Lyricists That Inspire You

[Shane]

I'm a student which means i'll have a long time off soon. Not only just out of general curiosity, but whilst i'm off i'd like to find some inspiration.

So which lyricists do you love, and why?

My personal favourite is Matt Davies from the band Funeral for a Friend (more so their earlier stuff). He has such poetic and unique lyrics and some lyrics can give some fantastic imagery, such as "we're sitting half way, away from nowhere, praying for our lips to touch" and "your neonlight daydream will shatter and break".

I also really like Dallas Green from Alexisonfire/City and Colour and Bert McKraken from The Used.

[BoParker]

I'm one of those guys who like the songwriters who aren't primarely artist. The behind the scene writers like:

Jason Blume - who wrote hit songs for groups like Backstreet Boys and Brittney Spears

Jeffrey Steele - with over 60 hit songs under his belt with the likes of Tim McGraw & Mongemery Gentry

Desmond Child - who wrote hits for Bon Jovi and Aerosmith

Diane Warren - Special guest American Idol judge and hit songwriter for the likes of Toni Braxton and Tricia Yearwood

Rivers Rutherford & Craig Wiseman - Country songwriters who cowrote for the likes of Dolly, Brad Paisley, and Trace Adkins

Those are some of my inspirations as that's pretty much that route I've chose to take. I'm not really wanting to be on stage. I'm more into looking to join a staff or become a serious publisher.

Nice topic Shane.

[Spock]

Some of my favorite lyricists write for the stage and screen. Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, etc.

Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked, Prince of Egypt, Enchanted) is always a big inspiration for me. This is something he wrote for the musical "Pippin."

"When you are as old as I, my dear,

And I hope that you never are,

You will woefully wonder why, my dear,

Through your cataracts and catarrh,

You could squander away or sequester

A drop of a precious year;

For when your best days are yester,

The rest're twice as dear."

Posolutely brilliant!

[quadrant5]

She supposedly does some lyrical work, so I'd have to say Mette Lindberg from The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. Why do I love her? She has an amazing voice, she's beautiful, funny and intelligent. 'Nuff said.

Oh, you mean lyrically? Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. I like to think back to their first two albums. Songs like "Going To Pasalacqua", a song about overcoming obstacles in a relationship ("Pasalacqua" was supposedly a funeral home in the area that the members of the band grew up in, so could the aforementioned obstacle be death?). "80", the line "80 please keep taking me away" in a song about young love (80 is taken to mean an 80 ounce alcoholic beverage by the general population. Billie Joe's wife's name is Adrianne. The name Billie Joe sometimes calls her by? "Adie". Draw a connection?). After Billie Joe and his (now) wife shared their first kiss, Billie Joe went home and wrote the song "2000 Lightyears Away" about how he felt afterwards. From the chorus: "She holds my malachite so tight so never let go" (Malachite is a green copper carbonate mineral. Billies Joe's eyes? Green). These corny little things make me love each song so much more every time I hear the songs.