I'm a songwriter. So I'm OK. But when I wrote "Stand By Me" as a song and to know that the song will probably be here for hundred and hundreds of years to come, it's great, you know. And it was just simple lyrics.
I don't like lyrics to be overbearing. I like them to say something. But I'm not trying to change the world overnight. Something simple and understandable that people can relate their own everyday experiences to.
T-Bone Burnett once said that much of rock music is simply someone going wahhh daddy.
For some music, lyrically, the best move is to keep it simple in what it is that you are saying, and just kind of come across in your rhythm and the way that you lock in on the music.
I like songs that are simple.
A whole bunch of 'ayes' and a whole bunch of 'yeahs.' That's it. That's all I do. I say yeah. I tell myself that I'm not gon' go over 80. I say, like, 79 yeahs, and it works. We what you call mumble rappers. So you say 'yeah' after everything and make it rhyme no matter what it is.
I like to write in fairly everyday language - I've always tried to write lyrics that, if people would speak the words, it wouldn't sound like a song.
If you listen to the great Beatle records, the earliest ones where the lyrics are incredibly simple. Why are they still beautiful? Well, they're beautifully sung, beautifully played, and the mathematics in them is elegant. They retain their elegance.
They use the simple back and forth, the same, old rhythm That a baby can pick up, and join, right with 'em. But their rhymes are pathetic, they think they copacetic Using nursery terms, at least not poetic.
Songs with simple lyrics really take off in Irish nightclubs.
I started cutting my teeth on "Someone To Watch Over Me" [George Gershvin] in the college. I've sung that one for a while. There's something so simple and sweet about that lyric.
The simpler the message, the broader the meaning, in many respects. I think about a song like Free's 'All Right Now,' which I'm often asked about. It's that sort of song.
There is no gender to my music. There's no male or female voice, no trite lyrics or poetry. It's much more abstract, so it lives with you longer.
I think the key to writing hit songs is simplicity.
Basically, country is my kind of music - the simple melody, the simple lyrics.
I think the simple message of that song is what attracted me to 'Every Day.' It's one of those simple yet profound lyrics.
I love lyrics that are not too clever.
I decided a handful of years ago that I just want to write songs that you can understand as soon as you put the record on. There's no need to veil what's happening in the song the way I used to.
If you're gonna sing, sing 'em something they can understand.
I would describe my sound in the field of electro pop. A combination of deep yet simple lyrics coupled with easy beats.
What I love about lyrics is that they don't have to be very complicated. A good sentence over a great chord with a good melody - all you need is that one moment.
