Hi floyd!

As Inspector Gadget says, “Wowsers!” This is song-writing, -recording, -mixing, -producing, -performing at their stellar best. Every time I listen to a song from your catalogue, my eyes glaze over with awe – no joking!

I love the implicit pun that these lyrics are based around: 'shooting stars' (the word-pair describing the stars falling from the sky) and 'shooting stars' (the word-pair describing the act of aiming and firing at the twinkling lights). How cool is that! The inventiveness of your imagination always impresses. It doesn't stop there, though. You then take the concept of 'aiming and shooting at stars' and paint it with the colours of metaphor so that it embodies the notion of 'striving for success'.

The emotional development of these lyrics is perfect and, to my mind, is a great model for anyone wanting to get an added insight into how to develop lyrics. Verse 1 is grounded in the present and uses strong imagery to create a 'mini-movie' in the listener's mind. Verse 2 then moves to the past and offers an explanation as to why the song's character is 'watching the horizon'. The imagery within Verse 2 also continues to unroll as a 'mini-movie'. With the song's concept, and the lead character, firmly established in the listener's mind by verses 1 and 2, the first chorus then ties everything together by telling the listener about the motive behind the details established in the verses. Your beginning lyrical content wrapped in a verse-verse-chorus structure is what Pat Pattision would call a very effective use of “show and tell”.


Originally Posted By: Noel
In case you haven't read it, here's a link to a short article that explains what Pattison means by “show and tell” if you are interested in having a read.


Now comes Verse 3. To develop the lyrics further, you come back to the present and include personal detail (i.e. 'broken heart') about the song's lead character. You then add to this development by utilising concepts that are philosophical and metaphorical. One such lyric tool is to personify the character's 'broken heart' so that it becomes the driving force behind the lead character's actions.

The Bridge further develops the lyric's emotional ooomff by becoming intensely personal and we can feel the character's anguish.

In addition to the above, these lyrics caused me to reflect on how they are both simultaneously general and specific. The word “Awesome” springs to mind! It may be me, and because of the circumstances that have surrounded me in the last few months, but these lyrics could apply to a large number of different situations. Most people would probably hear the words as referring to a broken relationship. To my mind, the lyrical use of “baby” amplifies this concept. At one point, I found myself reading through and leaving out the instances of “baby”. Many possibilities unfolded. The lyrics could be about a close friend, lover or family member who is in a coma, who has died, who has dementia, who is lost, etc. I have to say that your ability to write lyrics that address the states of mind of so many individual listener's circumstances is incredibly impressive. A great deal of thought and planning has clearly gone into the crafting of these words.

I don't know how many times I've listened to “One More Star” but I'm now heading back for another one! It's great smile

All the best,
Noel

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024