How to Write Your Song Lyrics’ Ending?
written by Melanie Naumann
Today, we're diving into a topic that's crucial for every songwriter out there: nailing those endings.
You know, that final curtain call of your song where you leave your audience either in catharsis for days or scratching their heads in confusion.
Yep, that's what we're tackling head-on today.
Picture this: you're watching a suspenseful movie, on the edge of your seat, trying to figure out whodunit.
Then, bam!
The identity of the culprit is revealed, and even though you didn't see it coming, it all clicks into place like pieces of a puzzle.
That's the beauty of surprising yet inevitable endings – they catch you off guard while still feeling like the only logical conclusion.
Intriguing, right?
Well, stick around because we're about to unravel this mystery.
Now, you might be wondering where this whole idea came from.
Was it plucked from thin air by some modern-day lyrical wizard? Nope.
We're diving deep into the archives, all the way back to the OG of storytelling: Aristotle.
Yeah, that dude who's been dropping truth bombs for over two millennia.
In his masterpiece, the Poetics, Aristotle laid down the law on storytelling, and tucked away in Section 2, Part 9, lies the golden nugget: the surprising yet inevitable ending.
The surprising yet inevitable ending included in your song lyrics will make your audience's jaws drop, but then they nod in understanding because deep down, they knew it had to end that way.
It's like predicting the plot twist in a movie before it happens, but still being blown away when it unfolds.
Aristotle wasn't just spouting poetic mumbo jumbo; he was onto something profound.
He said, and I quote,
"The audience’s emotional reaction to a story will occur above all when things come about unexpectedly but at the same time consequentially."
Aristotle
Translation?
Surprise them, but make it make sense.
It's the recipe for maximum astonishment.
Aristotle also said that a poet's (a writer's) job isn't just to recount what happened but to paint a picture of what could happen.
It's like being a fortune teller, but instead of crystal balls, you've got a pen and paper.
And here's the kicker: Aristotle believed that poetry (which we refer to generally as literature or stories) speaks universal truths.
It's not about the specifics of a story, but the essence of human experience.
"The universal truths concern what befits a person of a certain kind to say or do in accordance with probability and necessity”.
Aristotle
In other words, he’s saying that specificity begets universality.
So when you're crafting those lyrics, remember that specificity breeds universality. Your audience might not have walked in your shoes, but they'll feel every step of your journey.
And when it comes to that journey, your song's beginning sets up the surprising but inevitable ending!
To create a satisfying listening experience, we need to see how it all comes together.
And so we want to keep the promise our song’s beginning gave the audience.
That means… by listening to the song’s beginning and middle part, the listener gets the relevant information to understand the context so that they know for themselves if the outcome presents the logical place where everything could lead up to.
So it has to make sense, and the audience needs to be able to agree with how it all turns out …
So the outcome of the song must be surprising (because we didn’t know by the song’s beginning how it would all turn out)... but also inevitable (because of the progression/story).
The best way to improve is by getting feedback!
If you want to be confident in your lyrics before you record your song, you can now sign up below to get constructive, actionable feedback on your song lyrics. So you know what works and how you can do better so that you can hook, move, and impact your audience with your words.
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- STEP #2
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Thanks for reading,
Melanie.
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