I have a song I've been working on for a while now. I wrote the lyrics a while back and finally came back and worked out the chords and melody. I keep working on the song, trying new chords (to better suit my singing) and making little changes. The problem is, when I wrote the words and first started working on the song, the lyrics were very meaningful to me and I really liked them. Now, they sound trite and overwrought. I've gotten tired of them. Is this normal, since I keep trying to tweak the song or is this an indicator that my lyrics ARE trite and overwrought?
It might be an indicator that these particular lyrics are trite and overwrought. Don't know if I'd go so far as to say your entire catalogue is that way.
This is something everyone works through. Lyric writing, like playing the guitar, is built up through practice. Just as you have to work your way through scales and basic riffs, most writers have to plow their way through cliches and trite lyrics.
Sometimes, too, you need a trite lyric to set up a killer one. So throwing them all away isn't necessarily the best choice either.
The real test of a lyric is whether you can keep coming back to it and finding new nuances or new emotions from it. Good writers rarely trust something that's written in a short period of time. Rewriting is an important part of the songwriting process. In a song, you're trying to get the most out of each word or phrase, so rewriting (even if you never use the rewrite) is an excellent exercise in getting a focus with your writing.
Hang with it and keep writing. Also keep listening and reading. The more you do of all these things, the better writer you'll grow into. And don't be afraid to keep looking at your old material. Anyone will tell you that they have written tons of songs that will never see the light of day. :wink:
Peace
Thanks for the advice. I will try revisiting the song with the idea of a rewrite. I really do like some of the lyrics, so maybe I can just freshen up some of the others.
