In order to convey the emotion and realism in your song, you need to make it convincing. Here are a couple of lyric techniques you can consider using:
Attention to detail: Think about all the detail that exists in every moment of our lives.
As I sit here typing away at this lesson I look around the room I’m in and this is what I see:
Cloudy light streaming through the window behind me.
The reflection of that light on my screen
The stack of china on the dining room table that needs to be put away
My stack of Songwriting Books that I refer to
The antique photo of Venice on our wall
The French china cabinet that was made 60 years ago or so
The painting of a basket or nest that once belonged to a close friend of ours who passed away
My wife’s sewing machine from Germany
A 40 year old pamphlet from ‘Seventeen’ magazine called ‘How to Live with Your Parents’
Today’s newspaper
A chubby bird knick knack
Salt and Pepper shakers painted In Italy
My hooded jacket draped over the chair
The square covered basket we use as a recycling container
The deep red walls
The bright white ceiling
Here’s what I hear:
The click of the laptop keys
The whir of the laptop fan
An occasional clearing of my throat
Here’s what I smell:
The threat of rain in the air
Here’s what I touch:
The keys of the laptop as type away
The way the pad on the chair cradles me
My forearms angled on the edge of the table
As you can see the detail is all around us and often the more we put into our songs the more our listeners can see in their minds and the more impact our songs have. It’s important to move song lyrics out of the cerebral and into the real world.
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Jim Bruno's Songwriting Class 