What makes a good song?

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: Alaska Mike
Date: 16 Nov 09 - 07:22 PM

Crom, make sure that YOU are happy with the song. That it conveys the idea or ideal that YOU want to convey. Write songs that appeal to the inner critic in YOURSELF and others will come to enjoy them as well. I am constantly amazed at where my songs show up and how others tweek the lyrics a bit to make them their own. If you consistently write songs that YOU are pleased with, others will feel pleased with them as well.

Mike

PS: Here are some of my song lyrics

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: Mr Red
Date: 17 Nov 09 - 09:17 AM

What makes a good song?

a good songwriter and a good singer. And they are not always the same person. Often works that way to good effect. Especially a good interpretor of songs. They hone the result and don't tinker. Whereas the songwriter is prone to change things, not sure it is finished. Divergence versus convergence.

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 17 Nov 09 - 09:56 AM

I don't write songs, but I'm an avid lyric listener. And I love magical tales told in song (Peter Gabriel was the master of this for me, though Bowie was a genius too) which simultaniously call upon both the personal and the mythic - and all the ambiguous spaces inbetween.

I rather liked the neatly interwoven Cerberus related imagery in the song in the OP. It comes over as a Rock track, kinda Guns & Roses or something..
Some of the other songs felt a bit too loose and disconnected for me and I'd prefer them if the themes, images & references were tightened up somewhat, but that's a personal response.

I'd also second mg's assessement. IMO Cromdubh doesn't really need more advice than that offered by Alaska Mike.

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: Cromdubh
Date: 14 Oct 13 - 04:51 PM

Searched the Globe both high and low, to finally find out,
Us all here, all together is what it's all about,
A gathering of my kin, I've been praying for,
Can't be yourself, if you forget, just who you are.

So take off that mask, it's not needed here, you're with your own
Pull up a chair, help yourself, hey, welcome home,
A fair day in good company, speak freely,
It can be hard, if you never stop, just go easy

(Chorus)
I can't sign this song on my own, wouldn't you rise her and sing along
This world of noise drowns out my voice, just join in and harmonise
And follow me for the changes, they come suddenly,
Stay in the key of family
And at the end, it's just begun,
One more verse of this tribal song,

Before too long, all long to be, to belong

Time to go our separate ways, feeling rough
I wouldn't say goodbye, we'll just pick up where we left off,
A scattering like a dandelion in a child's hand
Old seeds take root, in the old dirt that left behind.

Chorus.

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: Cromdubh
Date: 08 Aug 16 - 04:40 PM

Revisiting this site for the first time in a while. Prompted me to revisit one of my songs posted earlier

The Hook

A heavy splash, a silver flash
n the corner of the eye
The ripples spread out far and wide,
The creator just out of sight.
But ripples become waves and waves become storms
that crash on the shores of the soul,
And when the surge subsides, all you will find
is a single sparkling scale.

A fisherman sits and stares at the see,
tying up his six string rod,
And swimming round his head is a story
of a fish that has never been caught.
He ties on a little rock to act as a weight
Digs down through the roots and earth
Pulls up a fat worm for to be the bait
but there's one little thing he's forgot

Chorus
What you need is a hook, Yeah
What you need is a hook, Yeah
A small twist of faith, a whole lot of luck
what you need is a hook, , Yeah
Once it sinks in, it's in there for good
Just like bitter sweet love
All you need is a hook, , , Yeah

A fish on the line, a moment in time,
That one that go away,
So join the old man and Captain Ahab,
Spinning yarn in the Mudcat Cafe
Like Christ on the cross, show the size of your loss
I'd swear it was as big as a whale
But every good tragedy, is the trophy
That you can mount on the wall,

Chorus
What you need is a hook, Yeah
What you need is a hook, Yeah
A small twist of faith, a whole lot of luck
what you need is a hook, , Yeah
Once it sinks in, it's in there for good
Just like bitter sweet love
All you need is a hook, , , Yeah

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: Cromdubh
Date: 04 Jan 18 - 10:23 AM

A shooting star, searching for, a sky to fall in;
Heaven sent, hell bent, to blaze a trail between;
Can't make it, can't break it, it can only switch;
In the blink of an eye, a star will die, to live upon a wish.

A granted wish, all to quick, is taken for granted;
A terrestrial life, a family a wife, everything connected;
Don't miss it, don't waste it, it's a miracle;
A fleeting moment, if truly lived, becomes celestial.

(Chorus)
So thank the stars above, a galaxy of love;
We're all fragments of a single soul;
The vast sparkling sky, a wee tinkle in the eye;
Reflections off a cosmic mirror ball.

A constellation, of imagination, it takes a mortal's sight;
To join up the dot, tracing pictures and plots, between the dark and light;
A shared story, a legacy, as we're born and die;
From the primal fire, the sparks fly higher, into the night sky.

(Chorus)

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: MisterMoccasin
Date: 04 Jan 18 - 01:53 PM

Hey Cromdubh! Your last few posts of newer lyrics are really good! It's crazy just seeing the lyrics from your original post and years later and seeing such an improvement! Do you think you've gotten better?

What do you think of your original song now?

What do you think makes a good song good now that you've improved so much?

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: Cromdubh
Date: 05 Jan 18 - 11:06 AM

Thank you MisterMoccasin for your kind words and your thoughtful questions.

I use this thread as a form of songwriting diary. It's over a decade since my first post and I've revisited it from time to time. I would like to think in that time that my writing has improved as I've gained experience. I think my latest ones are alright.

As a mentor, Chord-strangler, once told me about some of my earlier songs, there was often too many ideas going on at the same time; that there was a good song inside there somewhere, but I needed to 'disembowel' it.

I feel now that a good song shouldn't be over-cluttered, while it can contain complex ideas, it should be accessible at every level, either through the music or the lyrics. The best way to convey complexity is through simplicity.

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: MisterMoccasin
Date: 05 Jan 18 - 04:59 PM

That's real cool! I think that's a good way of looking at songs! Definitely easier said than done sometimes. haha. Good luck with the rest of your song writing!

Subject: RE: What makes a good song?
From: Cromdubh
Date: 19 Jun 24 - 10:43 AM

Between the Ditches

My favourite place, in this world,
Behind the wheel, with my girl,
My precious cargo, safe in the back,
Heading down a country track,
Eager eyes take in the sights
for the only first time
Split seconds last forever
In memories we all can share

Chorus
It's those little trips make all the difference
Learn the lessons the journey teaches
Miles and Miles of skinny inches
Keep her between the ditches

The lines of trees form a tunnel
The sun and shadows put on a light show
The long acre and pulling over
for a pit stop, No, we're not there yet
And here's to you, my co-pilot
Even though you can't read a map
If we take a turn that's wrong
I'll always be right where I belong,

Chorus

The sensations of the present
The vibrations of the past
The road stretches out before us
Then vanishes oh so fast
Check the mirror, I'll always be there
But this life just wouldn't stand still
My eyes are getting a little heavy
Time for you now to take the wheel,

Chorus