Interesting lesson on lyrics and titles

[davewalton]

Hi,I just do instrumentals so I don't have to deal with lyrics, but a friend relayed an interesting turn of events.He sent some music for potential placement in a little film. He was told that one of the songs called "Paris Calling" was perfect in terms of the style and feel but that the scene (boyfriend/girlfriend dialog in an upscale bar) didn't have anything to do with Paris. Next!He sent the song again, this time retitled and re-lyric-ed (a new word I just made up) as "Memories Falling". Perfect!What a difference a few words can make. Interesting how the perfect song can be the wrong song because it's too specific in terms of people, places, and things.This concludes today's "Lyrics and Titles" session 101. Dave

[roughly]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing it. There seems to be a very fine line between lyrics that are too specific and lyrics that aren't specific enough. Which makes instrumentals seem so much easier This brings up another question I've had. How many of you write alternate lyrics to songs? Either to cross promote genres (e.g. a song with Pop lyrics and also Christian lyrics) or with writing your own personal songs but then writing more commercial lyrics to sell the song. Anyone do this type of thing?Theresa

[og]

I haven't had much luck with alt. lyrics. When I write a song that I feel, it ends up being a complete statement that--to me--really doesn't allow altering.I have been chastised more than once for my quaint belief that a song is like a gift, and you shouldn't give it all away in the title!Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I see a windmill that needs tilted. BTW, Dave, my eldest daughter is a music maj. at Cape--had the lead in the opera!

[davewalton]

Quote:BTW, Dave, my eldest daughter is a music maj. at Cape--had the lead in the opera!Cape Girardeau... the center of the musical universe! I listened to some of your music. You'd be great at the summer Gazebo concerts in Cape. There's also a series of house concerts in Cape. You'd be perfect for those as well. The Gazebo concerts are really well attended as are the house concerts. Let me know if you'd be interested and I'll have someone contact you. I don't have anything to do with those other than being an audience member. Nice to hear from a regional "local". Dave

[Casey H]

For film/TV, use of very specific names and places can be a hindrance. That should be fairly obvious. I think it's very artistic not to "give it all away" in the title. A lot of modern rock songs are like that (i.e. Goo Goo Dolls "Iris")... But being artistic in that way, unfortunately, doesn't work well for unknown songwriters. We are held to higher standards and it takes us a lot more work to be heard. My recommendation is to connect the title with the key phrase in the chorus which represents the theme of the song. Once again, performers have much more freedom. P.S. If you are old like me, do you remember Led Zeppelin's titles?? I still never know which title goes with which song... LOL Casey

[Casey H]

Yes, I write alternate lyrics... But because I have to pay to have my songs done, I have to need the change real badly to do it...I used to do it more... at the first sign of publisher comments... This thread actually started on another thread where I asked if folks could listen to the live version of "Marcie" (recorded at a gig by a friend)... I was actually only talking about the live energy and how much I loved that recording... That is one thing in my collection I will always treasure. (Nomi: for me that one is part of "success")But, it's good that the conversation drifted this way about specifics in lyrics... "Marcie"s chorus was "What a World..." and some of the verses started with her name. With very little effort I re-titled it as "What a World" and changed the verse lines... i.e...From: (Marcie)Marcie, the sky will not be fallingMarcie, the earth can never open up so wideTo swallow upYour stubbornness and your prideYou make no sense to meTo: (What a World)You know the sky will not be fallingAnd how the earth can never open up so wideTo swallow upYour stubbornness and your prideYou make no sense to meBoth versions are on my broadjam profile... www.broadjam.com/hurowitzP.S. Other anal lyric changes I made and paid for early on didn't mean a thing because the SONG wasn't really there. Casey

[roughly]

Thanks for everyone's "methods". We have the luxury of having all the recording equipment on hand so for songs that we sing ourselves it's pretty easy to change lyrics around. This way we can still feel artistic but also at least attempt to make money. Casey, I like your workaround for your Marcie. Seemed very smooth.

[nomiyah]

[quote author=hurowitz board=general thread=1144279478 post=1144410506 (Nomi: for me that one is part of "success")[/quote]Yeah, I know what you mean. That's a necessary ingredient in my feeling successful too.I never heard your first version and actually like it better. It has a more personal feeling but I can understand why you wanted to change it and really it works either way.I wanted to write a song with a name that repeats at the end of each line and used my friend's middle name "Reginald" so I'd be sure to be original. But that made it so peculiar I never ended up recording it. I keep searching for a three syllable word with the accent on the first syllable to substitute for the name but no luck finding one that fits so far.

[Casey H]

Quote: ...I never heard your first version and actually like it better. It has a more personal feeling but I can understand why you wanted to change it and really it works either way...Hey Nomi.. You are right... that live version has a much more personal feel... But a lot of that is not due to the lyrics, it's the acoustic "unplugged" performance (I think)... It's "Casey Unplugged"... LOL Regarding names... "Marcie" was really written for my first (unrequited) love named Marcia (Mar-sha)... That was too hard in song, so I changed it to "Marcie"...Hey- do you still have that song with Reginald in it? Maybe I can think of a work around... I really must get a life one day... Casey