Music and lyrics written separately

Do talk back
User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44857
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Music and lyrics written separately

Postby Charlie O. » 09 Dec 2017, 00:55

Tim Buckley & Larry Beckett also wrote separately, and the results often sounded like it ("Goodbye & Hello" being their greatest flop).

But not always. Beckett wrote "Song To The Siren" late one night or early one morning; he brought the piece of paper to the breakfast table where Buckley was eating his cornflakes (they were sharing a beach house together) and set it down next to his bowl. Tim looked it over for a minute, put his spoon down, reached for his guitar and set it to music in the time it takes to sing it. It's a practically perfect song.
Image

User avatar
Spock!
Posts: 15890
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 21:26
Location: By the banks of the mighty Bourne

Re: Music and lyrics written separately

Postby Spock! » 09 Dec 2017, 20:07

Charlie O. wrote:
Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter used to write separately, but would then come together and Jerry might say to Robert "That line doesn't 'sing' right, what else can you come up with there?" and they'd hash it out together.



Very good.
Image

User avatar
Charlie O.
Posts: 44857
Joined: 21 Jul 2003, 19:53
Location: In-A-Badda-La-Wadda, bay-beh

Re: Music and lyrics written separately

Postby Charlie O. » 09 Dec 2017, 20:20

:)
Image

sloopjohnc
Posts: 63924
Joined: 03 Jun 2004, 20:12

Re: Music and lyrics written separately

Postby sloopjohnc » 10 Dec 2017, 17:41

Charlie O. wrote:Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter used to write separately, but would then come together and Jerry might say to Robert "That line doesn't 'sing' right, what else can you come up with there?" and they'd hash it out together.


That's the most famous example I was going to bring up too. I was fairly sure Hunter would write the lyrics before but didn't know they approached it after that. Interesting to know.
Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk!

User avatar
Quaco
F R double E
Posts: 47382
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 19:41

Re: Music and lyrics written separately

Postby Quaco » 29 Dec 2017, 21:25

Bent Fabric wrote:
Charlie O. wrote:"The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys"


I had actually intended to use "Dear Mr. Fantasy" in my post as an example of "that method inexplicably working to some extent".

Another example is "Coloured Rain", where, again, the verses seem to have been written in a four-square style, but the music gives a different emphasis because of the musical change at the end of the third line. You almost don't realize the fourth line rhymes with it.

Yesterday I was a young boy searching for my way
Now knowing what I wanted living life from day to day
Till you came along there was nothing but an empty space and a pain ...
Feels like coloured rain, tastes like coloured rain, bring on coloured rain


Jim Capaldi said, in 1969:
In "Colored Rain," I wrote the words and then Stevie did something to them. Without saying or doing anything, without any sort of usual communication, we found just the sound that it should have had.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Return to “Yakety Yak”