How to write a powerful love song?

How to write a powerful love song?

Transcript of Episode 006

[00:00:00] Hey, and welcome back to the Stories in Songs Podcast.

This is the podcast for musicians, songwriters, and storytellers who want to change lives and create meaning through the stories they tell and the songs they sing.

 

Let’s talk about love songs.

Yes, love songs.

It might bore you to write another love song because everything has been said already.

But has it?

Probably not because every one of us brings their own set of experiences and emotions into a song, but I can understand when you think that love songs have been sung a million, billion, zillion times - at least it seems like this.

And you feel some kind of resistance whenever it comes to writing another love song because there are just too many out there. And some are okay, while others are really great. 

And some are the masterpieces that we can look at to learn how to write an amazing love song.

So, don’t feel intimidated by the big evergreens like I’d Do Anything for Love, I don’t wanna miss a thing, or I want to know what love is.

It might surprise you that when we tell someone a love story, there’s much more to that story than two people confessing their love to each other and living happily ever after, or, as we all know it: when they go through a breakup.

So I invite you to join me in this episode to get inspired about the six most important moments every great love story needs. I’ll provide you with lots of examples on the way.

And I promise you, those moments will provide you with lots of inspiration and ideas that you can start writing new and innovative love songs today.

So let’s get started.

 

1. What’s a love story?

[00:01:43] Now, the first question is: What is a love story?

The answer might seem obvious: 

Two people fall in love like on Elvis Presley’s song Can’t Help Falling in Love with you and either have a happily ever after like with Westlife’s song I wanna Grow Old with You or they fall into despair and separate like in Nothing Compares 2U by Sinéad O’Connor.

But let’s go deeper than this.

 

Definition of a Love Story

Shawn Coyne, a longtime editor and creator of the Story Grid - the methodology I use for evaluating the storytelling in songs, describes the Love Genre as “centered on romance with the possibility of sexual intimacy.” 

According to him,

“Love stories give us prescriptive and cautionary tales to navigate love’s emotional minefield.”

That means we can simply enjoy love stories or learn from them.

But most importantly, love stories touch our hearts.

And love songs have the same ability.

 

The magic of love songs

And if you want to write a love song for your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your spouse, or your crush, you know, it's not just the melody that hooks your audience.

And it doesn't matter if you're a beginner in songwriting or have already released some albums.

The lyrics of the love song are, next to the music, the most important and essential part of your love song.

No matter if you write a country love song, a rap song, or even a rock ballad, the principles of telling a captivating love story can be used in all music genres.

A great love song takes your audience back into a moment in time or lets them dream about something they'd love to experience again or wish to have.

Those songs let the listeners get over a sad, heartbreaking memory or make them fall in love all over again. 

By listening to love songs, we want our hearts to beat faster, feel the romance, and be excited about the mystery of love without the real-life risks involved.

And people just can’t get enough of love songs, even if there are a billion of them. 

Because if there’s one emotion, we can all connect with, no matter our age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, status, or education, it’s love.

But how can you write an innovative love song that’s not something we’ve heard so many times before, and that is also powerful and captivating?

 

2. Moments of a love story

[00:04:10] We have to look at love stories for inspiration.

And then ask ourselves: 

If we want to watch or read a great love story, what are the moments without which we can’t live? Which ones are the moments that we expect in a love story, or we feel cheated if they are missing? 

Last year I did a huge analysis of all the albums and songs of the Irish Band Westlife.

I did this because I wanted to find out if the craft of great storytelling influences the sales of an album.

And it does, but that’s not the point now.

More importantly, I chose this band because they are dedicated to one single genre of storytelling.

They sing love songs, almost exclusively.

 

Don't miss out on the potential of love story moments

And when I analyzed all of their 137 original songs, they mostly sang either about the moment when the lovers broke up - which made up 30% of their singles and 23% of all their album songs.

And get this: 40% of all their single releases, 36% of all the songs of their albums and almost 50% of the songs they had covered were about the confession of love. (Writing a love song)

But this makes up only 2 of the 6 most important moments of every love story.

Only two.

And it’s almost two-thirds of all the songs they have released.

They have missed innovating because they didn’t pay attention to the listeners’ expectations about great love stories. That’s also the reason why to this day, they have not yet released a love story concept album. Because those songs that deal with all the moments we need for a great love story are not complete.

So what are those other moments?

 

Overview: Moments of a good love story

I’ll list them to you now. And stick with me, I’ll provide examples for each moment shortly.

• the lovers meet
• the first kiss or intimate connection
• the confession of love
• the breakup
• the proof of love
• lovers reunite

Now those moments might sound pretty obvious but just look back at the Westlife example. They are devoted to singing love songs, yet they haven’t dug into the full potential of everything there is about great love stories.

If you think about writing a love story concept album, then knowing all six moments and including them in your songs on your album is very important. Because in a love story, we expect those 6 moments to happen. If those obligatory moments are not in the story, we don’t get what was promised to enjoy a full love story.

But remember, a song does not need to have all the obligatory moments for telling a complete love story.

It’s too short for that.

 

A song is ideal for telling a part out of a bigger story. 

Consider your song to be a chapter taken out of a novel, or a scene from a movie. We don’t have to tell the entire story, and we shouldn’t.

The beauty of songs is that we can dive into one particular moment, one emotion, and explore it to the fullest with all our hearts.

But also consider, if at least one moment of a love story is included in your love song, we get a better sense of what the love song is about.

 

A good love song can tell us at the stage of the relationship of a couple

Sometimes we can even tell at the beginning of the song what stage of their relationship the lovers are in.

For example:

• How to Save a Life by The Fray: "Step one, you say we need to talk. He walks, you say sit down, it's just a talk." - Moment: Breakup of a couple
• I’d Do Anything for Love by Meat Loaf: “And I would do anything for love I‘d run right into hell and back.” - Moment: Proof of Love
• Let's Stay Together by Al Green: "I, I'm I'm so in love with you. Whatever you want to do Is all right with me." - Moment: Confessing one's love

If you include a hint to what the song is about right in the beginning, you set up expectations in your listener. He knows what the song will be about and he can focus on the character in your song and what he’s dealing with right from the beginning which is a huge help so that the listeners can invest themselves into the storytelling as quickly as possible without missing out on anything because they have to settle into the song first.

Okay, so let’s talk about each of those most wanted moments of a love story.

I’ll explain that moment and talk about the character in the song, and mention examples to give you some songs to study, or that serve for a first inspiration before you start yourself writing your next love song.

 

Moment 1: The lovers meet

[00:09:10] You may call the first moment the lovers meet scene, or refer to it as we know it from Hollywood terms as the Meet Cute Scene.

• Just think of moments like in Titanic. Kate was about to jump off the ship when Jack approached her.
• Think about all the crazy things Adam Sandler did in 50 First Dates, which were basically 50 different first-time encounters for Lucy, who suffered from short-term memory loss.
• Or in Pretty Woman, the ruthless millionaire businessman Edward escapes a Hollywood party in a Lotus and asks a hooker, played by Julia Roberts for directions.

Don’t tread this scene lightly.

It is not a given.

Yes, it is obvious that two people have to meet first in order to fall in love.

 

A story needs to start somewhere

But a story has to start somewhere, and this moment - meeting someone who upends the life as you know it, is a wonderful way to reel in your listeners. Who doesn’t dream of meeting someone who will become the love of their life?

And this doesn’t mean it has to be love at first sight. 

You don’t need to start with a cliche.

• Just think of the most popular love story of all time: Pride and Prejudice.
  In this story, Elisabeth despised Darcy for his pride which proved how prejudiced she was. And they both had to overcome their flaws in order to commit.

 

What are some great songs that are about the Meet Cute scene?

There is the song Just in Time by Dean Martin. And it starts right by telling the listener that it is about that love story moment. He sings:

“Just in time, I found you just in time.”

What makes the song great is that we get a glimpse of what the life of the character had been like before he met her. He says:

“I was lost, the losing dice were tossed.

My bridges all were crossed, nowhere to go.”

So meeting her is the turning point for his life. It’s an unexpected event that turns his life for the better. And change belongs to every story or it doesn’t work.

And this song turns from a negative state of existence to suddenly having found meaning.

“For love came just in time, you found me just in time.

And changed my lonely life that lucky day.”

 

Another great example is Madonna’s song: Crazy for You.

In contrast to Dean Martin’s song in which we got a sense that this love will be about commitment, Madonna’s song is entirely about passion - longing for someone on a sexual level.

She’s singing.

“I see you through the smokey air

Can't you feel the weight of my stare

You're so close but still a world away

What I'm dying to say, is that

I'm crazy for you

Touch me once and you'll know it's true.”

And this song continues to be about kissing and dancing close to each other.

 

Further song examples about Meeting the One

There are other songs that you can look up to for further reference:

• I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden, which is totally about rose-colored glasses and a deep belief in fate.
• Love At First Sight by Kylie Minogue that beautifully shows the change in that character’s life, like in Dean Martin’s song.
• The First Time I Met You by Tony Tuff, which goes back into feeling attracted to that other person and wanting to be with them.
• And if you are looking for the dark side of love, you can listen to: Days before you came by Placebo, which is about an addict meeting his love and instead of renouncing all the drugs, he asks her to join him.
• Kitty Litter by Placebo is about the temptation of cheating on your partner because you met someone new.

So the lover’s meet scene is an indispensable part of every love story and should be considered as a wonderful way to start telling a story about love.

With this moment, the magic begins. 

 

Don't turn it into cliche.

So if you consider writing about how the character in your song first met his one and only, be honest.

There doesn’t need to be rose-colored glasses. You can sing about the troubles that encounter has caused. The uproar. The rollercoaster of emotions. The inner resistance to accepting that this person, someone might not even like, can’t be forgotten.

If you want me to recommend a short story you should read that is primarily about the lover’s first meet scene and that is everything else but cliche.

Then I’d say it’s On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning by Haruki Murakami.

I’ll provide you a link to read this story for free in the show notes of this episode.

 

Moment 2: First Kiss or Intimate Connection

[00:14:04] Let’s continue with the second moment we can’t wait to experience in a love story. It’s the moment of the first kiss or the first intimate connection.

Once again, a first kiss is the first thing we think of that shows an intimate connection. And this moment is pretty obvious as well because it’s the first kiss after all.

But there are also other ways to show that the connection between the two lovers in your story has reached a new, more intimate level. And I don’t refer to sex.

This moment could be the first time they hold hands or when a married couple finally makes progress toward emotional intimacy. 

Let’s look at Pride and Prejudice again because it is a masterwork.

And I like to use masterworks because many people are familiar with them.

So in Pride and Prejudice, at least in the book by Jane Austen, Darcy and Elizabeth never share the first kiss. Nonetheless, there’s an intimate connection between the two. It’s the moment when they both start teasing each other by having those discussions that show how smart they are. It’s something that they only do with one another and with no one else. That’s why it’s something special. It’s how they start liking each other. They are each other’s challenges and sets them apart from every other love story in that book.

There are lots of references you can take from movies or books about how this scene has already been innovated - like the upside-down kiss in Spiderman or kissing a Vampire in Twilight. 

Or if you’re a fan of the TV Series Killing Eve, there’s a first kiss scene between the detective and a serial killer psychopath that they share in the middle of a fight, and it is followed by a head bump.

So, again. You don’t have to think of cliches to make this moment work in your song. 

 

Let’s look at some songs that are about the first kiss or intimate connection.

A beautiful song that takes the first kiss all the way up to marriage is the song Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not by Thompson Square.

They sing: 

“We were sittin' up there on your momma's roof

Talkin' 'bout everything under the moon

...

Oh, but you were so shy, so was I

Maybe that's why it was so hard to believe

When you smiled and said to me

Are you gonna kiss me or not?

Are we gonna do this or what?”

 

A song about that intimate connection is She will be Loved by Maroon 5.

Those two people are not yet in a relationship, but he’s always there for her, and he’s the only one she can count on - which is a way of showing the connection that they share.

I like to read some lines from this song, too, because they are so well done.

They sing:

“Tap on my window, knock on my door, I

Want to make you feel beautiful

I know I tend to get so insecure

It doesn't matter anymore

It's not always rainbows and butterflies

It's compromise that moves us along yeah

My heart is full, and my door's always open

You can come anytime you want yeah”

The line about - that’s it’s not always rainbows and butterflies - shows that the character of that song is very mature. And that is a very important trait for a character in a love song who knows what he wants. A character who knows what he wants is someone who would fight for the person he loves - no matter what because he does not doubt his love.

 

Further song examples about the first kiss:

Other songs about the first kiss are, for example,

• Shut Up and Kiss Me by Mary Chapin Carpenter, which is about the anticipation of the first kiss
• Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute, which is about getting back on the wagon.
• or Satellite by Nickelback that shows the intimacy of their relationship between the lines.
• In Nothing At All by Ronan Keating, the couple knows what they feel even without saying a word. It’s a great contrast to the song More than Words by Extreme.

 

Moment 3 - The Confession of Love

[00:18:12] Let’s move on to the one moment that is one of the most popular ones in songs: The Confession of Love.

Interestingly to know, when we look at love stories, the confession of love moment is usually when one of the lovers confesses his/her love too soon and creates an obstacle in the relationship.

This is often the turning point complication of the story, or it is integrated into the climax, sometimes even the event that leads to the couple breaking up because they are not ready yet for a committed relationship.

• Just remember Julia Roberts in Notting Hill standing in front of Hugh Grant, telling her all the reasons why her fame would not work for them. And she masterfully contradicts his assumptions and says: "Don't forget. I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

In love songs, the confession of love is mostly a beautiful and poetic way to say how much that other person means to the character in the song.

But there’s also a huge variety that goes all the way from super romantic to borderline creepy.

And there are probably a dozen that pop into your mind right now.

 

So let’s mention a few:

You probably recognize these lines:

“I don't wanna close my eyes

I don't wanna fall asleep

'Cause I'd miss you, baby

And I don't wanna miss a thing”

I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing by Aerosmith is a huge declaration of love. It’s a masterpiece.

 

Unconditionally by Katy Perry goes like this:

“Come just as you are to me

Don't need apologies

Know that you are all worthy

I'll take your bad days with your good

Walk through this storm I would

I'd do it all because I love you”

 

This song is a clear confession of love using those three magic words of I love you. Another beautiful song is A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.

 

But a love confession can also be funny like in the popular song I’m gonna be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers.

“I would walk 500 miles

And I would walk 500 more

Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles

To fall down at your door.”

 

Or the confession can be hidden between the lines because you’re not daring to say out loud what you feel - like in Green Day’s song Church on Sunday.

“If I promise to go to church on Sunday

Will you go with me on Friday night?

If you live with me, I'll die for you

And this compromise”

 

And it can be somehow bittersweet like in one of my favorite songs of The Smiths. It’s called There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.

And they sing:

“And if a double-decker bus

Crashes into us

To die by your side

Is such a heavenly way to die

And if a ten-ton truck

Kills the both of us

To die by your side

Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine”

 

But there are also stories or songs that don’t want a happily ever after. They are dominated by passion or even obsession.

I don’t know how you think about Every Breath You Take by the Police, but I think it’s creepy.

“Oh, can't you see you belong to me

How my poor heart aches with every step you take

Every move you make, and every vow you break

Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you”

 

If you’ve seen the Netflix TV Series YOU, you know this song fits perfectly with the main character of Joe Goldberg.

If you haven’t seen this show already, I highly recommend it.

You can probably come up with many more songs, and there are many more ways how you can confess your love in a song, but let’s move over to another popular moment in love stories.

 

Moment 4 - The Breakup

[00:22:16] Number 4 of the six most-wanted moments of every love story is when the lovers breakup or when they are forced to separate. 

• Just think of the movie Gone Girl, and you know how much love can turn into hate.
• Or remember how devastated we felt when Ross and Rachel broke up.
• Or Amy and Sheldon.
• Or Ted and Robin from How I met your Mother?

But we’ve all been through it, and that’s why the breakup moment is another important and often used theme for love songs because a breakup turns a story.

And a story is only a story if there is a conflict which forces a change in one or both of the lovers. They must learn the hard way and survive a breakup or fail.

Again, there are probably so many songs playing in your head right now that deal with a breakup.

I’m thinking of

• What About Now by Daughtry
• I don’t love you by My Chemical Romance
• Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison
• When You’re Gone by Avril Lavigne
• Snuff by Slipknot
• My Heart Is Broken by Evanescence
• It Must Have Been Love by Roxette

Just to name a few.

 

The 8 different stages of going through a breakup

The interesting part is that there are about 8 different stages when you go through a breakup. And when you’re writing a breakup song, you can use those stages and think about what has led to each and every moment in between.

Have you heard of the concept of the Kübler-Ross Change Curve?

It’s a curve that shows how people deal with grief.

Even though the concept has received some criticism, it’s still relevant for storytelling. Kübler-Ross labeled these stages to reflect on how people cope with illness and death.

And a relationship breakup is also about losing a person. That’s why we can use those stages to inspire you with all the possibilities of what a song about a breakup can be about.

The stages move from Shock to Denial to Frustration to Negotiating to Depression to Experiment to Decision and lastly to Integration.

Let’s look at those stages a little closer.

 

1. Shock

The first stage is shock. This is when you are surprised or shocked about the breakup because you didn’t see it coming.

An amazing song that pulls you right into the confusion of not understanding what’s going on when someone is breaking up with you is the song: “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap.

She sings:

“Where are we?

What the hell is going on?

The dust has only just begun to form

Crop circles in the carpet

Sinking, feeling

Spin me around again

And rub my eyes

This can't be happening”

 

2. Denial

The second stage is denial. You are in disbelief. And looking for reasons why the break up can’t be true.

Here are a couple of lines from the song I Don't Want to Get Over You by the Magnetic Fields:

“I don't want to get over you

I guess I could take a sleeping pill

And sleep at will

And not have to go through what I go through

I could leave this agony behind

Which is just what I'd do

If I wanted to

But I don't want to get over you

'Cause I don't want to get over love

I could listen to my therapist

Pretend you don't exist

And not have to dream of what I dream of

I could listen to all my friends

And go out again

And pretend it's enough

But I don't want to get over you”

 

3. Frustration: 

After denial, frustration hits. It’s when you slowly realize that things have changed.

A good example of this stage is I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near) by Michael McDonald.

“I keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore

I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again

I keep forgettin' how you made that so clear”

 

4. Negotiating: 

After the frustration stage, there’s the phase of negotiating. That’s when we try to convince the other one to come back.

The song I’ll Be There for You by Bon Jovi starts with the breakup.

“I guess this time you're really leaving

I heard your suitcase say goodbye”

 

And as the character realizes what has happened, he’s willing to change. He’s saying, or better negotiating: 

“I'll be there for you, these five words I swear to you

When you breathe, I want to be the air for you

I'll be there for you

I'd live and I'd die for you

I'd steal the sun from the sky for you

Words can't say what love can do

I'll be there for you”

 

5. Depression: 

In the stage when the character is at his lowest low, it’s when he hits Depression. That’s when he starts to accept the breakup.

Against All Odds (Take a Look At Me Now) by Phil Collins is a perfect example of this stage.

“Ooh, take a look at me now

Well there's just an empty space

And you coming back to me is against the odds

And that's what I've got to face”

 

6. Experiment

When you’re at the sixth stage, you’re in the experimental phase. That means you’re slowly coming to terms with the new situation.

In How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Al Green asks the question

“And how can you mend a broken heart?

How can you stop the rain from falling down?

How can you stop the sun from shining?

What makes the world go round?

How can you mend this broken man?

How can a loser ever win?

Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again”

 

7. Decision

The 7th stage is the decision. It’s when you’re accepting the new situation and make the best of it. 

In I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor is singing:

“At first I was afraid, I was petrified

Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side

But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong

And I grew strong

And I learned how to get along”

 

8. Integration

The last stage is integration and refers to being ready for something new. And basically, this is every song that shows the protagonist fall in love again.

 

Moment 5 - The Proof of Love

[00:29:33] After all this heartache, let’s move on to the most anticipated moment of every love story. 

So far, the confession of one’s love and the moment when a couple breaks up are the most used themes when we think of love songs.

But whenever we tell a love story, there’s so much more to a story about love than saying ‘I love you’ in any poetic or non-poetic way or about the hardship of a breakup.

In fact, the moment that is the single most important moment of every love story - also referred to as the core event - is the Proof of Love Scene.

The proof of love scene is the reason why we enjoy love stories because it reveals what true love is. It’s the moment when one person sacrifices for another without expecting to get anything in return, including winning them back.

That's the proof you need to have certainty.

This is very important to understand: A true proof of love is doing something for the other person without expecting to win them back. It’s what a character does because he loves that one person so much that all they want is the other person’s happiness. And if this means letting them go, then this is what you are willing to do for the person you love. 

If you’ve seen Bridget Jones Diary, you may know that Darcy’s proof of love was to let Bridget do an exclusive interview with his clients even though Bridget was known for messing up. But he gave her a chance that was so important for her career without expecting anything in return. He even put his career in harm's way - just for her. 

Same with Bridget, who was very self-centered. In the end, she proves her love for Darcy by supporting a higher moral principle: Justice. It would be a loss for England if Darcy would go to the States.

 

So what are some songs that are about the proof of love?

Do you know those lines:

“You've got a way to keep me on your side,

You give me cause for love that I can't hide,

For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide,

Because you're mine, I walk the line.”

Yes, the last line tells you this song is I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash. His proof of love is that he will not lash out anymore but keep it together for the one he loves.

Another song that shows that someone gave his life for the one he loved is the song The Proof Of Your Love by for KING & COUNTRY.

In the chorus, they say:

“So let my life be the proof,

The proof of your love

Let my love look like You and what You're made of

How You lived, how You died

Love is sacrifice

So let my life be the proof,

The proof of Your love”

 

There aren’t that many songs about the most anticipated moment of every love story.

So there’s enough opportunity for you to write one love song that deals with how much a lover is willing to do for the one he loves without expecting anything in return.

 

Moment 6 - The Lovers reunite

[00:32:54] The last moment is when the lovers reunite after the breakup or separate forever.

One of my all-time favorite songs is I'd Come For You by Nickelback. This song made such a huge impact on me that it has become the theme song for a thriller that I wrote.

In Nickelback’s song, the character realizes the mistakes he had made that led to the couple breaking up. But now they meet again, and he has learned from his mistakes. And he knows that he wants her back. And the lyrics are so captivating.

He’s saying:

“I was blindfolded, but now I'm seeing,

My mind was closing, now I'm believing

I finally know just what it means to let someone in,

To see the side of me that no one does, or ever will

So if you're ever lost and find yourself all alone,

I'd search forever just to bring you home,

Here and now, this I vow

By now you know that I'd come for you”

The beauty of this song is that they have combined the lovers reunite moment with the proof of love.

If you’re willing to sacrifice your own life for the person you love to protect them, then the proof of your love can’t get any stronger than that. This proof of love is often used in Action movies or thrillers with a redemption storyline.

In Nickelback’s song, the character is a true fighter.

He’s saying:

“By now you know that I'd come for you

No one but you, yes, I'd come for you

But only if you told me to

And I'd fight for you

I'd lie, it's true

Give my life for you

You know I'd always come for you

...

No matter what gets in my way,

As long as there's still life in me

No matter what, remember, you know I'd always come for you”

 

Another song along those lines is What You Mean To Me by Sterling Knight. 

This is a song out of the Disney movie Starstruck, underlining once again that no one is perfect and people do make mistakes, and if someone admits they made a mistake and are still fighting for the person they want, that shows that they love them.

 

Another wonderful and sad song about the lover’s reuniting is Adele’s song: Someone Like You. And she shares that moment with us:

“I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited

But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it

I had hoped you'd see my face

And that you'd be reminded that for me, it isn't over”

So, sometimes the lovers meet again just to make the decision to part ways. That is also totally valid because sometimes it doesn’t work out. 

Maybe you end up saying: I Will Always Love You as Whitney Houston did.

And what better way to sing about an unhappy ever after like Jimmy Ruffin did by saying: What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?

And so lover’s move on until one day Billie Joe Armstrong can’t even remember her name and wonders how whatsername has been, singing:

“And in the darkest night

If my memory serves me right

I'll never turn back time

Forgetting you, but not the time”

 

Coming Next

[00:36:08] Those are the six moments that every love story needs. They provide you with so many possibilities about the theme of your next love song.

So you can either write about

• how the lovers meet
• their first kiss or intimate connection
• the confession of love
• the breakup
• the proof of love
• or how the lovers reunite or part forever

 

Of course, there’s much more to telling a captivating and powerful chapter or scene from a love story in a song. Especially when we look at the character in the song. For now, remember if you want to write about a love in which one of the lovers doesn’t doubt the love he feels - no matter what - then your character needs to be portrayed like he knows exactly what he wants.

Thank you for listening to this episode. I hope you feel inspired to dive into writing a new love song. If you and your song want to get featured on this show, write me an email to podcast@storiesinsongs.com. We play it in full, and then we’ll analyze the lyrical components, talking about what already works, and what could be improved to make the lyrics even stronger so that they have the potential to resonate even more with the audience.

And join me in the next episode, which will be a special episode. 

I’m very glad to feature the first song of one of my listeners, who is a very dedicated musician called AMinuteForManny of whom we will hear more soon. He’s written a very emotional love song about a breakup that is moving from the stages of accepting a breakup to slowly coming to terms with the new situation. It’s done really great, and I’m looking forward to letting AMinuteForManny play this song to you.

So join me next time.

And remember: Change lives. Create meaning. And write powerful songs.

Melanie

© Stories in Songs, Melanie Naumann

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