Songwriting: Melody vs. Lyrics

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

verse 2 {4 lines rhyme, the 4 lines no rhyme}

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky

a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by jessupe

a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went

Nebraska made haste and took his descent

[vindibona1]

What are lyrics?

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

What are lyrics?

[jessupe]

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

verse 2 {4 lines rhyme, the 4 lines no rhyme}

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky
a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went
Nebraska made haste and took his descent

from the icy water Jack was free

[Bob from Brooklyn]

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

verse 2 {4 lines rhyme, the 4 lines no rhyme}

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky
a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went
Nebraska made haste and took his descent

from the icy water Jack was free
A hero was made that day

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

verse 2 {4 lines rhyme, the 4 lines no rhyme}

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky
a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went
Nebraska made haste and took his descent

from the icy water Jack was free
A hero was made that day

as Nebraska went to his grave

[Bob from Brooklyn]

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

verse 2 {4 lines rhyme, the 4 lines no rhyme}

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky
a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went
Nebraska made haste and took his descent

from the icy water Jack was free
A hero was made that day
as Nebraska went to his grave
All we have is his saddle and a whip

[jessupe]

So at thos point a repeating chorus x2 was called for....I feel that a chorus {the lyrics}should repeat at least once on a song.....so for the second 2xs chorus, we will use the first chorus we came up with {3 lines} then all we need to do is come up with 3 lines variations of the first...AND the second could rhyme with the first....so, all we need are 3 more lines that go with this part and we're done with the rough sketch

.................................................. .................................................. ....


"A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you" will be used
.................................................. .................................................. ......

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky
a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went
Nebraska made haste and took his descent

from the icy water Jack was free
A hero was made that day
as Nebraska went to his grave
All we have is his saddle and a whip

{chorus repeat 2 times}

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

[lpa53]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

I’m a riff kind of guy. I can come up with tons of riffs or chord progressions. But when it comes to melody and lyrics, it feels like I’m ripping some artist off.

That's me for sure. I've become reconciled to the probable fact that I don't have the songwriting muse. I know what's good song writing and know that I can't do it, so I stick to covers of great stuff and interpret it. Heck, that was good enough for Sinatra. Hmmm... But then, I'm no Sinatra, either. :-(

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by jessupe

So at thos point a repeating chorus x2 was called for....I feel that a chorus {the lyrics}should repeat at least once on a song.....so for the second 2xs chorus, we will use the first chorus we came up with {3 lines} then all we need to do is come up with 3 lines variations of the first...AND the second could rhyme with the first....so, all we need are 3 more lines that go with this part and we're done with the rough sketch

.................................................. .................................................. ....


"A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you" will be used
.................................................. .................................................. ......

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky
a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went
Nebraska made haste and took his descent

from the icy water Jack was free
A hero was made that day
as Nebraska went to his grave
All we have is his saddle and a whip

{chorus repeat 2 times}

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

If anyone asks you about a horse and a boy

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

If anyone asks you about a horse and a boy

you can tell em about the horse Nebraska from east Illinois

[Bob from Brooklyn]

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky
a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went
Nebraska made haste and took his descent

from the icy water Jack was free
A hero was made that day
as Nebraska went to his grave
All we have is his saddle and a whip

{chorus repeat 2 times}

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

If anyone asks you about a horse and a boy
you can tell em about the horse Nebraska from east Illinois
When he wandered the plains in days long ago

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

When he wandered the plains in days long ago
He created a legend that all would soon know
His mane was white and his tail was black
And he carried with him a young boy named Jack

A worn saddle and a whip
Was all that they had
riding off into the land
On that December day

cold air and hot breath
Riding hard outta Joliet
ridin' away with no regret

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

But then on that ride in the countryside
On a cold sunny day under a bright winter sky
a rock was hit and off into the river Jack went
Nebraska made haste and took his descent

from the icy water Jack was free
A hero was made that day
as Nebraska went to his grave
All we have is his saddle and a whip

{chorus repeat 2 times}

A horse called Nebraska from east Illinois
always there to save the day
I'll never forget to remember you

If anyone asks you about a horse and a boy
you can tell em about the horse Nebraska from east Illinois
When he wandered the plains in days long ago

BOOM! DONE!....now I'm taking day off or so, but will make some comments and things about what we've done, in the mean time I encourage anyone to participate in this anyway they see fit....rewrites, changes and such, or just to talk about the/their process...

anyways Bob I hope that this exercise was somehow helpful and that it may be helpful in any future songs or poetry you write...

[geetaruke]

Melody before lyrics IMO.

If I were striving to be more a poet than musician, I might feel different.