Song Club #11: Story

Even if you write abstract songs they still contain a story

NOTE: I’m continuing to explore Substack as the venue for Song Club, and highly value your feedback on how this works and/or feels for you. Similarly, if you have any thoughts on how to improve Song Club, please feel free to reach out. I love hearing from readers!

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This week for Song Club, I’m trying something a bit different. Rather than focus on subject matter, I want to explore a topic that has more to do with craft. It’s a part of songwriting that’s a weakness for me: story. 

Even if you write abstract songs with non-narrative lyrics, the song still has a story you can pull through it, or use as an anchor. Before I recognized this, most of my songs were vibes with vignettes. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we’re narratively driven animals and songs with a story you can grab onto are almost always more emotionally powerful. As humans, we love placing ourselves at the center of stories we hear.

So, this week … every prompt, mission, and reflection has to do with dialing in your own approach to understanding the stories in your songs.

n.b. I’m starting with the Creative Mission, because I’m recommending you do it first. 

Keep going,

Lucy  

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CREATIVE MISSION 

“Plotting Songs” 

Pick a two or three of your favorite songs. For each one, see if you can map the narrative arc in the song. Where does the story start and where does it end? What happens in between? What tensions arise? How are they resolved?