Song Club #45: Hidden Messages

On one of the chief thrills of writing and sharing music

IMHO, one of the chief thrills of writing and sharing music is sending hidden messages. I have actually never spoken to another songwriter about it, but I imagine it’s a pleasure shared by many of us.

You keep the truth sharp and the details just specific enough to conjure recognition. Your hope is that the person you’re singing to will see themselves in the work. Perhaps a new understanding will bloom between the two of you. Perhaps something that couldn’t be said any other way will finally be understood. Or, perhaps the song remains a one-way channel. Most of the time there’s no way to know how what you’ve expressed is received. It’s uncertain and unhinged and that is part of the thrill.

Another thing about this particular, intricate joy: it can really help you lock in–both because it’s enjoyable and because it offers an emotionally expressive, puzzle-solving approach to lyric writing.

I felt this effect while writing the (still WIP) song above. I had been given the prompt of writing a gratitude song, which … cringe … a little bit. I wanted to avoid the worst gratitude tropes, so I wrote expressing gratitudes that I probably shouldn’t express directly. Hidden message gratitudes. It was a lens that allowed me to get real in the most satisfying way.

This week, let’s explore what sending hidden messages can add to your songwriting.

Big love and keep going,

Lucy

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SONG PROVOCATIONS

Write a song to one person only.

Choose someone you want to communicate with—whether or not they’ll ever hear the song. Let the lyrics hold just enough specificity for them to recognize themselves in the details.