What's your opinion? Does a chorus always have to be the same? I realize it's your own song and you can write it however you want. But, when it comes to rules that shouldn't be broken is this one of them? Thanks for opinions. G.
I think it's up to individual tastes. As far as I'm concerned, changing a few words in the chorus is no big deal, and sometimes really shows the progression of the song (think Margeritaville).
Our songs also have the standard pop format: Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, bad solo. All in all, I think we sound like The Knack and the Bay City Rollers being molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath.
Kurt Cobain
I agree with Gunslinger. Except if you have a really good hook, then you should keep it the way it is all the time; it's more efficient. If not, you can change it completely every time. It's up to you.
Even with a good hook you can change the lines around it.
Hotel California changes the second line, U2 does it all the time, Counting Crows Rain King etc.
The hook is in the first line, not the second. Changing the hook defeats the purpose. People remember: "la la la la Hotel California/la la la la la, la la la la"; that's what the general public remembers. The second line thus becomes irrelevant and can be changed at will without modifying the hook.
I didn't say change the hook and I didn't suggest which line the hook is. Sure the hook is usually the first line. If you've got a good one, leave it alone. Why change a good thing?
A-J, in your first post it seems you suggest that if you have a good hook then you should leave the chorus alone. Maybe you were only speaking of the hook, but in the context of the question that's what it looks like. My apologies if I got it wrong.
I gave specific examples of where the lines near or around the hook change, even with a powerful hook.
Anyway the point is you can change the content of the chorus if you wish. If you do have a catchy hook, it's best to leave that one line alone. The rest of the lines are fair game.
hey,
i don't think that the words of chorus have to stay the same, as long as the music does so that you can still tell it's the chorus. As gunslinger said, it does sometimes show progression of a song.
Thanks everybody for your input. For the particular song I was writing I decided to keep the chorus the same. My chorus' that I were going to change was probably a bit to much, maybe sounded more like a verse, oh well I'll save it for another song!. I'll post my revision in the Songwriter's Club. Thanks again. G. :)
