You know, there's an economy in lyric-writing that doesn't afford you, or at least me - I usually start off with nine or 10 verses and then boil it down to two or three that are half the length of the original verses.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When it comes to lyrics, I just write down a lot of things, and only a very tiny fraction of it, I think, is any good.
I've written probably over 200 songs that have a verse and a chorus and that's it.
I tend to write out the first iteration of a lyric here and then go over here and make variations on it, on the page opposite.
Lyrics have to be underwritten. That's why poets generally make poor lyric writers because the language is too rich. You get drowned in it.
I find it harder to write the lyrics afterwards because then you're just trying to fit them into something that's already there.
When I write songs, I like to write lyrics first, and I think that's different from a lot of singer-songwriters. But I heard Sammy Cahn was asked what comes first, the lyrics or the music, and he said, 'The paycheck.'
I usually start with a lyric and see where that takes me.
I've forgotten lines all the time. Sometimes I switch verses in a song. It's just hard not to when you're doing the same thing all the time.
When you have four people writing lyrics instead of one person, the lyrics are going to be a little more broad.
Each memorable verse of a true poet has two or three times the written content.