Jim Bruno's Songwriting Class

The Second Verse (continued)

Tell More of the Story

If your song is a narrative song in the tradition of the songs previously mentioned, “Big John”, you can use your second verse to move the story forward. If it’s a love song perhaps start with when you met and move to where you are today or perhaps where you hope to be in the future.

Move from the General to the Personal or Vice Versa

If in your first verse you talk about love in general, for instance; how love makes you feel, how love changes the world, how low important love is in life. Consider focusing the second verse on your particular relationship. A few years ago I wrote a song called “Ray Took a Slug in the Leg.” In the first verse I talk about Ray Davies being shot on the streets of New Orleans. The second verse, I expand the concept to apply to how crazy the world is today. It doesn’t matter if you go from the general to the personal or vice versa.

The Song Outline

When authors sit down to write a novel or short story, they often start with an outline, mapping out what happened throughout the book or short story. As songwriters, we can use this tool as well. We can decide on how many verses we’ll have and how each verse will move forward. For some songwriters, this is a comfortable approach. For others it seems to stifle their creativity. It certainly would be a solution to problems with second verses often a curse for beginning songwriters.

My approach to songwriting doesn’t include outlines, but I encourage you to try it and see if it works for you.

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