If you’ve ever sat, tapping your feet to the distinctive sounds of Country Music, marveling at the beat, the guitar chords and above all else – the lyrics, then maybe you’ve sat there and thought, “I could write better lyrics than that,” or “how hard can it be to write a song?” Surprisingly you don’t have to be a creative genius to write a truly heartfelt Country song. Country is all about the journey, every song tells a deeply personal and more often than not, extraordinarily sad story, so pick up a pencil, and think of the “story of your life” the one story that always makes you cry, the worst time in your life, tap into your inner pain.
What can you write about? If it hurts, it will work well as a Country Song, if it’s painful to discuss, then it’s perfect, here are some ideas: *Lost Love
*Death
*Unrequited Love
*Drugs and Addiction
*Alcoholism
*Life Lessons
*Depression
*Prison
*Cowboys What if you have no pain? If you are lucky enough not to have a specific sad or painful time in your life, just grasp onto someone else’s pain, here are some ideas to help to get your creative juices flowing:
*Listen to some country music, get your head in the right mood
*Watch a very sad movie
*Watch the news
*Imagine losing someone close to your (warning, could keep you depressed for a while)
*Volunteer for a day at a hospice or a cancer ward
*Read a sad poem If all else fails, just start writing and see where it takes you. Do you have to plan your lyrics? The best Country Songs in the word started out as an inspiration and then turned into organized lyrics. Don’t start out planning your whole song; it takes away the spontaneity, instead start writing and see where it takes you. Then when you have written a very rough first draft you can go back over and cross out, change and adapt, try to keep to just one story line at once, don’t cross over into other’s, there’s always more songs for that! What if you can’t get it right? It doesn’t matter how many times you need to change your song to make it right, keep editing and editing, until it sounds perfect for you, and conveys the message and tone you intended, remember it is unlikely you will write a perfect song first time, after all if you get perfection what’s left to strive for? What about the music? If you are no good at music, don’t worry, there are plenty of people out there who can play the guitar, which is all you really need for a Country song, but even if you just know the basics, it doesn’t take much to add accompaniment to your song, learn a couple of simply chords which you can repeat. What’s the difference between writing Country Music Lyrics and other lyrics? Think of Country Music as telling a story, so your words should flow as if you were telling someone what happened, many take on a tone of confession, unlike other types of music, it isn’t just about the chorus, it’s about the words! Will it be a hit? You never know, if you want to make it a hit, you will need to hook the listeners in early on in the song, so add something very interesting in the first few lines and make that chorus catchy!! With a little work, you will surely find your inner Country Music writer, and be writing endless songs in no time!
How to Write Country Music Lyrics
Essential Country Music Listening For Beginners
If you are just starting out listening to Country Music, you may not know where to start, or who to listen to, choose the wrong artist and risk being put off country forever. And with the diverse genre that is Country Music, it’s best to start with the best. So here’s a list of some essential c. music to aid a smooth initiation into the country genre. Enjoy. Hank Williams
Start with a bit of traditional. Country how you would expect it to be – Hank Williams: Hank is considered to be the backbone of country and the pioneer of Honky-tonk a subgenre of country. Hank was born Hiram King in 1923 and tragically died in 1953 at just 29. He recorded greats such as “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” and “Hey Good Looking,” he had 11 number 1 hits and his influence on this genre was widespread and is still felt even today. Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash was a well known and well loved country music artist, his work is frequently seen to be very commercial in comparison to some other singers and he managed to live a long and lucrative career. His work has spanned many other genres, perhaps with some controversy for those who prefer ‘pure country’, but with success in rock and roll, blues and even gospel, he truly must be considered a multi-talented artist. There is a great sense of grief and redemption in his songs and with hits such as “I Walk the Line” and “Ring of Fire” under his belt, Johnny Cash is likely to never be forgotten. Dolly Parton
Love her or hate her, Dolly should be listened to, if only to decide where you stand on the love/hate border, she is after all one of the most successful female Country artist of all time. With 25 number one hits and she wrote “I will always love you,” which was covered by Whitney Houston,” With the success she has managed and the songs she has written, Dolly Parton will always be remembered, for better or for worse. The Carter Family
The Carter Family were early pioneers and the first proper Country vocal group; they recorded in the late 1920′s up until the late 1950′s. Much of their music has been covered by other Country and non Country artists, and they wrote the well known “Keeping on the Sunny Side,” for their influence on the world of Country they will always be remembered, and are essential listening for those who are complete beginners this. Once traditional Country Music, such as these listed here, have been explored, then modern is likely to tempt you. The world of modern C. Music is wide and varied, with sub genres leading off into the pop world, so it can take some time to find what you like, don’t be put off however by one or two artists that you don’t like or find annoying, because just like in any genre of music, there are many more artists to explore.
Country Music’s Earliest Pioneers
Country Music as we know it has been around for decades, with the 1920′s seen as the ‘era’ of Country; with thousands of faces, some well-known, some fading into obscurity lining the Hall of Fame, who are the important figureheads in the history of Country Music? Who pioneered it, we know and love today? Here are some of the founders: A.C Robertson
Alexander (known as Eck) Robertson recorded the first commercial Country Music song in 1922! He was born in 1887 and lived in Texas, growing up learning to play the fiddle, he eventually found himself with a recording contract. In 1922 Eck recorded the now famous track “Sally Gooden.” It never made it big, and it didn’t sell many copies, but he began the industry we know today.
As the first ever recorded artist, Eck Robertson certainly deserves to be considered a pioneer. Vernon Dalhart
Vernon Dalhart had the first Country Singer to have a nationwide hit in 1924 -just 2 years after Eck Robertson sang, with “Wreck of the Old ’97.” Vernon was born in 1883 as Marion try Slaughter, he took his name from two towns were he worked. He applied and was hired by Edison records, but he didn’t start out as a Country Singer, he began with classical and dance, later in 1924 he released his first song which quickly became a hit. He went on to record many different hits, using various names, hundreds in fact!
While Vernon may have not begun his career, he certainly made an impact on the business, alerting recording companies to how lucrative it could be, for that and for singing the first country song to become a nationwide hit, Vernon Dalhart deserves his place in the pioneers. Jimmie Rodgers
Jimmie Rodgers if often known as ‘The Father of Country Music,” he recorded “The Soldier’s Sweetheart” and “Sleep, Baby, Sleep” in 1927 and although they didn’t make millions, they did achieve some success and fame. But Jimmie was determined to make it big and recorded another song ‘Blue Yodel” or “T for Texas” as it is often known. This song earned him his stardom, selling hundreds of thousands of copies.
Jimmie Rodgers made a good career for himself out of singing Country, and influenced many artists, Country and non country alike; sadly he died at 35 years old from TB. For his contribution, Jimmie Rodgers earned his place among the pioneers of Music. The Carter Family
The Carter Family was a group that recorded in the late 1920s to the late 1950s, they are considered to be the first Country vocal group, in the group was Delaney Carter, his wife Sarah Carter and his sister-in-law Maybelle Carter.
They made their first recording in 1927 with “Wandering Boy” and “Poor Orphan Child,” later they created the well known, “Keep On the Sunny Side,” and many more besides. Their songs became very popular and very well known. Later though the group disbanded and split, with Maybelle singing with her children and occasionally the group re-uniting to sing a hit, merging with several family generations. The Carter Family’s songs have been covered by artists such as Joan Baez and even Bob Dylan, but as important as the songs were, the Carter Family pioneered a new way of playing the guitar the “Carter Style.” With such influence on the world, the Carter Family deserves their place as an early pioneer.
It has a long history spanning decades, and these among other later pioneers have created the wonderful world of this music that we know today, they deserve their place in Country Music history.