Songwriting Craft & Inspiration
ROBIN FREDERICK TAKES YOU INSIDE TODAY'S HIT SONGS.
The Urban music scene is more than just Rap and Hip Hop. It includes some of the most well-crafted lyrics and melodies on the music scene today. Study hits by Alicia Keys, Beyonce,John Legend, and more,
“Halo” recorded by Beyoncé is a huge Pop hit that has lasted the test of time and continues to pile up listens at Spotify—over a billion at the time I write this. It’s a great example of a big power ballad with a simple, repeating four-chord progression, a killer melody, and an uplifting lyric.
A lot of songwriters I know love to write songs and lyrics in this style, so let’s see what we can learn from success!
This Song Guide is dedicated to all you guys and gals who lived, loved, and danced to the great R&B/Soul hits of the ’60s and ’70s. If you remember Rose Royce, The O’Jays, The Delfonics, and Teddy Pendergrass… you’re gonna love this song.
“Leave the Door Open” has an authentic vintage Soul sound that makes me wanna teeter around the dance floor on platform shoes so tall they give me a nose bleed. At the same time, it has the luscious lyric imagery, cascading rhymes, and rhythmical melody twists that my 2020-era self finds totally satisfying.
It’s a perfect example of a successful blend of styles—old and new—in a mash-up that drove this song to platinum sales and the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021.
While the sights and sounds of the season are all around us, this is the time to write those holiday hits. Maybe you want to pitch to a Hallmark holiday special, approach a music publisher with a new Christmas classic, or just share a bit of seasonal cheer with friends and family.
If you’re like me, you’ve combed through YouTube looking for cool songs and videos to share in holiday emails. Don’t miss out on these listeners! Put a simple lyric video together and upload it to YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.
YOUTUBE: “BY CHRISTMAS EVE” – JOHN LEGEND
There have been a few Christmas lyrics about getting home in time to celebrate with family and friends. There’s the classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and songs like Chris Rea’s “Driving Home for Christmas,” but it’s a theme that still has plenty of room for creativity.
In this song, writers John Legend, Amy Wadge, and Daniel Lafrombe have given it a personal touch that makes you feel you’re listening in as Legend calls home to say he’ll be late.
In the chorus he lists all the things he might do to make it back by Christmas Eve: “I’m gonna walk, if I have to run, I’ll stand on the highway and stop someone. I’ll cross the deserts and oceans, a river that’s frozen…” Give this idea some thought: If you were stuck a thousand miles away, how would you try to make it back home in time for the holiday?
A NOTE ON THE MELODY: This is a slow ballad with a strong melody. There are a few pauses between song sections (and one pause in the chorus after “You can count on me”) but the rest of the melody rolls forward line after line, creating plenty of momentum. That’s one of the essential tricks of good ballad writing—the melody is always in motion. Also notice the pattern of long and short phrases that keep the melody interesting… and keep listeners listening.
YOUTUBE: “MAKE IT TO CHRISTMAS” – ALESSIA CARA
I got a real kick out of this lyric! Although the title sounds like another “make it back home in time” song, it’s definitely not! Here, the question is: Will the singer and her boyfriend stay together until the big day? She says:”Don’t know what I’ll say to Dad when he sees the empty chair. Don’t want to hear my Mom say, “Told you so.” Listeners will stay tuned in to find out how it all turns out.
There are lots of Motown overtones in the arrangement that add a nostalgic flavor. In a holiday song, a little nostalgia is a good thing.The melody rolls forward without stopping, carrying listeners along. There’s a strong post-chorus filled with retro-Pop background vocals and a solid hook/title line.
Give the songwriter in your life the gift of knowledge!
YOUTUBE: “IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME IN TEXAS” – LOS LOBOS
Check out this revamping of Freddy Fender’s Tex-Mex classic complete with pumping bass and accordion frills that evoke the genre and locale. How about taking your Christmas song to someplace like Paris? Try a sidewalk café vibe or Edith Piaf-style chanson. (Now there’s a thought!)
Choose your favorite spot and imagine a holiday with local color and sound. This might limit your film and TV pitches to scenes that take place in that particular locale, but it could be a great YouTube lyric video with a few stock photos. YouTubers will love your new holiday classic.
YOUTUBE: CHRISTMAS VIBEZ – NE-YO ft. SATORI
This is an Urban AC tune with a cool Reggae vibe and plenty of warm Jamaican holiday wishes. The lyric is simple but keeps the Jamaican feel throughout—”Though we celebrate it different where I’m from / Joy we keep it strong.” The melody is catchy, with just the right amount of syncopation to get your body swaying.
YOUTUBE: “THIS CANDLE TIME OF YEAR – SAMANTHA JADE”
In this lyric, writers Samantha Jade and Graeme Press chose a single object to represent the holiday season—a candle—and built their lyric around it. You can hear something similar in holiday classics lilke “Silver Bells” and “White Christmas.”
Instead of listing all the familiar sights and sounds of the holidays, choose just one and explore it.BONUS TIP: You can apply this idea to any holiday, from New Year’s to Hallowe’en. Choose one image and write a lyric around it, focusing on the feelings and meaning associated with it.
YOUTUBE: “FINALLY IT’S CHRISTMAS” – HANSON
What kid hasn’t shouted “Finally!!! It’s Christmas!” as they rushed to the tree to tear open their presents? This song, written and performed by the Hanson brothers in 2017, is a wonderful rockin’ tribute to the excitement and anticipation in the build-up to the Big Holiday. I loved it for the fun and enthusiasm of the song, the performance, and the musical arrangement with it’s big nod to the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Check out the YouTube video just for the joy of it.
The best way to get authenticity and emotion into your lyric is to put yourself into the situation you’re writing about. That’s why writing your holiday songs at this time of year is such a good idea.As you go through the holidays, be aware of your own emotions and those of the people around you. Or pick a stranger at random and imagine that person’s situation and what they’re feeling. Or watch a classic holiday movie and choose a scene that suggests a song idea.
Draw the listener into the situation with a lyric that features images, actions, and physical sensations. Express the emotion the singer is feeling in ways the listener can relate to. Use the physical senses to evoke sound, touch, smell, and taste. You’ll give your song a unique, believable vibe and guarantee that it won’t be just another holiday song by rote.
Start, work on, rewrite, or finish a holiday song. You can write in just about any style from Contemporary Pop to Singer-Songwriter ballad to Reggae to 1950s Rock ‘n’ Roll. Choose a style that plays to your strengths. A simple guitar/vocal works great for the Singer-Songwriter, Folk, Reggae, and Americana styles. A piano/vocal is fine for Adult Contemporary ballads. You’ll need a more produced track for some of the Rock and orchestral styles.
If you don’t consider yourself the right singer for the song, call on a friend, a fellow songwriter, or someone in your family. Holiday songs are not about being polished and perfect; they’re all about a real feeling. Keep that in your mind and heart and you’ll do fine!
“All Of Me,” recorded by John Legend, is a hugely popular piano/vocal love ballad that has been embraced by listeners around the globe. The song went to #1 on seven different Billboard charts in the U.S. and eleven countries around the world. The YouTube video has had over one billion views. (That’s billion with a “b.”) Proof that, even in this era of giant Dance/Pop extravaganzas, a simple song with an honest, emotionally moving lyric can hold its own.
Because the production is so bare bones, the song itself has to sustain the listener’s interest. That’s a challenge for any song, but especially a ballad. There are a number of simple but very effective lyric and melody techniques at work here, ones that you can easily adapt for use in your own songs.
Recorded by John Legend
Writers: John Legend and Toby Gad
TECHNIQUES TO HEAR AND TRY
Read the lyrics here: All Of Me – John Legend
(What is a genre? Watch this video.)
“All Of Me” is a ballad in the Pop genre. The memorable, easy-going melody drops it right into the heart of the Adult Contemporary side of Pop. As its name implies, the Adult Contemporary format features songs that appeal to a broad adult age range, from 25 to 55. Surprisingly, this melodic ballad with minimal production also topped the Pop and R&B charts.
There’s a mix of influences here and it’s a little hard to tell who is influencing whom. Certainly this song reminds me of Adele’s huge hit “Someone Like You” but that song may have been influenced by John Legend’s own Neo-Soul hit of a decade ago: “Ordinary People.” And, let’s face it, everyone here is paying their respects to Lionel Richie.
This song has the same structure as most of today’s biggest Pop and Rock hits, yet it doesn’t really sound like one of those hits.
The structure is:
VERSE / PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS
VERSE / PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS
BRIDGE / CHORUS
VERSES: Verse 1 starts the song off with the line “What would I do without your smart mouth?” It’s a great opening line, immediately drawing the listener into the song with an intriguing question and a glimpse into a complex and very realistic relationship.
Verse 2 begins with “How many times do I have to tell you, even when you’re crying you’re beautiful, too.” Another unusual statement that makes us curious to hear more.
No matter what song genre you’re writing in, at some point you’re likely to find yourself wanting to express your thoughts about your generation, your community, society, or the state of the world in general. Given the unsettled times we’re living in, it’s not surprising that songwriters are turning toward their art to express feelings of solidarity, uncertainty, pride, indignation, or hope for the future. Whatever your thoughts or feelings are about the world, a song of social commentary is a great way to express them.
The words “social commentary” are not, in themselves, either positive or negative. These songs are a means of expressing an opinion, observation, or message, the way you see and feel about things, especially things you feel strongly about.
For example, one person might look at a community and see the good that comes from a sense of belonging, while another might see a close-minded group banding together to keep outsiders at a distance. What’s your view? What’s your experience? Your observations may be lauded or they may be unpopular, but it’s still up to you – and no one else – to say what you want to say, to make your opinion heard.
Songs of social commentary are not limited to politics or protest. They can help us define a sense of purpose and place, identify with those who are like us and not like us, chastise and forgive, identify our strengths and our failings, and help us work our way through an ever-changing world.
Most importantly, a song of social commentary seeks to persuade, to convey the songwriter’s observations, beliefs, or experiences in a way that allows the listener to see and understand the world as the songwriter does. In doing so, the hope is that through songs we can understand each other a little better.
This list includes a few of the most popular themes that come up in commentary songs. Each theme can be expressed in individual terms: its effect on one person or on the singer. Or painted with a broader brush: its effect on a whole society or the world. I’m sure you’ll think of more themes, so feel free to add your own, ones that have meaning and energy for you.
