ROBIN FREDERICK TAKES YOU INSIDE TODAY'S HIT SONGS.
Category:COUNTRY
See how vivid images and patterns of melody phrases, among other songwriting tools, are used to make these hit songs rise to the top of the Country charts.
A good story has long been one of the hallmarks of a great Country song and today’s Country hits are stuffed full of vivid characters and details. But sometimes, in all the clever word-smithing, we forget that every great story has emotion at its heart. The best songs are driven by the singer’s feelings.
Here’s a Country hit that packs a huge emotional punch, Lee Brice’s song “I Drive Your Truck.” Listen to the song, then read about it and learn how it draws listeners in and keeps them involved. You’ll also find out how you can use some of those same songwriting techniques in songs of your own.
Taylor Swift says she got the inspiration for this song when she overheard a male friend arguing with his girlfriend over the phone. You’ll see how this idea even ended up in the video. 🙂 Just goes to show that songwriting themes are all around you. Keep your ears open!
Songwriters: Michael Dulaney, Wendell Mobley, Neil Thrasher
Start with a great title
First of all, let’s take a look at this amazing song title:”Tattoos on This Town.” It’s a tremendous example of a short phrase that can support and inspire an entire song. It’s unique and fresh, and immediately made me wonder what the song would be about. Before even hearing the song, listeners are bound to ask: “What does this phrase mean?”
When you have an intriguing title like this, you’ve got to answer the questions it brings up and do it in a way that’s creative, yet clear and understandable. That’s just what these writers did: A tattoo is a permanent mark on the skin. The first line of the chorus is “It sure left its mark on us…” Got it! The town left its mark on the singer. The title is tied right into the lyric.
But these writers went even further: the images in the lyric show us the marks the singer and his friends left on the town. The whole song is framed by the title and satisfying the questions it brings up for listeners. (For more on answering the questions the title asks, read Shortcut #44.)
Contemporary Country is a style that blends the melodic Rock sound of the 1970s with today’s songwriting techniques—vivid lyrics and melodies with a lot of momentum. We’ll take a look at both of these as we go through the song.
I really love the feel, the energy, and the emotion of this song. I guess a lot of other people do, too, because it’s a platinum-selling single that’s been at the top of both the Top 40 charts and the Country charts. It’s also a master class in how to express an abstract emotion in a concrete way that makes listeners, well… smile!
There are many reasons why this is an unlikely hit song and yet it found it’s way to the top spot on the Country charts and it’s rapidly becoming a standard. The song itself sounds more like an album cut than a hit; while the chorus has a beautiful payoff line at the end, it lacks the huge hooks and big emotional release that usually drives a song to #1. So let’s see what it has that makes people want to hear it.
Recorded by MIRANDA LAMBERT
Writers: Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin
Lyrics are available on the internet.
Shortcut # refers to my book “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting.”
THEME
This song explores an emotion we’ve all felt: a yearning to go back to the place where we grew up, to reconnect with the sense of security or simpler times we once knew, especially when our lives are troubled. There’s tremendous appeal in this theme and it’s handled well here. We’re right there with the singer as she knocks on the door, talks to the people who live in the house, and describes the things that happened there as she grew up, all the while hinting at the troubles that have driven her back home to try to heal.
