How I come up with song lyrics / songwriting advice

Writing a song is part composing music, and part composing words – or poetry. The words to a song could be considered poetry if the music were taken away. I like the lyrics to sound beautiful even on their own, even without a harmony or backing.

But how do you come up with these lyrics? How do you write words that inspire something in the listener? As a songwriter, it still baffles me how it happens. But as I write more and more, I see where the words are coming from.

I am a singer songwriter who enjoys writing folkish music, with a little jazzy spots thrown in, as well as some indie. My lyrics are largely focused on emotion, description of life, and nature. Here is an excerpt for reference.

“Coffee stained clouds, Coffee stained hands. Bitter taste in my mouth As I drank it down fast. I don’t know who made me this cup of coffee, But they certainly didn’t want to make me feel lovely. So I’ll tip it down the drain And go out into the world my own way. I don’t want to feel this way, Listen to the voices drive me insane.”

These lyrics were sparked by a time I drank a coffee at work once to see if maybe I liked it finally. It was bitter and, nope, coffee just wasn’t for me. Then, I did some paper staining with coffee and my hands were all covered in coffee. Hence the first line: “Coffee stained clouds, coffee stained hands”. From there, I took the simple picture of not liking coffee, and turned it into bit of a metaphor.

Here are some ways I come up with song lyrics.

1: Observing nature

Looking outwards at nature gives me many lyrics. “Sitting on the west side of the river”, “Flowers burst out of my eyes”, and “Summer smells like sweet cinnamon” are all examples of lyrics that are inspired by nature. Often, the lyric idea will begin with what I see without, and then turn to what I see within, or how nature reflects what’s in my soul.

2: Feelings

Considering how I’m feeling of course inspires lyrics for my songs. For all songs are about a feeling or some kind. “I’m floating in tears and triumph at the same time”, “The more I learn the more I see I’m really still quite naive”, and “I know I’m truly sad when I wake up sad” are some lyrics that show what emotion I’m feeling. How could your feelings be put into words? That is the art of lyrics, to show the listener something new, and to invite them to share in it with you.

3: Actions

What am I doing? Am I “Sitting on the west side of the river”, or “we climb barefoot over rocks”, or “Walk out and drive into town”. All these things are actions, and give the listener a picture that involves movement. Not only is there emotion in a song, having movement is great too. Describing an action sparks the listener’s imagination and they can see you (or themselves) doing whatever it is you describe. How are you going to describe it? Vaguely, mysteriously, obviously and clearly? What will be the action?

4: Dialogue

Perhaps you want to relay something someone said. This can be another place to draw inspiration from. Has someone ever said something poignant to you? Have you ever had a conversation that stuck in your mind? What was it about the dialogue that made it stick? You could include some of the dialogue, and then branch into why this dialogue is important to you.

Something my grandma said once was, “cold hands, warm heart”, it was totally random, but has always stuck with me, and I want to include it in a song one day.

So, after reading these different places to gain inspiration for writing song lyrics, what is coming to mind? You may find that you tend to lean towards one or two of the places more than others. This is what makes your songs yours!

Some song lyric examples from my own songs:

Green Woods

“Come with me for a walk today, by the sycamore trees in the green woods”.

This example focuses on actions and nature.

Ready

“Found myself back in the ground, cut down by something. But the warm sounds bring me back around each morning”.

These are a bit trickier to break down, but I’d say it’s a mix of emotion, action, and a little of nature.

Autumn leaves

“Another summer has gone by, over the months I’ve got less shy. Now there’s just falling leaves – they’re falling so fast, I can’t believe another summer’s already gone past.”

A blend of nature and emotion.

Resilient

“I’m floating in tears and triumph at the same time. I’m holding onto a vine that’s climbing too high.”

This song is emotional and nature with action in amongst it all.

These are just a few ways of finding inspiration for your song lyrics, and I hope you can use this as a stepping stone in your musical journey. Remember that the words you sing are your own, and don’t need to look like anyone else’s. It’s okay to create something completely new! I have often found that my music doesn’t fit in with typical Christian genres, and that’s a good thing! God has taught me that my lyrics hold a special message and don’t need to sound like a “worship song” or “Christian song”. My songs can be their own. My songs can be for Jesus.

If you would like to learn more about songwriting, feel free to browse more blog posts, or contact me if you have any questions. You can also find me on YouTube at The Windy Wildflower, or the podcast at The Windy Wildflower Podcast. We talk about writing, songwriting, and being a Christian creative in all these places. Join me on the journey of learning to glorify God with our creativity and making dreams a reality.