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Showing posts with label Song Background. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Song Background. Show all posts

Realizing the Betrayer Lyrics

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These are the lyrics to the third song that I wrote for my HonestKyle release entitled, Realizing the Betrayer. 

For those who don't know, I've been a lead vocalist in just about every music act that I've been apart of. Probably not because I'm the best because I happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Ironically though, I simply hate writing lyrics.

I'm being dead serious. It's so freaking hard! That's what she said. Occasionally, I'll get a topic and just completely nail it with some good imagery, and then other times...

...not so much.

But here's a song that I really tried to capture the essence of that defining moment when you realize that someone you care about stabbed you in the back. What you might have thought as visions of their past kindness flip through your mind.

I would really appreciate constructive criticism since it'll help me to hone myself into a powerful lyric-writing missile.

Without further ado... the lyrics to Realizing the Betrayer...


I weighed this up
And the blame is all on
The blame is all on you.
My god,
I can't believe you fooled everyone.


You made me love
Your mannerisms and witticisms
From your tongue.
Now you're the reason I'm left to rot.


You had loaded guns,
Raining bullets from hidden turrets.
I kissed the floor.


Your lies were blunt.
With false affection, you passed detection
And had room to run.
But you flew too close to the sun.


And now I'm taking off the gloves
Cause I think I know exactly what you need.
You think the trap you laid was tough.
You gained an ally, then you cut out both my feet.


And to think,
I once carried you home through the wind and the rain.
I gave you my strength when the rest turned away.


With baited hooks,
You lured me closer.
A master fisher with nets so strong.
You know I couldn't hold my breath that long.


So you stand and watch
Every motion and formed a notion to play along.
Don't give a damn about what you've done.


You know I couldn't hold my breath that long.



And now I'm taking off the gloves
Cause I think I know exactly what you need.
You think the trap you laid was tough.
You gained an ally, then you cut out both my feet.

I once carried you home through the wind and the rain.
I gave you my strength when the rest turned away.

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Song Meaning - Way With Words

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It can be really funny how some songs get "over-analyzed" by fans because they desperately want a stronger meaning and depth involved in their lives. The Beatles and their fans is probably a good example of that.

My dad is actually a huge Beatles fan and owns a large collection of books that talks about this subject in great detail. (Not to mention that he was once Paul McCartney in a Beatles tribute band)

But in these volumes, they brush on the same idea. Everyone was so overwhelmed with the talent, diversity, and sudden fame of the Beatles that everyone just assumed the band's tunes must have contained powerful, deep, and almost messiah-like meanings.

You know what those books say?

The Beatles have said things similar to "Sometimes we just picked things that rhymed well."

That cracks me.

I just thought that I would share my interest with that special piece of history. It doesn't really have to do with my lyrics since they HAVE meaning behind them in this instance, but it's funny to think about.

So let's talk about Way With Words. You can check out the lyrics here:

Way With Words Lyrics

I like to use personification sometimes with my lyrics and this is one of those times.

Yea, personification. Look who was awake during high school English.

When I'm saying the line "She's got a way with words, but I'll never follow", the "she" is what's being personified.

OK, so you're probably asking "What the heck is the 'SHE' then?"

"She" can be anything that you are reluctant to conform to. At least that's what I meant it to be.

The real meaning behind this tune is "Whatever you do in life, stand out." Be a person, be an individual, and be proud of who you are.

And no, this isn't an Oprah special.

I just feel that a lot of people that fraternize with are generally unhappy with their place in the world mainly because they fear standing out and being recognized as an individual.

But you know, sometimes, you just gotta step out of your comfort zone, be yourself, and follow your beliefs.

I would hate to die thinking that I never expressed myself honest to my beliefs and personality. Wouldn't you?

When I have the gang vocals singing, "You can't fight me on your own!", I meant this as a representation of how strong you can truly be when you have a passion that identifies you as an individual. It empowers you like adrenaline and makes you feel almost invincible.

And the words, "I know I just keep on breaking these bottles, but I'm still craving the burn when I swallow", are metaphorical about how the thing you're trying to separate from usually is a struggle to beat.

I thought imagery of alcoholism would set off some emotions here.

I find myself thinking too often about the things in my life that have a "way with words" and are trying to get me to follow blindly.

Comments? Leave 'em below.

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Making Melodies That Stick - It's a Frickin' Science

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 Did you know that Elton John usually writes all the lyrics to his songs first before anything else? All those pretty piano lines and catchy licks that create the bulk, all that's just an afterthought to him.

(In a manner of speaking)

OK, so that's being a little extreme, but geez, he must be confident that he has some intense emotional connection with his lyrics to create that stuff.

If you're not an Elton John fan, try listening to the song Tiny Dancer or watch the Lion King. Maybe it'll become your cup of tea.

But I mean, It's so freakin' weird how people come up with songs and and I'm not exempt from that strange aspect either.

Honestly, the place that I come up with the meat of my tunes is in the shower. I'm running that shampoo through my hair and running my vocal chords the whole time too. I find the germs are much more willing to relocate in this fashion.

I know that one of the melody lines for a previous band I was a part of, Let All Prevail, was thought up while I was conditioning. I think the song was "Boom".

On a side note, if anyone is interested in purchasing a past LAP album, I got boxes of our album, More Than it's Worth, and you can basically name your price. Hit me up on my contact page for more information.

But I started singing a melody, I remember it when I stepped out and dried off, so I immediately plugged in my guitar and started putting the chords together.

You see, for me, I have a different definition of what a "song" is compared to other "song writers" that I know. My definition of a song is a set of transitioning chord progressions with a vocal melody over top. Without the vocal melody, you can't call it a song. You can call it a tune just to be fair.

That also leads me to my next point of what the most important part of the song is and I'm gonna say 8 times out of 10, it's the vocal melody. Yea, if it's metal, hardcore, hip-hop, or rap, the monotonous timbre of the voice draws most of the attention to the instruments' composition, but for every other genre (besides instrumental) that involves singing melodies, it's the vocals that count.

For example, there is a chord progression that just about every band has used at one point or another. I call it "The Emo Progression" and it's made up of four chords. Now, the chords will change depending on the key of piece, but the path of the progression is always the same.

One example is: B, G, D, A

The guitar tab for this in standard tuning is:

e-|-------------|
b-|-------------|
g-|-4-----7-----|
D-|-4--5--7--7--|
A-|-2--5--5--7--|
E-|----3-----5--|

Examples of where this progression has been used:

Ending of Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional
Chorus of Going Away To College by Blink-182
Chorus of both Buried a Lied and Rum is For Drinking, Not for Burning by Senses Fail
Chorus of The Great Escape by Boys Like Girls

I used to have a whole list of songs with this progression but I must have lost it or thrown it away, but you get the picture.

Other progressions that I've labeled include "The Pop Rock Progression", "The Screamo Progression", and "The Melodic-Metal Progression". I won't list those at the moment since I don't want to ruin every song that you've ever listened to.

But how does this knowledge tie into my song-writing?

1. I come up with a vocal melody with pseudo words.
2. I place fitting chords behind the melody while trying my best to AVOID the progressions I've labeled. Therein lies my originality.
3. Refine the transitions and lead licks.

It's as easy as 1-2-3!

And if I don't have a strong enough vocal melody for a tune, that song doesn't get put into circulation. It's as simple as that.

For any other song-writers out there, I'd love to hear your methods to creating a tune. Let's have a discussion :]

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