Sounds a lot like me. wink

Writing lyrics first is much easier.

The other way around, my process is ploddingly painful. I listen to the song and try to get an impression of the mood and feeling. Who could be expressing this? What might their story be?

I'll put up dummy lyrics that match the melody, no matter how incoherent they are. It lets me see the meter, and gives me something to rewrite.

Generally, the verse explains and justifies the chorus. So if you work on the chorus first, you then write a narrative that gets you to that conclusion.

If you start with a verse, then you try to figure out a chorus that acts as a logical conclusion of the verse.

Typically, I'll accidentally end up writing all my ideas into the first verse, so I'll have to split it into parts so there's something to say on the second and third verse.

Then it's just a matter of rewriting, keeping the good stuff and rewriting the less good parts. Using something like Rhymezone to come up with rhymes and words is really helpful, because my first ideas are just regurgitated cliches.

Try to make each of the verses say something new, so there's forward momentum in the song. Don't be afraid to shuffle ideas around.

The first verse should try to hook the listener in with a provocative line. It's a good place to set up the scene and attitude. Think of it like an establishing shot of a movie.

The second verse could talk about how you've arrived, and what's preventing you from moving from that point. Or add more detail to what you started - give information that changes how the listener might have originally been thinking.

My biggest mistake is forgetting that a song - unlike a story - doesn't have to resolve. Simply stating a problem or feeling is enough. There's no need to over-explain something.

Now I need to finish that unfinished song of mine that's been sitting on the hard drive... wink

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?