The Words Behind The Music

Elise Tucker

English III Standard Pd. 6

Mr. Piatak
April 3, 2015

Elise Tucker
Mr. Piatak
English III S-6

Tucker 2
April 3, 2015
The Words Behind the Music
Lyrics often determine whether a song or musical becomes a hit. Everyone hears those
unique lyrics that affect them in some way. Lyrics can either bring back memories or evoke
emotions. It would seem that anyone with ideas or feelings to share could write lyrics. But
becoming a successful lyricist involves so much more than just writing down ideas or feelings
and putting them to music. To fulfill the career as a lyricist, one must understand the structure of
the job, obtain a beneficial education background, and study the paths of other lyricists in the
business.
Lyricists write the words to songs and musicals. Many people fail to separate lyricists
from similar careers, including poets and music composers. Poets and lyricists exhibit many of
the same job responsibilities. Their jobs consist of creating words that tell a story, evoke emotion
and express feelings in a flowing, musical, rhythmic way. Lyrics and poems also contain very
similar rhythmic structure. They only differ in the destination for their works. Poets write poems
without the intention of them becoming words to a song, whereas lyricists intend their words to
be made known through music. The process for writing poems ends once finished, moving on to
the publication process (Davies). Unlike poems, lyrics proceed forward. They combine the words
with an equally rhythmic tune to make a song (Litt).
Composers create the music portion of the songwriting process. A composer focuses on
the composition, creating the music and melodies of a certain piece. A composer may write a
piece intended for lyrics or by itself. Music composers may possess the ability to create both the
music and lyrics, whereas lyricists only write the words to go with songs (Williams). A third
artist may contribute to a work of music, a librettist. They create the text or story that goes along

Tucker 3
with a work of music, often in an opera or musical (Davies). Sometimes the librettist and the
lyricist share the same role.
Most lyricists take time to become well known in the world, but for young Charlotte
Aitchison, now known as Charli XCX, this did not happen. Charli wrote her own lyrics, music
and recorded herself. She started her career by posting her recordings onto Myspace. Due to
these postings, Charli began getting invitations to perform her songs at illegal raves in London.
These showings got people talking and soon got her a record deal at the age of sixteen. While
recording her own music, she wrote I Love It and handed it off to Icona Pop to record. This
song became number one in the United Kingdom and sold over two million copies in the United
States. Charli also wrote Fancy with Azalea, which made it to the Billboard Hot 100 chart for
quite some time. She always looks for the next best thing and competes not only with the
vigorous music world, but with herself and her music (Feeney). Not all lyricists write pop hits.
Some write for the theatre.
Composer and lyricist Adam Guettel writes many songs performed in various musicals.
Adam Guettel loved musical theatre as a young boy and did not return to it until much later. He
feels that a song takes care of the dramatic peak of a scene and compresses the feelings. When
working with songs, the lyrics have to carry an idea, usually a metaphor, that has energy to
spring outwards. Pop music never felt right for Guettel. He believes that theatre songs can
change from one emotional state to another. Pop invokes an emotional state and needs to engage
the listener. Guettel understands the dynamic of listening to music, which involves tension and
release. Song structure has a lot to do with that. He starts with the music or melody and then adds
the words later. Guettel says that songwriters start by finding the language for a song and he does
that with the notes first. He finds lyric writing very rewarding, but difficult as well, especially

Tucker 4
since most of the really good ways of expressing a feeling have already been used (Savran).
Other lyricists also have this problem when creating lyrics based off of emotions or feelings.
Lyricist Toby Litt writes for singers Dusty Springfield, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday and
many others. His writing process often starts with something he wants to say or do, but is unable
to do so. This puts a personal emotion into words that listeners can relate to. Litt thinks that in
order for a song to become popular it requires a certain emotional connection between the music
and listener. He feels the need to not only connect with a listener, but also have his songs prove
useful for them. Litt writes to help people say something that they could not put to words
themselves. He wants his lyrics to speak to the listener and for them to engage in the message
they take from it (Litt). All lyricists put a certain amount of themselves into their music, some
more than others.
Oscar Hammerstein puts a large portion of himself in everything he writes. Hammerstein,
a librettist, playwright and lyricist, has co-written over 850 songs, including the score for The
Sound of Music. He found it important to use the lyrics of musicals to convey the characters and
plot. Hammerstein would use aspects of his own life in writing. By doing this, listeners could
connect with the lyrics on a more personal level. In other areas of his life, Hammerstein spent a
great amount of time with his family or writing his own songs. These songs he wrote had a
different purpose than those he wrote for musicals. He wrote of the things in his life and his
feelings about various subjects or events (Gordon). Good, meaningful lyrics come from the
writer's heart and connect with the listeners.
A lyricist must have the understanding of both music and writing. One could receive this
knowledge through schooling of these subjects. English and music minors, available at most

Tucker 5
colleges, provide an understanding of the overall aspects of writing and the structure of music.
One example of the educational path a lyricist could take follows below.
At The University of North Carolina Greensboro, admission to start the music minor
involves an audition (Hughes). The music minor requires twenty one credit hours and usually
takes about four semesters to complete. This program combines studies of music theory,
performance, music history and other music electives providing ensemble experiences (School of
Music...).
The English minor, also found at The University of North Carolina Greensboro, requires
a minimum of 18 hours in various English courses. No more than six of these hours need to
come from any of the 100-level courses and at least six hours from a course of 300-level or
above. They also require any two of certain 200-level courses. These courses include English
201, 202, 211, 212, 251, and 252 (The Department of English). The most beneficial courses for a
lyricist would include those of poetry. The University of North Carolina Greensboro offers three
courses on poetry, one 100-level and two 300-level (Vines). With the completion of these two
minors, a person would have a better understanding of the structures of both English and music.
If someone wants to continue their studies in either of these areas, they could look into majors in
both English and music. This understanding would help one in a career in writing lyrics.
When writing lyrics, it is important to copyright the work. If not copyrighted, anyone can
take the lyrics and get credit for it. Copyright comes from intellectual property law and ensures
the protection of original works of authorship and artistic works. To copyright, a lyricist must
bring their work to the United States Copyright Office. The office, located in Washington D.C.,
has a website that has a copyright system. A lyricist must create an eCO account and file a
copyright registration, including an application form, a fee, and a copy of the work, to obtain a

Tucker 6
copyright for their work through this system (U.S. Copyright Office). Doing this protects the
lyricists rights to their work.
To further ensure protection of a work, a lyricist could join the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers, also known as ASCAP. ASCAP remains the only US
performing rights organization, controlled by a Board of Directors composed of, elected by and
from members. ASCAP licenses and distributes copyrighted works by giving and obtaining
permission from both music creators and users (About ASCAP). Not only do they protect
members, but they also nurture and direct music makers in their careers. On the ASCAP website,
members can find advice and support through articles published by ASCAP. These articles
provide tips, advice and events from ASCAP to help with career development. Members also
have the opportunity to enter and attend showcases and workshops. Showcases give the chance
to present or perform works for fans and music industries across the country. Workshops include
various programs that focus on expanding and improving skills and knowledge of a skillset
(Career Development). The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers can
protect rights and help a lyricist in many aspects of their personal career development.
Lyricists usually start writing due to an experience that inspired them or due to their
surroundings growing up. For composer and lyricist Adam Guettel, inspiration started early. At
two years old, he and his family went to the theatre to see Oklahoma!. During an interview with
David Savran, Guettel recalled that night, saying, I kept asking my mother, When is it going to
be over? And finally she hauled me off and said, You don't like this? No, I said, I love it, I
don't want it to be over (Savran). He grew up in an extremely theatrical home and went to the
theatre often. He adored the shows until he entered his teens, when he went through a phase of
defiance. During this time, he joined many different rock-and-roll bands, but soon realized that

Tucker 7
he did not belong in this genre of music. While Guettel attended Yale, he started to write songs
and even a short, one-act opera based off a Dr. Seuss childrens book (Savran). Though he never
published or produced the opera, it became the first of his many theatre compositions and the
beginning of his musical journey.
Composer and lyricist Krista Westenhofer grew up with music as a major influence in her
life. She started singing as soon as she could talk and started playing the piano at five years old.
Her two older brothers took composing lessons and composed music themselves. She recalls
listening as they played their music for her as a little girl. Westenhofer then started writing her
own songs at age 12. She trained classically for voice and piano throughout her childhood and
teens. She currently performs her own music and enjoys the connection she feels with her
audience during a song. The songs and lyrics that are the most powerful are the ones fueled
from life experience, the ones you leave a piece of yourself in (Westenhofer). As a mother of 3,
Westenhofers life limits the time she has for writing, but she finds the time to continue
composing and performing. (Westenhofer).
Life experiences for a lyricist inspire them to create moving songs that can speak to their
listeners. From Charli to Hammerstein, lyricists and their lyrics differ tremendously and a variety
of people enjoy them. Many times, the same people enjoy a variety of music. From the seeds of
an idea, to writing the words and putting it to music, creating a song can happen in many
different ways. A lyricist can use years of education in writing music and words or they can learn
by other means. They can work with a composer or compose their own music. In the end,
everyone knows the greatness of a song by the way they feel when listening. As with almost all
great art, no two creations are exactly alike and the beauty of creating accepts that the creator
cant be wrong.