The best way to learn to write well is to listen to, learn, study well-written songs. Nothing beats figuring it out for yourself.
Here is one of the best written songs I've heard in a very long time. One that you can't help but think "Man! I wish I'd written that!"
(This one applies mostly to Country because it is so much dependent on the lyric. Writing well in other genres is - usually - a whole different thing. Different stuff to figure out...)
2 excellent verses, both leading to a simple, excellent, catchy chorus. And one of the best bridges I think I've ever heard...
JESUS AND JACK DANIELS
Mama put brother on the prayer list When he got caught smoking that pot Daddy found out, first thing he could grab And he whipped him with a Zebco rod When we messed up, she'd fill us up With the scripture and a baptist hymn And she prayed we’d be a little more like her And whole lotta less like him
Mama loved Jesus, Daddy loved Jack Daniels She was red-letter Heaven, he was Old No. 7 Between the two of 'em, wasn't nothing they couldn’t handle Mama loved Jesus, Daddy loved Jack Daniels
He hated how she never had no fun She hated how he had too much I got a little bit from both of them A little Bible and a little buzz I wound up turning out, smack dab in-between His taste for Lynchburg and her grace from John 3:16
Mama loved Jesus, Daddy loved Jack Daniels She was red-letter Heaven, he was Old No. 7 Between the two of 'em, wasn't nothing they couldn't handle Mama loved Jesus, Daddy loved Jack Daniels
I'm a little "Hell yeah," I'm a little "Hallelujah" If there's a stool or a pew, I might sit down next to ya
Mama loved Jesus, Daddy loved Jack Daniels She was red-letter Heaven, he was Old No. 7 Between the two of 'em, wasn’t nothing they couldn’t handle Mama loved Jesus, Daddy loved Jack Daniels
Justin Moore, Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill, Jeremy Stover
Thank you for posting this. I would never have heard the song otherwise.
This is truly a terrific creation. And as you implied, it left me thinking, "Why can't I think of words like this? I'd love to be able to write a song even half as good as this one."
As I usually do after listening to a song, I'm sitting here pondering the lyrics and the music and trying to put myself in the writers shoes to see if I can work out how they might have accomplished this fine piece of work. For me, some form of understanding -- whether my interpretation is right or wrong -- helps me add tools to my songwriting toolbox and, hopefully, helps me become a little bit better with future songs.
The way I see it is that this song seems to be title driven. And that makes it incredibly clever in my book. I can imagine that someone has latched on to the phrase "Jesus and Jack Daniels" because it feels really comfortable to say and is very clever in that it places opposites (in one sense) side by side. When I read it, my first thought was, "What's this all about?" -- in other words, the title 'hooked' me before I heard or read anything!
Why the words worked for me were because: (a) the alliteration with the "J" sound; (b) the assonance of the short "a" in Jack and Daniels; (c) the three lots of "s" consonance in Jesus and Daniels; (d) the already mentioned notion that 'Jesus' and 'Jack Daniels' are kind of polar opposites in meanings from the sense of righteousness.
Appreciating the word-power of this title then made me think about how anyone might write lyrics to fit. The solution that these songwriters came up with was to make one word/phrase (Jesus) apply to one character and the second word/phrase (Jack Daniels) to apply to a second character. With this thought in mind, the next thought that seems to have occurred to these songwriters is to introduce some conflict between these two notions and to ponder how this might be accomplished. This is the really clever part for me, the writers created a child who has inherited both aspects from his or her parents' polarised attitudes and beliefs. It seems all so simple when presented with the end result, but the thought process to arrive at this conclusion would have eluded me (until having heard this song, that is )
So now we have Mama and Daddy representing the polar opposites in the title and Junior -- who could be either male or female -- who is the linking factor. It seems to me that the sex of Junior depends on whether a man or woman sings the song since the singer represents the song's protagonist. How clever is that! With this foundation laid, all that is now needed are words that develop a story.
In this scenario the writers have chosen the always-effective approach of using verse 1 to set the scene and to introduce the nature of all characters. Then in verse 2, the development is to detail a little more of the internal workings and thoughts of the characters.
As you say, this bridge is a truly inspired write. What made it work for me was that the "Hell yeah" and "Hallelujah" work for both the bible loving mama from a religious beliefs perspective and for the Jack Daniels loving daddy from a sacrilegious beliefs perspective. To pull that off lyrically with so few well chosen words is worthy of applause!
And then, to cap everything off, the writers present an outstanding chorus that takes on the shades of each of the verses and bridge and feels to grow emotionally at each hearing.
It's also worth noting that in verse 1, 'hymn' is rhymed with 'him' and while technically it is not a rhyme because it's a repetition of the same sound, it works. I've noticed that this technique is something that Dolly Parton has also used occasionally.
My only minuscule criticism comes back to your article a little while ago about vocal cadence and prosody. In the chorus, when the phrase "Between the two of 'em" is sung, 'of' is placed on a strong musical beat. I would have adjusted the words and/or music slightly so that 'two' was on that beat.... that placement sounds little more comfortable to my ears. At the end of the day, though, this is trivial and just personal preference.
All in all, this is a songwriting job that is extremely well done. And the arrangement is excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the clip.
Thank you so much for sharing this. You've made me day!
I do like the lyric crafting and the phrasing. Musically, it sounds like a typical country song we've heard many times before.... but there's nothing wrong with that as the bridge adds interesting variation to the standard chord progression that is fairly predictable.
Yep... the lyric writing is what makes this shine.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Here is another that might help "move the needle" on your writing - if you pay attention.
SMALL TOWN STREET CRED
Some of us drove a Chevy Some of us drove a Ford But we all kept an acre and half foot of mud caked up on the doors We were ripping licks and chasing white tails Just to hang 'em up over our beds We were E'd up with it, we were all tryna get at that small town street cred
I got mine How 'bout you? Are you qualified, bonafide, certified through and through? If you grew up how I grew up I'm bettin' it's a surefire bet You had to learn and burn that diesel and earn that small town street cred
You had to hold your liquor You had to hold your ground Had to hold on to the football Had to make that home crowd proud That girl that was hell down the hall Was heaven in the truck bed She was wearing your jacket, you were showin' love, stackin' that small town street cred
I got mine How 'bout you? Are you qualified, bonafide, certified through and through? If you grew up how I grew up I'm bettin' it's a surefire bet You had to learn and burn that diesel and earn that small town street cred
I got mine How 'bout you? Are you qualified, bonafide, certified through and through? If you grew up how I grew up I'm bettin' it's a surefire bet You had to learn and burn that diesel and earn that small town street cred You had to learn and burn that diesel and earn that small town street cred, yeah
This entire record is well penned.
I highly recommend it. A real standout. (Musically, too - adapt some of the the production techniques and move the sound of your PRODUCTIONS forward, as well...)
These two are the best I've heard in a while. The first one is a great family story and who cares if the music is kinda generic. It's all about the story. It makes you think and wonder where he got that from. Did he just make it up, is it from his own family, a friends? That's a good story when it makes you wonder.
The second one is sort of opposite. Great music, good guitar work. Yes, it still touches on the standard modern country themes of partying, girls and pickups but it's not cliched and obvious with the lyrics and the music is outstanding. This is a fun party song and there's nothing wrong with that when it's done well like this one.
This guy is a good writer and thanks for posting them. It would be fun to lay down some keyboard tracks on both.
Two terrific productions, Floyd. Thanks for digging them out. One impression that might be worth noticing is the outstanding separation of the tracks, meaning, each track is splendidly engineered and combined in such that each can stand on its own.
Floyd, I was not aware of this artist before now. You got my attention, big time. I am a notorious throwback when it comes to songwriting, but this hits all my buttons. First, the writing was superb. The story was familiar, as it was what I grew up with. In short, the song stood on its own in several generations of country music. It has been a while since I have seen this level of skill in country. Having said that, I have already admitted to being a throwback. A little bit Harlan Howard, and a little bit Rodney Crowell.
Yeah, Justin and his crew know what they're doing. When you think about how he's writing/producing with Paul DiGiovanni, Brian Maher (Son of Brent), Chase McGill, Jeremy Stover it makes sense this his music is working. He's working with some of the best in the business right now. Personally, I think they are balancing all of those plates for a hit with substance REALLY well. I'm a fan for sure! Surprised?
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
There's some great points here - really great topic of discussion for sure! And thank you for sharing that tune, I don't really follow country music actively so this would've totally gone over my radar otherwise. It kind of sounds generic a bit to me, but maybe not being a country fan for the most part I'm just ignorant to subtleties - but I absolutely loved the lyrics. Very poignant.
I thought more about this. To me, that first song DOES sound like something you would have written. I had this in one of my playlists (been driving a lot) and when it first started I was thinking it was one of your songs!
Every time I listen to STSC I think..."damn, what a heartbeat!"
Thanks for bringing these to the convo.
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
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