writing. writing lyrics

As I always do, I’ll just start writing and see where it gets me.

I’ve been writing for as long as I can recall. Even when I was pretty young (like 5 or something) I used to record small story plots on a tape recorder, thinking that I would be transcribing them to paper later when I could write. I liked the way certain things sounded when I was thinking them, I still do. The value of words was never in speaking them out loud. It was in reading them and feeling them bounce off the inside of my head, filling them with my nuance, before I swallowed them. I never was nor will be truly good but as with any personal expression, it does turn into some kind of self-therapy. So I just kept doing it. It matters to me.

When it comes to writing lyrics for music, nothing is impossible. And the most fucked up stuff or the most basic have proven to be the most inspirational to me. It’s like having the same, lame discussion about the essence of art with yet another acquaintance in yet another bar over yet another drink. It’s pointless. Do whatever you want to do. It’s all fine.

I went through some phases of reading way too many political books and that reflected in my writing, thinking it was my duty to convey ideals to an audience. But when I finally (it took me some time) realised that I was in fact rather a-political, I just quit reading those books. From that point on I rediscovered myself in my writing.

I wonder if you feel the same about this: If you read words from another, do they often seem far more coherent and impressive than your own? Every time I’ve read a book that felt really good, I get to think that I should stop putting my efforts into my own writing, because it’ll never be as good or as a moving as many things I read from others. But then I know that this is not the reason why I’m doing it. I’m doing it because I have to. Once I let go of those doubts, I felt liberated enough to love writing for what it was. It is the only thing that makes sense to no one but me.

With the lyrics for this band, it’s no different. It is my persuasion (and not everyone in the band always agrees with me ) that my lyrics should make sense only to me. I don’t ever want to write anything that has a point other than the feeling of the moment it hit me. I guess it only means that there should be no compromise from my part. And that’s were not everyone agrees. Producers are best at trying to make things more ‘accessible’ for a larger audience. And although I constantly try to find my own balance in putting words to a tune, there is a line I just won’t cross. You’ll have to shoot me first.

So here’s a first and there’ll be more to follow. Feel free to interpret.

City of Quartz

Chorus: City of Quartz, with your neon lights
You’re picking me up and you’re dropping me into the night

You can dumb it down a shade so I could have a thing to say
But if you have an attitude, I won’t deal with it today
Every matter of time is none of my concern
You keep screaming for the rent but I’ll never learn

Before the bloody grind begins and I amass all my defeats
I can open up the door and step into the streets

The sidewalk eats up all my thoughts before they make it to my tongue
I’ve dislocated everything that could go wrong
I smoothen it out and dance it around, there’s something seriously wrong with me
Like a cold blunt instrument, I’ll throw around my honesty

I can’t hide the fact that there’s something seriously wrong with me
I can’t stand the fact that there’s something seriously wrong with me