We are delighted to welcome Songbay Artist Justine Perry to the Songbay Blog. Justine is a professional songwriter and lyricist based in UK. For more information see http://www.jpmusicandlyrics.com/

Sense Orientated Lyric Writing, Metaphorand Imagery

By Justine Perry (@justine_perry11)

 

To introduce myself briefly, I graduated from Falmouth University in July 2013 after studying BA (Hons) Music Composition. I now work as a professional lyricist and music tutor. During my final year at university, I specialised in lyric writing. It was fascinating to discover new skills and techniques to improve my creative writing. One of these techniques is sense orientated writing.

 

We’re all familiar with the five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. In addition to these, there are body and motion senses, for example experiencing pain or seasickness, or the feeling you get when you’re on a rollercoaster. The examples are endless.

 

Below I have written a short description:

I sit in the overcrowded café. I’m feeling a bit hemmed in, the surrounding tables are too close. Red-faced waiters hurry through swinging doors to deliver food to impatient customers. I push a stray strand of hair off my face and accidentally jolt my glass. The split coca cola stains my t-shirt. People point me out to their friends, who cover their mouths with their hands.

 

Now compare this with the following description:

The sound of screeching children and explosive laughter in this cafeis ear-splitting. The swinging doors creek repeatedly, as red-faced waiters hurry to deliver lukewarm food to impatient customers. The lingering odour of stale coffee is starting to make me feel nauseous. A stray strand of hair tickles my face. As I push it away I accidentally jolt my glass. The split cola coca is uncomfortably cold against my skin, as the brown liquid soaks through my t-shirt. My face heats up with embarrassment as people stare. They cover their mouths with their hands but I hear the whispers.

 

In the first one, I describe the scene by sight only. In the second I engage with various other senses too. By involving the senses, I am able to describe a detailed scene that people can identify with.

 

I can make the description more effective still by using strong metaphor:

The sound of screeching children and explosive laughter in this cafe is ear-splitting. The swinging doors creek repeatedly, protesting against the red-faced waiters who hurry to deliver lukewarm food to impatient customers. The lingering odour of stale coffee is starting to make me feel nauseous. A stray strand of hair playfully tickles my face. As I push it away I accidentally jolt my glass. The split cola coca is uncomfortably cold against my defenceless skin, as the brown liquid speeds through my t-shirt. My face heats up with embarrassment as people stare. They cover their mouths with their hands but I hear the whispers.

 

The underlined words personify the objects. By describing protesting swinging doors, playful hair and speeding liquid, I strengthen the quality of the writing. Combining sense orientated writing with metaphor is a powerful tool. Here’s a good example, taken from the novel Skylight by Kelly Simmons:

On the steps outside he duct-tapes my mouth and wrists, then pulls me alongside him. The flagstone scrapes the polish off my toes. Turning the corner by the picket fence, I smell my lilac bushes, feel my blue hydrangeas paint-brush rain on my calves. Drink up, I want to cry beneath the tape. Who the hell will water you now?

 

This technique is often used in song lyrics too. Here are some examples:

1)   ‘Days Go By’ by Keith Urban:

‘Days go by; I can feel them flying like a hand out the window in the wind.’

2)   ‘One More Dollar’ by Gillian Welch:

‘I missed those hills with the windy pines, for their song seemed to suit me.’

3)   ‘All Too Well’ by Taylor Swift:

‘You keep my old scarf from that very first week ‘cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me.’

 

Imagery is another tool that can enhance creative writing. The trick is to be as original as possible. Look at the following poem, Going Places by LemnSissay:

Another

cigarette ash

television serial filled

advert analysing

cupboard starving

front room filling

tea slurping

mind chewing

brain burping

carpet picking

pots watching

room gleaning

toilet flushing

night,

with nothing to do

 

I think I’ll paint roads

on my front room walls

to convince myself

that I’m going places.

 

   The final verse, which describes painting roads on the front room walls, creates a powerful and memorable image in the mind. It’s the simplicity of the image combined with originality that makes it so effective.

 

‘Skyscraper’ by Demi Lovato uses simple imagery very effectively lyrically. As a result, the song has had huge success and been covered by several artists. Here’s the chorus:

You can take everything I have

You can break everything I am

Like I’m made of glass

Like I’m made of paper

Go on and try to tear me down

I will be rising from the ground

Like a skyscraper

Like a skyscraper

 

   This lyric brings to mind the image of a rising skyscraper. The similes ‘like I’m made of glass’ and ‘like I’m made of paper’ are also effective. Through the use of imagery, the emotional lyrics in ‘Skyscraper’ paint a memorable picture without doing anything too elaborate. The opening verse is also effective, metaphorically linking human tears with the raining sky. There’s a hint of sense orientated writing there too:

Skies are crying, I am watching

Catching tear drops in my hands

Only silence as it’s ending

Like we never had a chance

 

   I hope you have found this article useful. You can read more articles on lyric writing by visiting my blog, PerryEleven – http://www.jpmusicandlyrics.com/blog-landing-page. I also welcome you to find me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/jpmusicandlyrics, visit my website http://www.jpmusicandlyrics.com and follow me on Twitter, @justine_perry11.

 

Sources

BARBER, Laura.  2007.  Poems For Life.  London: Penguin

LOVATO, Demi.  2011.  Skyscraper.  Hollywood

PATTISON, Pat.  2009.  Writing Better Lyrics. 2nd edn.  Ohio: Writer’s Digest Books

SIMMONS, Kelly.  2008.  Skylight.  Great Britain: John Murray

SWIFT, Taylor.  2012.  Red.  Big Machine

URBAN, Keith.  2005.  Days Go By.  Capitol Nashville

WELCH, Gillian.  1996.  Revival.  Almo Sounds