Writing conversational lyrics

[jchitty]

Another good TAXI newsletter article....expecially for country songwriters. http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/0809/tipsA.html

[mojobone]

Not tryin' to troll, here, but whut's up with that "condemned by the gods" shite? The attention of the muses is considered a gift, in many cultures. Your horse is a gift. Why so down in the mouth?Those whom the gods would destroy, they first drive mad, no? Yet , you seem imperfectly sane, to me.

[jchitty]

Hey, Mojo, I'm not down in the mouth at all. The saying, 'some our condemned by the Gods to write' is actually meant affectionately and with some reverence on my part. That saying appeared on an internet website (didn't say who it was attributed to, it's not my saying) and it struck me as a good phrase for songwriters. Although we absolutely love what we do, writing can be a mixed bag sometimes....there was a whole thread recently devoted to how aggravating songwriting can be (not being able to think of lines, etc.) or how it can occupy huge parts of our out time.....but we still push on. It's part of who we are and part of what we do.Well, LOL, I don't know if I'm imperfectly sane or not.

[mojobone]

Don't recall to whom the original quote was attributed, mighta been Euripides, refers to the compulsion common among some writers to write even when they don't enjoy it. Jes' thought it seemed a bit out of character.

[devin]

When I can't sleep at 2:12am, unless I scribble out a whole page of the best lyric ever created anywhere ever, only to rip it up and burn it two days later because it's actually total crap...then I'm totally seeing the "condemned" line that Chits has.Half the time when I go to bed, I'm hoping for a good song some day...the other half I'm hoping for a good night's sleep this very night. At this point I'd take a handful of either.At least my other gifts can go back (if I find the receipt) bwahaha....P.S. Chits, I love that article! I've been sharing what I write more and more...and I need to keep going on the "simple start" method.

[jkoob]

Hello,I clicked on this thread to read about "conversational lyrics". Thank-you for the link jchitty.Interestingly enough, you were also talking about "hypergraphia", the compulsion to write. Interesting book on the subject is Alice Flaherty's (2004) book The Midnight Disease.Unfortunately, I know a lot more about that kind of stuff, then I do about songwriting. But this does relate.Take care,Jeff

[jchitty]

Hey, Devin...I hear ya. My compulsion to write sometimes can be so severe that I get up from my sleep to write a line I thought about in a dream, no lie. Or I'm in the shower, and I have to get out to write a line. Also, yeah, there are times I think I've written the greatest song in the world...and then when I read it the next day, I end up canning most of what I wrote.Jeff....I've heard of hypergraphia...I just couldn't think of the term...thanks for reminding me. And I just may go to Amazon.com and order the book you mentioned...I've always been fascinated by that subject. And for everyone thanking me for the article, you're welcome, although we ultimately have the TAXI newsletter to thank for it. Mojo, I wondered who came up with that saying, thanks.

[mojobone]

Was it Euripides? I hope you looked it up, it could have been Herodotus, for all I knew for certain; I'm largely self-educated, and rather sloppily, except where it comes to stuff I care deeply about, like music and lovemaking.

[cameron]

...and in both music and love making you only have three or four minutes to leave a lasting impression. Cam

[milfus]

hahaha, the whole condemened by the gods to write thing brought me back, like the first song I ever wrote, lines 3 and 4(some explicitness so you know, if you got soft eyes or something, put a hand up and scroll away)but yeah, exactly that sentiment"so yes, i feel blessed with my ability to say shitbut i just waste it, maybe you should take it"