[allthumbs]

A quick primer in how lyrics fit together. They are much like song construction. There are basic building blocks that can be arranged to make complex rhyming patterns.

There are 7 types of rhymes. All are concerned with the last word in each line except one which is known as an internal rhyme. All that means the rhyming word is not the last word in a line.
Most of the types are just common sense so your ear can tell what words work and what don't. To keep things simple I will address the two most common. Perfect rhyme and near or imperfect rhyme. They almost explain themselves with examples.
Perfect Rhyme using a made up country western verse.
When I opened the door,
I reached for the floor,
As the pot roast flew past my head,
I yelled it was only eight beers,
She screamed through her tears,
I love you, but oh your so dead.

Chorus
She's burning and now I"m cooked,
I was just as bad as she thought I looked,
Etc.
You get the idea. The words rhyme perfectly. The Rhyming scheme is a,a,b,c,c,b. by the way. More on that later.

Near or imperfect lyrics
Romeo and Juliette
I would give you all my love,
In exchange for just one hug,
I would gladly die,
For one day with you as my bride.

See how the words are near rhymes.

Now for the most common rhyming patterns. As you saw above in the first set of lyrics, construction is similar to song construction except you use lower case letters to keep track of things.
The most basic and most common pattern is a,b,a,b.. First and third line rhyme, second and fourth line rhyme.

Another common pattern is a,a,b,b,. example door-floor and light-sight.

This pattern breaks up the rhyming much like a bridge. It helps keep the lines interesting a,a,b,a. example floor, door, brick, more.

The above are how you can build your lyrics. You can get quite complex with many lines with different patterns but, remember they are patterns, nor random lines. You could have a pattern like this.a,a,a,a or a,b,c,b or at the other end of the scale a,b,a,c,d,e,d,c. You can see the last one covers 2 verses, the last line in each having the rhyming word.

So you say but, I don't want to rhyme. Well you don't have to. In fact it is becoming popular not to rhyme as much. This is an important point. I am not saying scramble all the rhyming schemes into one big alphabet soup. With a predominantly non rhyming lines, you would use minimal rhyming to underline or make more noticeable the lines you wanted to stand out. In this case you are not so much looking for a rhyme as you are making a statement.
There is a lot more depth to this subject of course but, this should give you enough info to make writing lyrics easier. I have gleaned this stuff from various books out there but, take full responsibility for the lyrics.
it took me forever to come up with even those simple lyrics which is why I don't write lyrics too much. I hope this helps.

[Matty22]

Great tips allthumbs, but one question (to settle a little argument im having), is it acceptable to rhyme, A-B-B-A

Thanks mate

[Hilch]

For me it is Matty , but mind you it does spell out the name of that very ..... Sweedish group from 80's ....

I am trying to think of a song that has the scheme in it but due to the increasing dead brain cells I keep killing off I amstruggling to come up with a song for you ..

Trev......

[allthumbs]

Originally Posted by Matty22

Great tips allthumbs, but one question (to settle a little argument im having), is it acceptable to rhyme, A-B-B-A

Thanks mate

As I'm walking through the moon light,
I'm thinking of what might have been,
lost in a moment of a fragile dream,
Too late,too late,you were right.

It works. Not my favourite pattern but, there are no rules written in stone. Just remember to use this pattern consistently for your tune if you choose to use it.

[Matty22]

Thanks guys... in the end i changed it around and it sounded better using a more common pattern. So i kinda wasted your time, but still handy to know

[Chaotic Kittie]

One thing I think can be worth added is the grammar... you really SHOULD bend the grammar to some extent so it can fit your lyric.
An example is 'was' and 'were'. 'Were' has no real end to it, so it floats on, whereas 'was' has a clear end. Depending on the situation, singing "we was" or "he were" can be a lot more fitting.. Of course it shouldn't be TOO wayout, "you was" for example just sound... off. =P

I just thought it might be worth noting. ^^

[solidwalnut]

Originally Posted by Chaotic Kittie

One thing I think can be worth added is the grammar... you really SHOULD bend the grammar to some extent so it can fit your lyric.
An example is 'was' and 'were'. 'Were' has no real end to it, so it floats on, whereas 'was' has a clear end. Depending on the situation, singing "we was" or "he were" can be a lot more fitting.. Of course it shouldn't be TOO wayout, "you was" for example just sound... off. =P

I just thought it might be worth noting. ^^

It's true...there really are no rules, especially when experimenting. It might be another story when you consider the audience for which you're writing...there are no rules, except one: tell a story. The best lyrics, imho, are the ones that are conversational.

Steve

[starsailor]

Thanks for the tips solid walnut, I've just posted a song about stage fright that I thought of last night, would appreciate your feedback, only lyrics at the moment x4string and aunt Doty pitched in and I wrote a load of verses and the chorus this morning.

Cheers

Chris

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by starsailor

Thanks for the tips solidwalnut, I've just posted a song about stage fright that I thought of last night, would appreciate your feedback, only lyrics at the moment x4string and aunt Doty pitched in and I wrote a load of verses and the chorus this morning.

Cheers

Chris

Made a mistake allthumbs thanked solidwalnut for your lesson,thanks for the tips and thanks to solidwalnut for his lessons, my brain has a half day on sundays