Musician's Thread

One of the things I do all the time is make up my own lyrics to other people's songs. I do it all day, most days. When doing the dishes after dinner is a favourite - she washes, I dry - and I give her a good half hour's entertainment!

She actually likes some of my singing, so that's lucky - but I'm a bit disappointed she doesn't think more of my lyric 'writing' capabilities! :p

It's not a bad habit to get into.

I always felt that I 'should' be good at lyric writing, theoretically. I believe that I'm creative enough with music, and I can be a decent linguist. But then when I try to take pen-to-paper on a song... the result is horrifying.

Same here. Although sometimes my german mother tongue comes in the way. It's really confusing, 80% of media I consume and text I gotta read is in english...my thoughts are always changing between german and english...I've tried writing german lyrics but no way dude...if you're not Rammstein and write stupid shit like them, german is not the language for that kind of death/black metal ;-).

For my current album I've been struggling for 2 years to get the lyrics down. It's a concept work so the lyrics should reflect that but I can't get myself to write fantasy stuff like Amon Amarth, DIO or Tolkien...I have no connection to dragons or hobbits even if I dig this kind of output from other artists.

I've set up 2 concepts but can't get one of the two work to the music 100%; one of them is based on the concept of "Bone" by Jeff Smith...not the characters but the idea of dreaming as a world. The other is a layered story of an outcast driven into solemnity by an overly single minded society. Nothing revolutional but stuff that should fit to the music and occupies my mind.

This is "Beans" from back when I wrote it, in about 99/00. I didn't have a title for it at the time, so I just called it "Wot?"





The verses are more a chug along, with muted power chords. I'll try and find that recording.

This one was the one I wrote based on the relationship advice program on the radio. It's about a guy who starts a relationship with someone, but is already looking around at other women, and then breaks up with her (in a letter cos he's such a wimpy tosser) and is saying it's actually all her own fault because, well, what did she expect?

This was also the one that started as an arpeggiated progression, but when Heinz and the other guitarist said it was just like "Nothing Else Matters" - which I had never heard at the time - I changed it to some crappy chord strumming thing that actually sounded rubbish.

Never Forever:

Beans in my head sounds sung by an older man with a thick british working class accent

If you'd ever seen the series "Only Fools And Horses", there's an episode where Rodney joins a punk band. The lead "singer" is a guy they call "Mental Mickey" - it's his voice I hear in my head! :)

https://youtu.be/lAt-b9oQydg

https://youtu.be/vz1VzqRptQY

@Brixmis
Never heard of this series...gotta check it out seems to be funny. But the voice and accent is quite that what I had in my mind.

I do the 1 2 3 4s LOL
That's great - gonna have to check that show out.

Been a long time since I have seen a song written down like that Brix! I took a run at playing Beans - though I finger picked the changes instead of strumming which made it sound a little bit more like a country song - kind of like Jerry Reed circa Nashville Underground era. Thanks for sharing! :)

lord_of_shred said:

Same here. Although sometimes my german mother tongue comes in the way. It's really confusing, 80% of media I consume and text I gotta read is in english...my thoughts are always changing between german and english...I've tried writing german lyrics but no way dude...if you're not Rammstein and write stupid shit like them, german is not the language for that kind of death/black metal ;-).

For my current album I've been struggling for 2 years to get the lyrics down. It's a concept work so the lyrics should reflect that but I can't get myself to write fantasy stuff like Amon Amarth, DIO or Tolkien...I have no connection to dragons or hobbits even if I dig this kind of output from other artists.

I've set up 2 concepts but can't get one of the two work to the music 100%; one of them is based on the concept of "Bone" by Jeff Smith...not the characters but the idea of dreaming as a world. The other is a layered story of an outcast driven into solemnity by an overly single minded society. Nothing revolutional but stuff that should fit to the music and occupies my mind.

My favourite album with german vocals is Peter Gabriel's 3rd album - also there is a version of Downtown by Petula Clark that she sung in german that is fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49mdn20QsbM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpEAnu46owE

As far as writing a story based concept album - I have tried before but I find the format to limiting and my lyrics tend to be a little to abstract for telling a direct story. But the albums we have put out each have a conceptual theme from the artwork to the track listing everything is a certain way for a reason - but like I said I work in the abstract so the connections are a little more frayed around the edges.

I do have an idea for a radio play concept album - kind of like the Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas audio book that was released in like 1996 but with actual songs and an original story of some sort. But at the moment it is just an idea - one that has been floating around in my head for about 5 or so years.

One of the songs I regularly sing in German (I'm fluent btw) is "Als Ich Fortging" - but only because it was on our set list in Heinz's band. I just carried on playing/singing it after I came back to the UK - thought it wouldn't be a bad tune to pull out and surprise some folks :)

Brixmis said:

How You Remind Me (Nickleback)

i love that song

Just uploaded a new video to youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpTV146CcvM

Improvised jam at a backyard Pig Roast.