Love songs are difficult to write. Well, in my limited knowledge of them if one attempts to avoid mawkishness, sentimentality and buffoonery they are. That's the same with most lyrics too.
My two most recent songs took next to no time to write lyrics for because I wrote fewer lyrics than usual - for me.
With The Half Life Of Truth I wrote a full lyric and then dismissed the parts that didn't suggest a melody within a couple of days. I also tracked the vocals as the snippets of melody arrived rather than as an whole thing. As a result the lyrics are scant and that works for the song that is more impression than suggestion.
With Stinging Eyes I wrote the whole lyric in half an hour, it is probably evident... I TRIED to write more but any/everything else cluttered the narrative or was less easily understood in the quick burst the music offered.
One that's currently under construction, with the working title Emerald Bridge,came into being after a melody was constructed. The melody had to be restructured to accommodate the lyric as the narrative had its own pattern and flow which won the day.
I can't do them but Floyd Jane does "love songs" all the time and does them rather splendidly...he varies his perspective, writes with a good vocabulary and doesn't take the Paul McCartney road.
For me lyrics are important because I like words and I can wrangle them better than I can sounds. I started writing songs in collaboration for that reason.
I like junk lyrics, fun lyrics, serious lyrics and pretentious lyrics.
I don't like lyrics occasionally, say when Dylan tries to force something from a lifestyle choice like all of his stuff after he was born again or when Al Stewart started writing about things and his elite vintner experiences.
BUT I even like My Dog's Dead country sometimes.
If you can fake sincerity you'll probably catch me.
One of the 1st 7" I bought as a kid was Honey by Bobby Goldsboro. I've been fascinated by that sort of "Death Song" or super pathos laden song soaked in schmaltz, mawkish, exploitative and often very, very bad. I also love Robot Monster & Plan 9 From Outer Space...is this a pattern?

Last edited by rayc; 08/20/21 07:42 PM.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe