justsoulin

This may glue you a little; Cuba - Gibson Brothers

Jeanie did it for me Tom, not you haha. Crossroads - Tracey Chapman (Traffic link)

25 Miles - Edwin Starr Love the Kermit Jeanie, hope he comes round again

That got a lot of covers like this one My Fave Thumb A Ride - Earl Wright (an instrumental!!)

There's song titles never appear, there's song titles that are the hook, there's song titles that appear in the chorus or verse and sometimes both. I guess that means it is up to you

It's All Over Me - Otis Blackwell BTW Tom, playing a 12 1/2 min version of your Doors selection. Very Doors sounding

Dance To The Music - Sly & the Family Stone (gotta get that one in while the bandwagon is a rolling)

Ordinary Life - Van Morrison

One of them could be the chorus, again think B.R. You say the lyrics will be a doddle. I don't concur. I think they'll be difficult. Start putting something together rough, then let's see the direction you're going in.

The Candy Man - Sammy Davis Jr Remember this one? Who can take a sunrise (who can take a sunrise) Sprinkle it with dew (sprinkle it with dew) Cover it with choc'late and a miracle or two The Candy Man (the Candy Man) Oh, the Candy Man can (the Candy Man can) The Candy Man can 'Cause he mixes it with love And makes the world taste good (Makes the world taste good)

Missed that one big time (20 lashes self lashed) Don't Play That Song For Me - Aretha Franklin

This is just coming off the top of my head but what you're looking for is drama to convey these emotions. Stay with me on this a moment Alex, before you begin to think I'm not talking out of my mouth lol. In pictures or video, we see the emotion - easy peasy. How does a dancer convey them? Go on, ask yourself. Straight away I thought of the drama that is conveyed in Bohemian Rhapsody (not the video) through the constant changes. The lyrics will play a part but the delivery more. There's a song I know that kicks of with piano but has the added sound effects of first children playing (happy) and then gun shots (anxiety, worry). There's lot of things that you can do with speed/pace. Perhaps you need to make 4 sections, focus on each and then put them in the order where they link best.

Sorry Timothy, can't see the link to Find the cost of freedom with Bob's tune Unless the cost of freedom was to have to listen to Bob (just joking). So linking to Tom's (and batter me if I'm wrong), Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution - Tracy Chapman (Freedom/Revolution)

Finally Young Hearts Run Free - Candi Staton

Thx Blackhawk, the example was just a quick one I could think of using you, they and I

Fantastic post Dolce - the details you've given here are just the kind I'm looking for since the above statement is true for me and your advice about FL & Ableton is spot on for a simpleton like me (& Q5). Thank you so much for finding this post and taking the time to reply (very happy)

Thanks for the initial feesback guys Make the distinction clear - ok will try. Arty, nope - not looking for arty (in my sense of the word). A song/lyric here based on religion got me to thinking and writing 2 sides which would also include schizophrenia (I'm meaning the splitting of the masses etc as multiple personalities). Then I began another on another topic and so on and STOPPED - I thought I committed the holiest of holy sins - mixing them up - aaaggghhhhhhhh. Now I'll have to change everything Hang on, why not ask first

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, was hoping for some deep and meaningful insight lol

Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Eva Cassidy

Good question. Gradual has a relevant point but I don't think it applies in this post since you're asking . You don't seem to have a problem being creative and writing across the genre's. Let's look at this from the listeners perspective. When I was a lot younger, I only listened to 45's. I listened to the top 20 singles. I couldn't waste what money I had on an album which at that time, I thought contained irrelevant rubbish as the album songs we're nowhere near Top 20 quality (oh little did I know haha). There were of course those bands that only ever made albums (I'm talking about a long time ago). They had a fan based who idolised them and they fit into a niche market - mostly heavy rock I'd say or psychedelic perhaps. Anyway, suffice to say I never heard any of that rubbish either (remember I'm a kid talking here). But my older siblings who could afford albums, I began to hear the artists range. My own choice of music as a teenager meant I had an abundance of singles and it wasn't until later and older that I did a U turn and dived into albums. That was yesteryear. Moving on to today. I've just watched "I Need That Record: The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store" from 2008 and this brought back a lot of memories though the documentary is based purely on America. Such stores were full of Albums (vinyl) and everything was split into genre's etc (dinosaurs like me like it this way). Today we have less albums and more singles because of the internet and artists trying to always crossover (and often failing badly). Yes, albums are out there (CD's) but what a load of rubbish (in general) and that's me talking now as an adult. Funny how that hasn't changed for me and yet it has. You see the old albums when I began to buy them sent me on a frenzy to catch up with all the amazing music I'd missed buying singles, that were on the albums. Now I feel it really is a waste of money to buy an album as there's only a few tracks worthy on them with multiple versions of the same song, so return to buying only singles. But I want to buy albums! Buying singles I may as well just wait for the next "Now That's What I Call Music ...... 3704". Napster (never used it) paved the way along with MP3.com for being able to dload your favourite songs so you could do your own mixtape. Ipod's & ITunes just made it legal. This may all seem nonsensical and off topic but the point I'm hoping and trying to make is who is going to like your music? Kids, 20 somethings, die hard punks, Mums with a soft touch for ballads, Dad's wanting their old rock tunes? Will it be on CD or as a dload? Have you got sufficient material to split and so cater for more than one group? What do kids want? What do Mum's want? And I'm meaning by this, a single or an album, a dload or a cd? So the answer to your question is identify your market (including age). If you've got different styles across different genre's, without a lot of expensive help and direction from people who know what they are doing, don't mix apples with oranges so much. Think of an artist that appeals to every group? I can't. I maybe able to think of a song that appeals to most groups but buying that artists album, most groups would never play the album again. Are you getting what I am saying? Let's take a universal icon such as Stevie Wonder or Whitney Houston or Robbie Williams. Whose album would you buy today and why? I wouldn't buy Stevie Wonders because I love his old stuff. Whitney's, well she's trying to be mass appealing and current by mixing ballads with disco and rap and hip hop and she's lost her soul to me, so I don't buy hers anymore. Robbie Williams will be the one for me and I don't really like his music - so go figure that equation out. I will say in complete contradiction though, be careful how you start out. What I mean by this, I'll use the following two examples. I heard Curtis Stigers perform on the TV (a long time ago), liked the song so bought the album (I was an adult at the time so in the album buying part of life) and liked it. I bought the next album and enjoyed that too. I recently bought 2 new albums without really looking at them. He's gone back to his roots - jazz. The 2 albums are basically jazz standard covers. A disappointment. Long time ago, there was a song called "I Don't Want A Lover" by a Scottish band called Texas. I bought Southside and it was so far removed from my music tastes, for some unearthly reason I loved it as I did Ricks Road, Mothers heaven etc. They stayed true to a sound and style I found unique. They had a solid fanbase, not really large but obviously enough to keep them signed up. Then someone stepped in and commercialised them with White On Blonde. I've never bought anything by them since. So I gather you are hoping to be what your songs are and by that I mean you want to be the writer/composer/singer. So for me you need to pick say a couple of styles to give you some variety. You need to choose and decide which market you want to sing for. You need to choose and decide how people will listen to your music (cd or dload). In whatever order you decide these choices (and more), you should get your answer as to what to include. I'm lucky, I just want to write so I don't have to worry about this. Hope this has been of some help (to someone)

I've read many times that a lyricist or songwriter should not mix up 1st and 3rd person etc. If you begin with one, stick with it. Why? What "set in stone" rule stops you from being able to include "all" sides? Why restrict expression? If I have a good lyric where "general" statements are involved that apply to I/me, he/she and you/you or they, to help make the reader/listener associate more easily with them I want to use the you etc (as in singular and/or plural) but then in the other lines, verses or chorus I want to say how "I" personally feel and so use I/me. Quick example: Don't you ever feel down and out Don't you ever feel You want to scream and shout At all the things you see All the hurt they cause I know if left to me I'd tie them to a runaway horse. Or is this all in my imagination? Do you think it's ok to mix them up? Answers on a postcard please And please, give examples for and against.

Lost Without You - Robin Thicke

Gonna Find A True Love - Bottom & Co

It's An Uphill Climb (To The Bottom) - Walter Jackson

What Kind Of Love Is This - Johnny Nash Double hit - yessss