of being hackneyed, but the treatment of the song itself is an 'earbug' that you just can't stop humming.

 

What I'd suggest is, simply, "write it anyway."  Get the thing out of your head and onto paper.  Then, rewrite it as often as you need to, never throwing any of the copies away.  Don't rip anything in half.  And, don't expect your muse to necessarily show-up when you call.  Keep all drafts.  Then, when you're rich and famous and Hard Rock Cafe wants a copy of the lyric, obligingly write it down on a napkin.  (The fantasy is supposed to be that "this just popped into your head one day."  Indulge them.)