Song writing: The Importance of Good Lyrics and

Song Vision
By Brenton Brown
Having been involved in four Vineyard recording projects
that weve done in the UK, and in particular having sat on
the song panel for three of those projects and listened to
over 200 song submissions by song writers from Vineyards
around the country, Ive come to the conclusion that the
challenge typically is not about melody or feel. Its not a
musical thing by and large. Almost always, the panel will
have to turn a song down because there are problems
lyrically. I want us to take a look at this area of song
writing, which might help some of us, move from writing
songs that are used locally to writing songs that can be
used nationally. Here Im going to talk about song-vision
and lyrics.
Song-vision - making a point
Id like to put in a disclaimer that, as with any creative
expression, there are always exceptions to the rule.
Nevertheless, almost always, the songs that connect with
the most number of people, the songs that we find being
sung in the most number of churches and even the songs
that are played on most of the radio stations, are generally
songs that express coherently a single thought or idea.
They are songs that have one (often universal) song-vision.
Good songs, the songs that people own, are songs that
ruthlessly stick to expressing a single thought or idea.
Very often the best songs are songs that find creative ways
of expressing an idea from a number of different
perspectives. A single, even complex idea can of course be
looked at from different angles or contrasted from
different perspectives but ultimately the song will be
saying just one thing. Mixed messages are confusing. Before
you finish your song, you should know how you want people
to feel or react on singing/hearing it. Your job as a writer
is to make one point, and make it well. Ask yourself - what
is the one thing I want to say?
Ideas on how to express one thing passionately and
coherently in a song
Here are four things that Ive found to be useful tools on
how to maintain one song-vision. Typically, as we write
songs, we start with an initial moment of inspiration where
we hastily scribble down a flood of thoughts that often
seem to work and then continue mostly with perspiration
and pain where the going is much slower and we struggle to
find things to say! Here are a couple of ideas they may help
you through this painful stage:
1. Spend time doing some blue sky mining before
you begin editing
After youve been writing songs for a while the main
challenge is to keep the editor in you out of the creative
process. I find that the moment I start to create and have
some ideas, I have an editor in me saying, Im not sure if
thats congregational enough, what about the theological
content of that phrase? etc.
Let the creative in you run rampant! Typically we only keep
about 10% of what we create. The rest we throw away. If
we start editing our creative process too early then we are
limiting the amount of material we will have to work with
in the end. Its far harder to re-engage in the creative
process after youve been editing the first verse and chorus
for the last hour. Its like switching brains. So, try to have
as much creative raw material to begin with as possible.
2. Start the process knowing that youre trying to
make one point
This sounds obvious but it can really help the song. In
Nashville, staff-writers tend to start the process by finding
a title, and then work out what the song will be saying
from there. Once theyve got a catchy title they pretty
much know where the song is going. The title guides the
creative process and provides guide rails to keep the songs
vision/message on track. At some point during the crafting
process write down one sentence identifying what it is you
want to say.
3. Spend time researching
Here is a common problem. Songs of mine that have
suffered from meandering song-visions have tended to do
so simply because I just dont have enough to say on the
subject. But I want to finish writing the song. So what do I
do? I start writing about something else!
Our inspiration for the lyrics we write can come from
almost anywhere - books, courses, experiences, dreams,
movies, conversations, devotionals, sermons, quiet times
etc. The list is almost endless. Keep a notebook for phrases
that just pop out at you. Always be on the look out for new
expressions of ancient truths - these cut through the layers
of familiarity and allow the message to penetrate our
hearts.
However, this initial impetus will often not be enough to
carry us through to the end of the song. At a certain point
you will probably need to do some research - read around
the subject, use theological and devotional books, get hold
of sermon tapes, get a concordance and cross-reference,
study relevant passages etc. Never in the history of
Christianity has there been so much material available to
read and use. I would encourage everyone to constantly be
studying. The things you learn will ferment in you. Then,
when the creative process comes, the material will be
there. For me some of the strongest songs Ive written
came in this way. All who are thirsty came the morning
after Id read The Divine Romance and had been studying
Revelation; Humble King came after a two-month course
on the gospels.
As songwriters, we play a very important educational role
in church life. I have often heard the phrase, songs will
always outlast sermons in the collective memory of a
church - thats why they had better be useful! Its
important to make sure that the songs were writing are
both accessible but also theologically deep.
4. Learn to look for phrases and images that re-
express your main message
This is perhaps the most useful tool Ive found in writing. If
song writing is really about saying one thing passionately,
then more often than not the genius of good lyric writing is
really about expressing the same thought, repeatedly
throughout the song using different but complimentary
words and images.
Some songs are simply this: multiple expressions of one
single, powerful idea, for example Be the centre. The
central idea is repeated using 10 different images to
express this basic thought - source, light, hope, song,
internal fire, wind in sails, reason to live, vision, path,
guide. It is simple and powerful, and results in an undiluted
message.
Summary
Good songs, the songs that people own, are songs that
ruthlessly stick to expressing a single thought or idea -
the song-vision
Your job as a writer is to make one point, and make it
well. Ask yourself - what is the one thing I want to say?
Keep the editor in you out of the initial creative
process - let the creative in you run rampant!
Learn to look for phrases and images that re-express
your main message. The genius of good lyric writing is
about expressing the same thought, repeatedly
throughout the song using different but complimentary
words and images.
This article is taken from a series of notes by Brenton Brown (used at a
Song-writing workshop at Mallshanger in December 2000) edited by Simon
and Gaynor Shaw used with kind permission and updated by Vineyard
Records UK. Brenton Brown is a songwriter and worship leader on the
Vineyard Records UK releases Come now is the time, Hungry,
Surrender, Doing the Stuff Live and Holy Brenton and his wife, Jude,
now live in the US and attend the Malibu Vineyard.