Titles
So let’s start at the top, with titles. How important is a great title? Does it make or break a song? Well my feeling is a great title is a great asset to a song. However, rarely does a title ruin a song. One of the more difficult things in the process of writing songs is to get the ball rolling, to get the song started, and a great way to do that is with a great title. A great title can be a great idea for a song. One of the greatest titles, in my opinion, was written by Sonny boy Williamson and that title was “Your Funeral, My Trial”. Doesn’t that say it all?
Well, we’ve talked about how a great title can enhance the song, and a bad title ruin a song? I don’t think so.
Opening Lines and Hammers
How important are opening lines? You know the old saying, “You only get to make a first impression once”? Well, that’s true with songs as well. Think about it. If the listener is not intrigued with the first line, it affects the likelihood of them listening to the rest of it. Others feel that the listener needs to ‘settle’ down into a song before they’re fully engaged. My sense is that a great song doesn’t necessarily need a great opening line but it sure doesn’t hurt.
One thing that you want to be sure to avoid and that’s boring first line. In many instances your first line in a song may be the first time someone has heard you.
You should use the first line of the song to establish perhaps the mood or the location for the attitude or the emotion. Don’t waste the valuable song “real estate” of the first line.
I wrote a song called “We Were Blind”. It’s a song about regret and opens with the line, “I should’ve never got that blue tattoo”. It leads the listener to wonder, “What blue tattoo?” “Why did you get it?” “It’s a tattoo for goodness sakes, isn’t it a little late to regret it?”
You can hear the song by clicking HERE.
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Jim Bruno's Songwriting Class 