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what makes a great lyricist?

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thestyxcrossing:
Thanks for the idea's and examples guys. As I said I've been working on my own lyrics lately and just needed some imput as to what other's thought were good qualities in a lyricist's work. Gotta keep practicing.

Merkwürdigliebe:
I have to tell you, I don't know what the whole hipster/"indie" view about Death Cab for Cutie is, but I can't get over how good they are. They aren't very complex on the music side, but Ben Gibbard is probably the best lyricist to ever walk this Earth that I know of--in my opinion, he beats the pants off of Colin Meloy (he always struck me as trying to hard.) For some reason I can just imagine Ben Gibbard sitting at a writing desk in a dark room, his parchment illuminated by a candle, and scratching down words with a quill pen. I highly recommend repeated listening to them. There's a site with nearly exhaustive Death Cab lyrics--I don't know how often it's updated or expanded, but it has all the major albums. you really need to listen to the music though. YouTube probably has videos set to the music; I know it has Directions, the visual companion to Plans.

Here's the site: http://nimbysworld.googlepages.com

Guildenstern67:
Al Stewart has a felicity with words that rivals poets Ogden Nash, Robert Browning, and John Donne—and I don’t toss around those names lightly.  His musical style is usually complex acoustic guitar with a bit of folk-rock influence similar to his contemporary Bob Dylan.  Al’s songs are often about history.  A few examples from each decade of his 40+ year career:
“SoHo (Needless to Say)”; Past, Present, Future, 1973:
Rainstorm, brainstorm, faces in the maelstrom
Huddle by the puddles in the shadows where the drains run
Hot dogs, wet clogs clicking up the sidewalk
Disappearing into the booze shop
Rainbow queues stand down by the news stand, waiting for the late show
Pin ball, sin hall, minds in free fall
Chocolate-coloured ladies making eyes through the smoke-pall
SoHo (needless to say)
I'm alone on your streets on a Friday evening
I've been here all of the day
I'm going nowhere with nowhere to go

“Where Are They Now?”; Last Days of the Century, 1988:
I sent my crack divisions through the early morning mist
When they fell on your positions you were powerless to resist
Encircling and probing for the weakness in your lines?By night you were surrounded and your territory mine
I called for your surrender; this you swore you would not do?So I stormed the very fortress that you thought could shelter you?I saw you then upon your knees and turned to give my thanks
To the regiments assembled in their ranks
Where are they now?

“Trains”; Famous Last Words, 1993:
But oh what kind of trains are these
That I never saw before
Snatching up the refugees
From the ghettoes of the war
To stand confused
With all their worldly goods, beneath the watching guard's disdain
As young and old go rolling on the clicking wheels of trains
And the driver only does this job
With vodka in his coat
And he turns around and he makes a sign
With his hand across his throat
For days on end
Through sun and snow, the destination still remains the same
For those who ride with death above the clicking wheels of trains

“The Immelman Turn”; A Beach Full of Shells, 2005
The frost was on your aielerons, and the wind was in your hair
When you went into the climb I saw you laughing
When the engine stalls and you start to spin
You won't get out of there
And a hush comes on the crowd as you go falling
Fly, fly to the western sky
Where the fog bank shifts and the danger lies?Why, why would you never learn
That you won't come back from the Immelman Turn?
Fly, fly to the red sunrise
Where the cloudbanks shift under copper skies
Why, why would you never learn
That you won't come back from the Immelman Turn?

Ishotdanieljohnston:
Real simplicity is a real virtue in lyrics. To be able to retain orignality but just put things in uncliched, honest terms makes for great music. This is very true of the largely forgotten late folk and country singer Tim Hardin:

Here I am back home again
I’m here to rest
All they ask is where I’ve been-
Knowing I’ve been west

I’m the family’s unowned boy
Golden curls of envied hair
Pretty girls with faces fair
See the shine in the black sheep boy -

If you love me let me live in peace
And please understand
That the black sheep can wear the golden fleece
And hold the winning hand

I’m the family’s unowned boy
Golden curls of envied hair
Pretty girls with faces fair
See the shine in the black sheep boy -

I’m the family’s unowned boy
Golden curls of envied hair
Pretty girls with faces fair
See the shine in the black sheep boy -

monkandmovies13:
It depends what you want in your songs.

Someone else mentioned something about Zach Condon...he uses his voice as another instrument, and his lyrics are just like notes he plays with it. They don't neccessarily mean much, because his songs are mostly about the music, I think.

But John Darnielle from The Mountain Goats, for example, is a great lyricist, but his songs are musically simple. Mostly just strumming on an acoustic guitar.

A good thing to keep in mind is that it's sometimes really great when a writer is able to have a sense of humor about their music. Robyn Hitchcock, Morrissey, Jens Lekman, and Colin Meloy are all good examples of this. It can really add something to the music when you make it a little funny.

I just started writing recently also, and I ask myself this all the time. It's good to be observant about what makes you like something so much.

Good luck!

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