"An Economy of Words" (Part 1) or "Would Calvin Coolidge have made an excellent lyricist?"

It isn't true that when you look up taciturn in the dictionary you are shown a picture of Calvin Coolidge, but the 30th President of the United States was well known for what he didn't say.

My favorite story about "Silent Cal" is of the time he took his seat at a fancy dinner party and was told by the lady next to him, "Mr. President, I asked our hostess to seat me next to you because I have a $5 bet with my husband that I can get more than two words out of you." To which Coolidge replied, "You lose."

I can't imagine a more perfect response. That kind of economy of words - saying exactly what you mean in just the right number of words - is the envy and goal of those of us who write lyrics. Unfortunately many of the lyrics I see these days err on one side of that formula or the other.

It seems to me that singer/songwriters have a tendency toward using too many words, and it also seems to me that writers of praise and worship choruses often write too simply. Of course those are generalizations, but they are generalizations worth exploring. In this article (part 1 of 3) I'll address the "too many words" side.

Singer/songwriters I've talked to generally write for themselves and also generally write either words and music together or music first, with only an idea of what the song will be about. That combination creates two opportunities for being wordy.

The first is that in writing for himself/herself the singer/songwriter usually starts singing the song as it is being written. When that happens it is fairly easy to find a place for almost every word that comes to mind, losing the focus on crafting the lyrics and focusing instead on how the song will feel emotionally and how it will be stylized. Once a style of some kind is locked into, it is unlikely that the words are going to be edited much.

The result is a song that is not easily singable by anyone other than the author, because there are words (or at least syllables) without notes, lines that don't match in length or meter, and the requirement for very specific timing. If you want to know if your song does that, just try to teach it to a few amateur singers and see how many times you have to go over it before they get it right.

Second, writing the music first with only a vague idea of what the song will be about (perhaps a hook or a title has been formulated) creates some dangers. One danger is hanging on to a line that needs to be changed and another is what I call "stream of consciousness" lyrics. I see them all them time, and it makes me just a tiny bit crazy.

I'm tempted to give you some examples - and I'm thinking of one in particular from a world class singer/performer/songwriter whom I've met and like - but instead I'll just say stream of consciousness lyrics remind me of Rube Goldberg's mousetrap, a famous "invention" that is so convoluted it is hilarious. While the idea is to catch a mouse, the steps that are taken to do that are so outlandish, take so long, and are so strangely connected that it is a wonder any mice are ever caught. The same is true for the stream of consciousness song - it is a wonder any minds are ever caught.

In part 3 of this series I'll talk about getting the number of words just right, but for now here are a couple of tips on making lyrics tighter.

First, don't ever get so attached to a line that you write around it. Save it, use it somewhere else, or print it in large letters and frame it for your wall, but don't let it dominate your life. (Yes, there are hook lines that "are" the song, but that isn't what I mean and you know it. Or at least you will when one of those cute lines tries to lure you away from the song you are writing.)

Second, every time you say something in a song ask yourself whether or not you have said it as precisely as you can and should. If your lines seem to lack precision it may be because they are too wordy.

Third, non sequiturs should automatically be removed and/or replaced. Don't use a line that has nothing to do with the line before/after it (or anything else in the song) just because you like the phrase or just because it rhymes. In fact I've seen whole verses that are non sequiturs!

Fourth and last, don't "cheat" within the song by forcing more words and syllables into the music than it should take. Like squeezing into an old pair of pants, just because you can make them "fit" doesn't mean they really do.

Next time: An Economy of Words, part 2, or Simple Simon's new profession.

Lewis Greer
President, Do Good Music
lewis@dogoodmusic.com

(If you have questions or comments about this article, please send them to the author or to info@dogoodmusic.com.)