Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs (Songwriting) [Paperback]

Rikky Rooksby (Author)

Book Description

Series: Songwriting | Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Lyrics sheds light on all aspects of lyric writing for music and will make songwriters feel more confident and creative when they tackle lyrics. It's perfect for all songwriters: those who don't like their own lyrics and find them difficult to write, experienced writers looking for a creative edge, and those offering lyrics to set to music in a partnership. Topics include channeling personal experiences into lyrics, overcoming writer's block, the right lyrics for a bridge, the separation between lyrics and poetry, exploring imagery and metaphor, avoiding cliches, and more. The book also offers tips on the various styles of lyrics, from protests, spirituals, and confessionals to narratives and comic songs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rikky Rooksby is a guitar teacher, songwriter, and music journalist, he contributes to various music magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879308850
• ISBN-13: 978-0879308858
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #325,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is almost funny, with how much lyrical content it holds., November 11, 2006

By 

Chris "the most passionate music/film fan alive." (Philly suburbs, PA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs (Songwriting) (Paperback)

Rikky Rooksby has made some really great songwriting books. His best being "How To Write Songs On Guitar."

I flipped through this book at a local store and I was laughing to myself, at how much detail Rooksby goes into, as far as lyrical subjects are concerned.

He doesn't really go into full detail about how to write great lines, or how to write a life-altering song lyrically (that comes with a lot of practice and being an intelligent, perceptive person I think), but he does include a lot of cliches you should avoid at all costs... cliche phrases and word couplings, etc. Surely you've heard them on your local soft rock radio station or top 40 station.

The main strength of this book, I think, is that he gives you a TON of popular song examples that are about a specific thing.

And by specific things I mean:
Politics, Love, War, Loneliness, Anger, Frustration, Partying/Having Fun, History, stories/third person storytelling, Science Fiction, Science, Religion, Sex, Driving, Nature, and... Colors?

Yes, he even has a "Colors" section... each color (Blue, Red, Green, Yellow) etc, he lists about 10-15 songs with that color in the title, or songs that revolve around a color and what it has to do with the song's subject... and how the songwriters made it work. For example, with Blue you might have New Order's "Blue Monday", Joni Mitchell's "Blue", Elton John's "Blue Eyes"... etc (I don't know if those songs specifically are in the book, as I read through it a few nights ago), but that's how he mentions them). And then of course, with Yellow you'd have Coldplay's amazing song "Yellow", and then the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine", etc. Red would have "Little Red Corvette" by Prince, "I See Red" by Split Enz, etc.

This is the part of the book that made me laugh to myself and of course, had the biggest impact on me because I just wrote 100 words about it basically... haha.

The rest of the book is really, really informative. It's probably the best book I've found on lyric writing, and I own like eight of them!

To summarize, Rooksby's done a ton of research about lyric writing/subject matter in pop music. You can't complain about having writer's block, just thumbing through this book for five minutes. For $25, you can get this highly descriptive book, and a nice rhyming dictionary (I recommend The Complete Rhyming Dictionary by Clement Wood), and you'll never have writer's block again (at least, lyrically... musical writer's block, well, that's harder to overcome... at least for me).

:)

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New ideas right off the bat..., September 10, 2007

By 

D. R. Coulter (Murfreesboro, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs (Songwriting) (Paperback)

Althought I haven't yet finished the entire book, I found the first sections of this work so inspiring that I thought they merited comment. What may seem common knowledge (or common sense) to an experienced writer, the ideas that were revealed in the first few sections of this book were eye-openers to me. Peppered with comments and insights from successful writers, the section titled "30 ways to find inspiration" was all I hoped it would be....and all I needed to push my creativity to a place it hasn't been in quite some time. A simple, productive kick in the pants for a writer like me who didn't know which way to go next. In the two weeks since reading this section alone, I've filled at least a dozen pages with new prospects. When this surge is over, I'll see what the rest of the book has to offer!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great resource!!, October 4, 2009

By 

Jay Wright (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs (Songwriting) (Paperback)

I started a songwriters club just over a year ago. We've all spent time acquiring good resources to read and share. We look for reference material that will not only help us with our individual work but will help us offer constructive ideas to each other on lyrics, construction, content, melody, theme, etc. This is one of the better books I've found on lyric writing. It gives a lot of approaches for stimulating songs along with examples of popular songs that used each approach. I find it is now a book I can pick up anytime, open to any page and within moments have a fresh idea. There seems to be a good balance of instructive narrative and helpful examples. What I like most is that it deals head on with my two biggest issues: inspiration and structure. It was definitely money well spent and truly delivers on the author's promise (a statement I'm unwilling to make about similar books). It is a keeper for my reference library. I fully intend to purchase other works by this author.