Show Notes
✅ Stop guessing if your lyrics work. Learn story-first songwriting and turn every idea into music-ready lyrics with a proven, repeatable system. Join our community: Story-First Songwriting on Skool.👉 skool.com/songwriting/about In today’s episode, I want to talk with you about you, your purpose, and why we write lyrics. For me, when it comes to writing – no matter if it’s novels or lyrics – I use my words as the means to communicate with my audience and deliver a meaningful message that has the power to make an impact on them. And I guess, since you are here, you have the same desire. You want to be heard because you have something to say about life. And what you have to say matters. But communicating what we have to say in a way that matters to others isn’t easy. We can’t be preaching to the choir. We can’t take the role of a parent and say: Don’t do this because it leads to … We all know that no one listens if you preach it to them. On the other hand, if we are direct and say it bluntly, people might hear our words, but they will not care or take them seriously. We could also just write an academic paper and explain why our message is important … But who’s ever going to read that bulky volume? That’s why in today’s episode, we talk about a storytelling principle that helps you deliver your message in a way that affects lives, changes minds, touches hearts, and makes an impact. Because what it all comes down to is that we, as songwriters, lyricists, and storytellers, have an amazing power to influence people’s lives and make a positive, even life-changing, contribution. But that only works if we rely on one of the most basic and most important storytelling principles. What that is, well, you're about to find out.
Podcast Overview: [00:02:25] Treat A Song Like An Experience [00:05:29] Why Stories Matter [00:11:12] The Five Commandments of Storytelling [00:15:16] Wrap up - 5 Commandments
More from Story-First Songwriting
✅ Stop guessing if your lyrics work. Learn story-first songwriting and turn every idea into music-ready lyrics with a proven, repeatable system. Join our community: Story-First Songwriting on Skool.👉 skool.com/songwriting/about You write a song that feels clever. The words are interesting. The melody works. But then people skip it.This happens when your song's first line makes a promise, but the rest of the song never delivers on it. The listener keeps guessing instead of following. And after they guess wrong a few times, they stop trying.In this breakdown of "Remedy" from Greg Amici's Tragicomic, we're looking at exactly where the line between intriguing and confusing lives. You'll see how one song can have a strong opening line hook but then hides what it's actually about. We'll look at the story structure underneath it all, and why knowing what your protagonist wants is not optional if you want people to listen.By the end, you'll have one simple test for your own songs.
✅ Stop guessing if your lyrics work. Learn story-first songwriting and turn every idea into music-ready lyrics with a proven, repeatable system. Join our community: Story-First Songwriting on Skool.👉 skool.com/songwriting/about You write one killer opening line. One line that stops people in their tracks. So you're done, right?You are gonna have a great song.Wrong.A strong opening line opens a door. And the listener walks in, and then you need to deliver on the experience promised.So, what happens after that first line decides whether you wrote a song or just a great first line."I'll Be Back" teaches this lesson perfectly. It opens with a strong hook. Then it stops being a story. We break down exactly where it happens, exactly why, and what to check for in your own writing so you catch the same gap before you put music to your words.Let me know in the comments below what you thought of this song?Lyrics are included below 👇.
✅ Stop guessing if your lyrics work. Learn story-first songwriting and turn every idea into music-ready lyrics with a proven, repeatable system. Join our community: Story-First Songwriting on Skool.👉 skool.com/songwriting/about You can have the most gorgeous image in your song. A perfect metaphor. Or a simile so specific it works wonders. And your listener still won't feel what you feel... 😬 Here's why: an image without conflict is just admiration. And admiration is boring.In this breakdown of the song "Jennifer" by Greg Amici, we're looking at the one thing that can truly mess with your song. You'll learn the difference between metaphors and similes, when to use each one, and the thing even the most beautiful imagery cannot do on its own.By the end, you'll know exactly how to audit your own songs.
✅ Stop guessing if your lyrics work. Learn story-first songwriting and turn every idea into music-ready lyrics with a proven, repeatable system. Join our community: Story-First Songwriting on Skool.👉 skool.com/songwriting/about A character with a real problem does not make a story. You need the one specific event that knocks everything off balance, and then you need 4 more.In "Tom Seaver," Greg Amici opens with a bullied kid at school, but then abandons the setup entirely and moves to baseball. There's no event that triggered the change. There's no payoff. In this training, you'll learn what's missing, why it matters, and how to avoid this trap in your own work. Watch for the moment the song loses its footing and what it costs the listener.
✅ Stop guessing if your lyrics work. Learn story-first songwriting and turn every idea into music-ready lyrics with a proven, repeatable system. Join our community: Story-First Songwriting on Skool.👉 skool.com/songwriting/about You can stack beautiful lines on top of one another, ... and still walk away with no song.Today we're breaking down "In Like a Lion" from Greg Amici's Tragicomic, and it's a a godd example to show the gap between writing well and telling a story. This song is full of genuinely strong lines.And yet it doesn't work as a story.Here's what you will discover:writing good lines and writing a story are two different skills. You can be great at one and still be missing the other.We'll walk through what "In Like a Lion" gets right, what's actually missing, and the four checks you can run on your own drafts right now to catch this trap before you're stuck with a beautiful travel diary instead of a song.If you've ever polished a line to perfection only to realize your song still feels hollow, this one's for you.