How to Write Song Lyrics

Learning how to write song lyrics really isn't that difficult. The creative process can be tough at times, but there's always tips and tricks that can help break that writer's block and get you writing again. Let's take a look at some of the things that you can do.

Write About what Matters
What's important to you? A lot of songs draw inspirations from the songwriter's real-life experiences and emotions. Maybe you just found a new love, or you lost somebody close to you. Try writing about how these experiences make you feel. Whether you want to shout love's praises from a mountain top or crawl back into bed and sob, writing about how you feel can be cathartic. It also provides a wealth of ideas for creating a song.

Not every song needs to be about deep emotions, so think about other things that you really enjoy, like your car, your favorite sport or the characters from a book you enjoy. Taking ideas from your life is a great way to get the ball rocking and rolling.

Play Some Tunes
Listening to music is another helpful way to find ideas. Listen to how the songs flow lyrically and rhythmically. You can also purchase most music and lyrics from music publishers, so that you can study the notes and structure in depth. You'll find that most songs have a pattern to them. For example, in the blues, it is customary to repeat the first line of a verse twice before rhyming it with another. Jimi Hendrix's "Red House" is a good example of this:

There's a red house over yonder, that's where my baby stays
There's a red house over yonder, that's where my baby stays
I ain't been home to see my baby, in ninety-nine and one half days.

Knowing how the type of music you want to sing works structurally can help you set the foundation of your song and give you a framework to build the lyrics.

Read Some Rhymes
Once you have an idea and a framework, it's a good idea to get a rhyming dictionary. A lot of poets and songwriters use these handy tools in a bind. They list words into categories and provide a list of words that rhyme. A good rhyming dictionary will also offer lists of alliteration as well.

Keep in mind that there are no rules when it comes to writing lyrics. Like poetry, song lyrics come in a variety of forms, some simple and some extremely elaborate. Follow your heart and let your ideas flow without worrying too much about the finished product. Songwriters seldom write a song perfectly the first time; it takes editing and sharing the idea with others to turn those first drafts into a memorable song.