On the surface, lyric writing and creative writing might appear to share similarities. In other aspects of the writing process, however, they couldn’t be any more different, as I learnt today from my interview with Indie pop artist Lucy Lou.
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Inspiration
We began by talking about Lucy’s song-writing background. She started writing in 2017, when she joined a music school known as the “School of Rock”, except this one didn’t have Jack Black. Lucy said that she had to explore writing original songs and that “up until now I’ve been writing my own music.”
I then asked where she finds inspiration for writing a song:
“It just depends really … I think the best songs come from things you’ve experienced.”
Lucy also invents her own stories, or thinks of a scenario, or a an event which has happened in real life, and romanticises/dramatises it.
What about those ‘a-ha!’ moments? I asked if Lucy had ever thought I have to write a song about this, to which she said “definitely. If I’ve been on a night out and something happens to me, or I’m really struggling with my mental health, or something, that’s when I’ll be like I need to express this in a way other than journalling.”
Writing
With an idea in mind, Lucy told me she prefers to go straight to her guitar, and pen and paper. Here the music brainstorm begins. It can be as simple as one lyric that really sticks, Lucy told me; “then I build the whole song around that one lyric.”
Timing wise, Lucy said she can write a song in a day, or it can take up to a week. On the topic of process, and if she has a step-by-step formula for song-writing, Lucy said she enjoys writing songs from the start.
“The verse is where you introduce what the song is about … laying the foundations for what’s going to come next.” However, she noted it depends: “Sometimes if you write a solid chorus first, it can be the anchor for the song. The chorus is probably the most important part of the song, it’s the thing that people remember, it’s the catchy part.” And the all important bridge, she told me, is an opportunity to “go out of the box, compared to the rest of the song.”
A lot of great songwriters that Lucy admires are poets themselves, and she believes that having a background in poetry, english and creative writing is a good skill to have in song writing:
“I love songs when I have to sit down and figure out what the writer is trying to say … versus you just telling the story – it’s that show, don’t tell thing. You want to leave some room for exploring the lyrics and the deeper meaning of them.”
And what happens when the flow state is interrupted by writer’s block? Lucy said that she tackles this in two ways. Firstly, by taking a break: “if it’s not going anywhere, it’s not going anywhere.” And, secondly, by trying to stay in the creative state. This might look like trying to write a chorus, even if it’s difficult, or thinking of an idea.
Music
At some point, the song must be introduced when songwriting, and Lucy said she writes this first: “I typically would write my lyrics second, so I always write the music first, because chord progressions allude to the emotions of the song.”
This is a fair point. As Lucy said, sad songs and hopeful songs have different chords. Similarly with certain genres and their tropes, all songs have their own list of ingredients. However, she said that she is trying to write lyrics first now, adding, “with music it’s different, because it needs to flow rhythmically”.
The editing phase in songwriting is also markedly different to book writing. “Demo stage is the draft stage,” which Lucy told me is essentially the idea of what an artist wants the song to sound like. Production day is when she might rethink structure or the lyrics: “working with a producer is a great opportunity for two creative people to work together.” She notes how working with someone else, and seeing how others write, is all beneficial to the end product.
Stream Lucy Lou on Spotify
Lucy is currently working on an EP (Extended Play), which you could consider as a selection of short stories. She said they are upbeat heartbreak songs that listeners can boogie to, adding “no tears will be shed at Lucy Lou’s concerts”.
As a final word of advice for beginners to the music industry, Lucy said “do it for yourself. This is your music at the end of the day.”, and that you need to remember your why.
Lucy’s latest Single Last Summer is now available to stream on Spotify. Follow Lucy Lou on Instagram @its_lucy_lou and Tik Tok @itslucylou for updates!
rebekah writes stuff. 