lyrics Archives – Page 7 of 8 – Songwriting Craft & Inspiration

Fallin’ For You – Colbie Caillat

There are so many influences from Fleetwood Mac’s golden hits of the mid-1970s that it’s impossible to listen to this song without being reminded of those timeless, unforgettable hits. It’s a perfect example of how to take a style that had enormous appeal in an earlier decade and give it a fresh twist that makes it seem new again.

“Fallin’ For You” recorded by Colbie Caillat
Writers: Colbie Caillat & Richard Nowels
Lyrics are available on the internet.
Shortcut # refers to my book “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting.”

STRUCTURE
The song structure is the current hit song go-to form…
VERSE / PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS
VERSE / PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS
BRIDGE / CHORUS

The pre-chorus begins with “I am trying not to tell you…” The chorus begins on the line “I’ve been spending all my time…” The bridge melody uses plenty of contrast, making it easy to spot. It consists of just two lines, beginning with “Ooh, I just can’t take it…”

Listen to the song and notice where the sections begin and end. Pay special attention to the way each section is “announced” by the melody. It helps keep the song organized and lets listeners know where they are in the song.

MELODY
In a Colbie Caillat song, the melodies are always catchy, memorable, and contemporary. Studying her melodies is a great way to get a feel for the current Pop/Singer-Songwriter genre.

This melody uses a simple technique that is characteristic of many songs in this style. There’s a lot of repetition in this melody.

Hit Songwriting: Smile by Uncle Kracker

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!

Listen to the song. Read the lyrics.

Poison and Wine – The Civil Wars

John Paul White (left) and Joy Williams of The Civil Wars. The duo's second album will be released on August 6.

Singer-songwriter duo The Civil Wars won the 2012 Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and another for Best Folk Album. Joy WIlliams and Paul White were working as solo singer-songwriters before teaming up to create a unique blend that lets each of them shine. This is a great example of collaboration! They obviously share a love for folk music and were able to find a way to pool their talents and make a whole that’s different from their work as solo artists.

The emotional, atmospheric quality of the tracks makes them perfect for film and television. And indeed, “Poison & Wine” has been featured Grey’s Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, The Client List, Pretty Little Liars, 90210, and more. So let’s take a look.

Dynamite – Taio Cruz

“Dynamite” is a Club Dance track that crossed over to the Pop/Dance charts big time! The song has a hot, hot HOT track. The song rides on top of a solid, rock-steady groove adding a vocal melody filled with catchy hooks and a fun lyric.

Recorded by Taio Cruz
Writers: Levin / McKee /Martin /Adetayo / Onile / Gottwald
Lyrics are available on the Internet.
Shortcut numbers refer to my books “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting” (“Hit”) and “Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV” (“Film/TV”). Both are available at Amazon.com.

GENRE

The Club Dance genre features irresistible, infectious grooves that get people out on the dance floor. Vocal melodies have plenty of rhythmic interest, using syncopation and repetition. Lyrics sometimes consist of no more than “let’s dance, get out on the floor “but for a song to crossover to the Pop charts, as this one certainly did, you’ll need to give the lyrics a little more personality and attitude.

In this genre, the lyrics and melody together are referred to as the “top-line.” The top-line is usually written after the instrumental track is roughed out or even completed. A good track producer will make sure that the top-line writer has a clear verse and chorus structure to work with. A few artists who are successful in this genre are Taio Cruz, Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, David Guetta, and Calvin Harris.

“Come On Get Higher” – Matt Nathanson

“Come On Get Higher” by Matt Nathanson has over 200 million streams on Spotify and millions of downloads. Nathanson’s songs have been regularly featured in TV shows like One Tree Hill, The Vampire Diaries, and NCIS. He writes songs that come from the heart and connect with listeners by being both totally believable and completely entertaining.

Watch on YouTube.

Read the lyrics.

Recorded by Matt Nathanson
Writers: Matt Nathanson, Mark Weinberg
Shortcut # refers to my book “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting.”

GROOVE

One of the things that attracted me right away to this song is the hip-swaying, easy-going rhythmic groove. There’s a sensual feel to this groove that underscores the intimate physicality of the lyric.

If you play guitar, try playing along with this song and learn the strum he’s using. You can hear it clearly at the top of the song. If you play keyboards, look through a library of rhythm loops for one that has a similar feel and try playing the chords along with the loop.

This type of groove (based on 16th notes with a laid-back, swinging feel) is very current in both the Pop and Country genres (Shortcut #113). Try writing a song to a groove like this. Once you get comfortable with it, you’ll start to notice how this groove affects the melody you write. More on that in a minute.

Tag: lyrics