Originally Posted by dcuny
Hi, Noel.

You are frighteningly good at writing positive songs. These lyrics are quintessential Noel Adams:
You got me smiling with this comment, David! Thank you smile Life has been a bit tough these last 12 months with secondary prostate cancer showing up last year (I had a prostatectomy in 2017). If ever you need to know anything about radiation therapy or hormone therapy due to prostate cancer, please feel free to ask. I've got quite a lot of experience these days in many areas of urology. Maybe I should put it into a song!

Originally Posted by dcuny
A touch of alliteration, a "feel good" lyric:

   Glistening golden hair and your face is like the sun
   Shining bright, warming everyone
I love alliteration and all the sonic devices I can use! These can really help make a lyric flow very well. Things like assonance, consonance, internal alliteration (that's what I call it, at least) and all the different types of rhyme and rhythm are all on the table when I write lyrics. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but once I get a lyric nearly settled to my liking, I go through the words and look for potential synonyms that might create better sonic links with my existing words.

Originally Posted by dcuny
You weren't thinking "time to change up the rhythmic pattern a bit" when you wrote this, were you?
   With relics from a Celtic shrine that bend heaven’s design
Actually, I was so focused on writing a lyric that had a Science-fiction/Fantasy feel about it that when I got to verse 2, it occurred to me that I'd better give some kind of reason for my character's ability to reincarnate. I thought about ways of doing this for quite a while. Eventually, I landed on the idea that a form of mystical religion from ages past might be a useful way to do it. I tried various countries and their myths and legends before finally homing in on the Celts. Any upping of the rhythmic pattern is purely coincidental with trying to get a coherent story.

Originally Posted by dcuny
Because you're probably the most analytic writer on this forum, and despite how effortless it all sounds, I know nothing is in your songs that hasn't been thoroughly thought out. smile
Rightly or wrongly, I cannot stop myself from being analytical. It's the only way I know how to write lyrics. I think I've mentioned this before, but just in case I haven't... Back in the early 2000s, I went to a Pat Pattison seminar and his approach to writing lyrics really clicked with me. I'm a physics/chemistry/mathematics kind of person and as I listened to Pat, I could see how I could approach writing lyrics from an analytical perspective. He gave me tools and insights that allowed me to productively use my science background to create lyrics. These tools also allowed me to analyze the lyrics of famous songs. Up until meeting Pat, I'd tried to write lyrics many times. Every time, though, I couldn't get anywhere. Since then, I've been to many of Pat's seminars and I've done all the exercises in every one of this books. It's been quite an amazing journey of discovery and self-discovery!

Originally Posted by dcuny
But it's not just the lyrics, but it's also the way you sing - shaping each syllable. There's a quality of earnestness in your vocal that's disarming.

Hayden fits in well with you - nice work.

But then, it's all nice work. laugh

I'm really pleased that my singing is okay. I don't see myself as a singer. A few years ago, I simply decided to stop being self-conscious about how I sing and just do the best I can. I adopted the proverbial "I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb" approach. That was a turning point for me, and it's all due to this forum and the supportive people in it (such as yourself). Software such as Nectar and Ozone also helped.

Thanks for taking the time to be so thorough. I'm sorry if I've over-explained myself. It's early morning, though, and I'm feeling enthusiastically verbose right now!

I appreciate your visit a great deal. Thanks again!
--Noel

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2026