I’ve always felt that a song has great power. A song can ‘do’ a ‘bunch of things’. Do? Things?
What can a song do? A song can make you want to sing along. Example: She’ll Be Coming ’Round The Mountain, African-American folk song. Oh, if you don’t know the example, may I suggest that you look it up and listen to it. I’m sure that there are many more songs that you can think of to sing along to. Hmmm…
What else can a song do? A song can make you want to dance. Listen to Beat It, music and lyrics by Michael Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones. When your done dancing, think about what other great dance songs are out there. Many…
What else can a song do? A song can lift/inspire/sadden/exalt or evoke an emotion. Listen to People, music by Julie Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The lyric, people who need people evokes great inward emotion. What songs can also make you feel emotions? Again, many…
What else can a song do? A song can fill your whole being with a feeling of enormous energy, rage, anger or calm. Listen to Eye Of The Tiger, music and lyrics by the rock band Survivor, for the Rocky III movie. Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Don’t you just want to root for the underdog? Listen to Imagine, music and lyrics by John Lennon. The peace and message that emanates from this song only a few select songs can create. Can you think of any?
What can a song do? A song can focus on a particular subject. Listen to Short People, music and lyrics by Randy Newman. As a person who is a towering 5’7” on a good day, I totally relate to the subject of this song. Can you think of any songs that focus on one particular subject?
Songs can ‘do’ a bunch of things. Tune in again next week to Song Tip Tuesday for What can a song do?- Part 2
Meanwhile, make your songs ‘do’ something. Hmmm.
The art of writing is rewriting. Randy Klein
