8 great tips to write better lyrics in your songs

Have you ever felt stuck writing lyrics for your songs and just don’t know how to move on? Sometimes going out for a breath of fresh air can help you clear your mind. Maybe you are looking for a shortcut, a solution or a clue. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Here are 8 great tips to write better lyrics in your songs!

1. Use all of your five senses: Object Writing

When you set yourself to write lyrics it can lead you down many roads. Most of the time we take inspiration from our own personal lives or events that have affected us. However, it can be difficult to find the right words to express them until we “dive deep down” into our emotions, memories and feelings.

One of the best tips to write better lyrics is to use “Object Writing”, if you have ever read Pat Pattinson’s famous book “Write Better Lyrics” then you might have heard about this lyrics writing technique.

So to put in simple terms, first things pick an object, a scenery or a memory you a really fond of.

Once you’ve picked it, set a timer on for 5 minutes, and write freely about the object without thinking too much about meaning or sentence structure. Let the stream of consciousness flow.

The fundamental thing about this technique is that you use all of your 5 senses, such as touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight. It might be difficult at first as we tend to only write using our eyes, and being too descriptive.

Here’s a quick example of a writing based off a random object I picked:

Cactus:

“Picky needles pierce my fingers little droplets of blood stain my shirt down to the laundry and the smell of vanilla fabric softener, French toast, bacon sizzling fat smelling up the room…. “

This is just a start, just remember when the timer ends, drop the pen immediately! Once you have some of these juicy sensory filled lines, use them as something to add and improve your lyrics. It’s also great when you are suffering with songwriter’s block!

2. Experiment with different types of rhymes

Sometimes you might find yourself stuck with the same old rhymes such heart, start, apart, take, break. As much as they can be useful for writing a dummy lyric (a draft with nonsense or incomplete lyrics), these perfect rhymes have been overheard so many times that it puts the listener straight to sleep.

But, “how can I use different rhyme schemes?” You may be asking. Well a good way of doing so is by using a rhyming dictionary, and don’t worry, even the pros do it!

Even if it can feel like cheating, it isn’t. Rhyming dictionaries offer a wide array of words that you can use to send your lyrics in a different place, and to write better more imaginative lyrics.

Maybe you want to find a rhyme with “near” and want to steer away from a perfect rhyme, going through the Rhyming dictionary I found “door” as a near rhyme.

“I could feel that he was near,
His shadow creeping at the door”

Experiment with other types and just let your imagination flow! 

3. Start your lyrics from a movie or book quote

Unlocking the art of crafting compelling lyrics involves exploring unconventional sources of inspiration.

One effective approach is to draw inspiration from movie or book quotes, transforming them into the foundation of your songwriting.
By integrating powerful and relatable phrases, you can infuse depth and resonance into your lyrics.

For instance, imagine starting a verse with a line inspired by a classic movie quote, such as “Here’s looking at you, kid,” from Casablanca. This not only establishes an immediate connection with the audience but also sparks creativity in expanding upon the sentiment.

Utilizing such timeless quotes can serve as a springboard for your lyrical journey, enhancing the overall quality of your songwriting and contributing to the goal of writing better lyrics.

4. Write your hook first then your verses

Ever happen to feel stuck starting your song from the top instead of starting from the chorus or any other part? Our advice here is to find a real catchy hook and then use that as a starting point for your lyrics. Often we believe that good songs need to start from the beginning, however, experimenting with different sections can be a great start to get better lyrics.

Maybe you have a hook or catchphrase, perhaps a title, like: Shine or Matters of the heart.
You can use of these as your starting point:

 “I have silent secrets that I simply cannot share
Matters of the heart, that keep me up at night.”

This might not be the cleverest or most poetic line, but still I used the hook as a starting point! Try it for yourselves! 

5. Write better lyrics… with alliteration!

Rock n Roll (our most loved alliteration)

Poetry comes to our aid. Although you might think that poetry is long gone and dead, there’s actually a bunch of techniques to learn from. Poetry has evolved over many centuries, however, one of the main techniques which have been used are assonance and alliteration. 
Nonetheless, you might be wondering, what are these weird words? Well alliteration and assonance are actually great devices to create sound within your lyrics and songs

“Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers“, if you haven’t twisted your tongue saying this then you are true master of the English language. In case not, you are just a normal human being.

Anyway this succession of words all have one thing in common. They all start with the same letter, in this case the letter p. This device is called an alliteration, and it’s a great method to improve your lyric writing. This technique moves your lyrics forward, creating rhythm and tension. At times they might be very close, or sometimes a little further apart.

Some great song examples:

“Whisper words of wisdom, let it be” – The Beatles – Let It Be
“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” – Joni Mitchell – Big Taxi
“Hear her voice, shake my window, Sweet seducing sighs” – Michael Jackson – Human Nature

6. And also with assonance!

Assonance is alliteration’s little brother, although it is a different technique. Assonance is actually a great device to bring your lyrics to unexplored territories. 

First of all, there are two type of assonance. one is a vowel assonance such as (ship, crib) or consonant assonance, also known as consonance in U.S.A, with words like mountain, mirror.

For a matter of fact, a rhyme is actually an assonance which is found at the end of a word. However, assonance allows you to step away from the perfect rhyme and to add more flavour to your lyrics. Here are some famous examples:

“I must confess that in my quest I felt depressed and restless”

 — Thin Lizzy, “With Love”

Hip Hop is full of both assonance and alliteration as they are great devices for creating patterns and memorable lines, here’s another example of assonance used in rap:

      “Some vodka that’ll jumpstart my heart quicker than a shock when I get shocked at the hospital by   the doctor when I’m not cooperating when I’m rocking the table when he’s operating…”

 — Eminem, “Without Me”

Are you still here reading??! Go and write a few lines and try to use either assonance or alliteration. We’ll be more than happy to read them!

7. Write better lyrics with metaphors

When it comes to crafting compelling lyrics, using metaphors is like adding a secret sauce to your songwriting recipe. Metaphors act as the language of emotion. Metaphors allow you to convey complex feelings in a way that everyone can relate to.

They’re the paintbrushes that turn your lyrics into a canvas of shared experiences. Instead of stating things directly, metaphors create a bridge between your words and the listener’s emotions. They transform ordinary situations into something more profound and memorable.

 So, next time you are penning down lyrics, consider the impact of metaphors—they’re the tools that help you express the depth of your emotions and connect with your audience on a whole new level.

Here’s a few examples for you:

– Time is a thief and he’s running away
– Love is a temple, love a higher law.

Were you able to recognise the second metaphor? Hint, it’s in the song above!

8. Let your true colours shine through

Sometimes you need to go out there and find your true voice. Looking up other artists, other poets, other forms of art to really understand who you are as a lyricist.

It can be difficult to find your inner voice, however, studying other people’s lyrics can be great to improve your own writing. If you simply don’t like rap music and lyrics, and are obsessed with writing rap, perhaps you are only following a trend and are not listening to your inner writer.

This is probably the hardest step ever in improving your lyrics, and can take a long long time, however, when you will get there, it will feel great.  

Feedback: 8 great tips to write better lyrics in your songs

Now you are ready to write better lyrics in your songs! Take your time to explore all of these techniques we’ve provided, and also why not give us some of your own?
Let us know in the comment section below!

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