Hey Alyn,

I promise you that it won't be too much like your poetry class smile

Andrea's way of looking at lyric construction is unique. I've never come across anything similar in the couple of dozen books I have on songwriting. Those E and I on one of the pdfs refers to Andrea's invention of categorising phrases into External and Internal.

External stuff is that which happens outside the character; it can be seen as if it was on a stage. It is tangible.

For example: running along the beach, waves splashing against polished black rocks, a seagull crying high in the sky. These are all external things and they are "scene setters".

Internal phrases, on the other hand, add meaning to the external details. Things like: my head throbbed from running so hard, I ached with feelings of loss, a picture of dad swam in my mind - these are internal.

Now ... the key is to arrange these in a show and tell progression. "E" shows and "I" tells.

Let's try .... E E E I (as a possible idea for a four line section)
Quote:
Waves splashing against the rocks
A lonely seagull crying high in the sky
I ran across the sand
My head was throbbing from running so hard

Now that's kind of interesting to me. It immediately makes me wonder what it will sound like it I throw in some rhyme. I'm going to trying rhyming the second line with the last line. The word "die" just popped into my head as a rhyme for "sky". This might give me something like ...

Waves splashing against the rocks
A lonely seagull crying high in the sky
I ran across the sand
My head was throbbing, I wanted to die

Hmmm... now ideas are starting to come along thick and fast. I'm pretty sure that I could make this into a broken heart kind of song!



Why not come along an be a part of the group. At worst, you'll gain nothing! At best ... well it might give you an extra idea or two.

All the best,
Noel

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024