Most people can tell immediately when a writer means what they are singing. Soulful songwriting - writing from somewhere true - is less a technique than a decision, but there are ways to make that decision easier.
Write what matters to you
The biggest mistake a writer can make is to write what they think will be popular. Unless you believe in a song, it is very hard to make anyone else believe in it.
Look inward. A memory, a person, a place, a regret, a hope - the best subject for a soulful song is the one that means the most to you. It is far easier to write real feelings about real things than to invent them.
That does not mean every song must be literally autobiographical. Writing in character, or blending your experience with imagined detail, is how many great songs are made. What matters is that the emotion is real to you while you write.
Focus on one emotion
Love, anger, joy, grief, longing - choose a particular feeling and set the tone of the song around it. A song that tries to express six emotions often expresses none.
And sadness is not the only route to depth. There is a common idea that the sadder a song is, the more serious it is. That is false. A joyful song written honestly is as much art as a heartbreaking one.
Honest, not literal
Being honest in a song does not mean listing what happened. It means finding the image, the detail or the line that captures what it felt like. "I was sad when you left" is literal. The coat still hanging by the door is honest.
Bring it home in the chorus
Writers like to imagine their audience hears every word. Most listeners do not. They hear songs while driving, cooking, working out, with their attention elsewhere. Many will only remember the chorus.
So put the emotion there. You cannot tell the whole story in four lines, but you can tell the listener what it feels like - simply, clearly, with every word earning its place.
Vulnerability
Writing from the heart can feel frightening. It exposes you. That exposure is exactly what listeners connect with. The lines you are most nervous about sharing are often the ones people quote back to you.
You cannot be honest with an audience until you are honest with yourself. Start there.
Delivery
Soul is not volume. A whisper can be as powerful as a shout when it is married to the right melody and production. Think about how the song should be sung - and write a lyric that suits that delivery.
Do this now
- Write down three experiences from your own life you have never written about. Choose one.
- Name the single emotion at its centre.
- Write a chorus that tells the listener what that emotion feels like, without explaining what happened.
- Find one specific, true detail from the experience and put it in the first verse.