The Art of Songwriting: Insights on Lyrics and Concepts

So happens with feel that the lyric that Rob wrote the first time is the chill lyric. It didn't change one word. In fact, the vocal that's on the record is the first time he sang it.

That first take is the version on the record because he did try to sing it again, but he couldn't get into that emotion that he let go at that particular moment. Which is pretty staggering, actually, because it's an amazing vocal.

The Challenge of Songwriting

It hasn't always been that easy with our songs. We have had songs where the lyric has taken quite a long time.

• ROCK DJ is the one that immediately comes to mind.
• Oh, we wrote a song called Party Like A Russian. That lyric took about a year and went through over 100 rewrites.

I mean, "Party Like A Russian" is a good example of a concept song where you pick an idea.

Concept of "Party Like A Russian"

I thought it would be a good idea to have an alternative national anthem for Russia because we traveled to Russia a lot, playing for oligarchs. I thought, wouldn't it be great if we had a song that would be massive in Russia?

• We wrote it purely out of that.
• Well, we had the title "Party Like A Russian," which I think is quite a good title because they do know how to party really well over there, and they do it in considerable style.

The whole song is based around that concept, which is one way to approach songwriting.

The Validity of Concept Songs

I don't think there's ever enough concept songs out there. In other words, there are a lot of songs about breakups and someone's heart being broken. There are plenty of those songs, but there aren't enough songs about:

• A housing estate
• Breaking down on the motorway

These topics are just as valid.

A good example of a concept song is National Express by Divine Comedy, which is a song about getting on a coach.

• It's a coach ride, and all of the things that Neil, who wrote the song, sees on his coach journey.
• It's a really funny song and it's about the joy of travel. It's silly, but wonderfully silly.

Finding New Angles

Sometimes these songs are just as valid as so-called profound songs about having your heart broken or feeling insecure.

• Many songs focus on going to a nightclub and partying, which I find very boring lyrically.
• You've got to try and find a new angle.

So even if you think your life is really boring and where you're living is, you can write about the boredom of it. Of course, that might be just as interesting as writing about the jet set.