Writing lyrics...inspiration?

[CTN]

What inspires you to write lyrics, for those who do?

I mean obviously negative things that hurt to the core always make for good lyrics, and so do some overwhelmingly positive things, and also women.

But aside from that, how do you find inspiration when none of those other things are particularly doin' it for the song?

[Beer$]

I have heaps of lyrics that I write songs around to tell the same story or carry the same mood. If you don't have any painful stories to tell, just think about something you hate the most. Get really fixated on conjuring it up in your mind. Then imagine it has taken over the world and what the world would be like.

If you want to go for a more positive route, think about what you would change about it for a more introspective feel.

The well of inspiration is never low for me. Unfortunately it's because I have things to write about that no-one my age should have to.

[Filipe Marquez]

Bipolarity always helps you writing lyrics. :P Unfunny jokes aside, i don't know, i think all you said...

Also it's funny to write lyrics about sex, we have this style in Brazil called "Sertanejo Universitário", which there's always lyrics about relationships, with some sex related lyrics.

Plus the Brazilian Funk, which has nothing to do with Funk itself, but if you wanna get dirty with the gals, there are some cheap sex lyrics in it.

(PS: A beautiful indian girl called Mayah recorded some english versions of Brazilian Funk music, you should check them out)

[dominus]

Books.
News.

[crusty philtrum]

I just look inside myself. There's over half a century of human crap in there, and being the dark, moody and melancholic lump that i am, there's more than enough fertile material.

I don't write about women, partying or good times. Happy music is very annoying. Other people write songs about love and happiness better than i will, so if i need that, i listen to other people. Misery is a much better well to draw from, and the added bonus is that you can bring everybody else down too. Nobody likes happy people, they have nothing useful to say, it's all "Oh, look at me, I'm all shiny and happy, let's skip and dance and sing ..." Ugh.

I come from the perspective of someone who has just been crushed under a boulder, but celebrates the fact that one hand is not trapped under the rock, and i can still manage to wiggle one finger (and flip the bird). "Yeah, i have this huge boulder on top of me, but lookeee, i can still wiggle the end of my finger. I've had worse ... let me tell you all about it".

[youngthrasher9]

Often times well written literature inspires me, it's like viewing it as a challenge to write lyrics that are more intelligent and profound than I have before. Of course there is a pretty good list of twisted things I can write about. I've never really experienced any of these things, but if I am not capturing the darkness of the subject in the lyrics, I write them over. If their is a subject that you want to write lyrics about, try to write it like no one has before, and get really psychological in the lyrics.

[Jason_The_Angry]

for me, inspiration generally comes from particularly powerful emotions (and a beer). if i can spare a few days to focus on writing music, i find my brain starts to get into the right groove to be creative. with a day job and a family, those stretches of time are limited.

i tend to approach lyrics from different perspectives. am i telling a story? Am i involved in the story? is it a true story? am i angry/happy/sad/depressed/afraid of something? is there a message that the world needs to hear? i suppose i try pick something i'm passionate about and try to capture it.

try a change in location. take a walk somewhere new, see where that leads.

[Scott_F]

I find it interesting to examine others approach to this from those here on the forum to a multi year journey listening to the entire Beatles catalog and how they evolved over the years. I enjoy the more introspective stuff and tend to go that way when I attempt to write. Relationships are a great go to when the well runs dry.