Whether written in the transient throes of passion by a poet, brought to life by a pubescent on the threshold of maturity or attempted by a jaded musician reeling under the pressure of an excessively extortionate record label, song has a way of making the world stop and pause. Song can be the distilled essence of a past experience, a present moment, or a future hope. And just like stories, songs fill the present and lean into the future – into the hope that the next listener will hear them.
The Chorus
The chorus of a song is where all the big ideas and lyrics come together in one moment. It’s usually the place where the title of the song appears and often contains the hook – that part of the song that listeners will be drawn back to again and again. A good chorus will feel like the climax of the whole song and a payoff for all of the work put into constructing the verses and pre-chorus. This is where the heaviest energy, massed voices (if used) and a sense of urgency should be found.