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Notice how they choose to portray themselves in these songs. Listen to or read the lyrics to a few songs by your favorite artists. Otherwise, listeners will become suspicious and doubt whether the character can be believed. The language and images in your lyric should support and enhance the character of the singer, whether that singer is you or an artist you are going to pitch to. The problem is not with the image-an artist like Bruno Mars could use that image very effectively. The image would sound false, out of character, and not credible. If he said his heart “shattered like a $300 bottle of Cristal champagne,” listeners would react negatively. The casual violence of a rock through a window seems like something the singer has probably seen or experienced.
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It’s a great way to welcome them into the song and get them in the mood for what follows. Give listeners a taste of the style and emotional tone they can expect to hear. Keep this in mind when crafting your own song intros. The Gospel-flavored piano chords of the Intro clearly announce the soulful feel of the song. But hey, it just feels like the 1960s all over again. At 30 seconds, I do think it goes on too long-half the length would have been fine. Although guitar solos are fairly rare these days, for the Gospel Blues style of this song it feels right at home. INSTRUMENTAL BREAK (3:06): Following the bridge, there’s a guitar solo over the verse chords. VERSE 2 starts with “What am I supposed to say…”ĬHORUS opening line “Oh, why you got to be so cold?”īRIDGE (2:50) starts with “I can only feel my love hangin’ on.” VERSE 1 begins with “Girl, the way you broke my heart…” The structure here is a proven, time-tested hit song form. Read the lyrics.įind out more about Genres. Try this melody trick I haven’t heard before.Interval leaps in your melody get attention.Use images and physical sensations to engage the listener.Songwriters: Chris Stapleton / Dave Cobb / J.T.
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Many of Stapleton’s songs have been featured in TV series and I think this one is a natural for that market. “Cold,” the song I’m looking at here, is more likely to reach a wide audience through film and TV uses than Contemporary Country radio. When Chris Stapleton finally recorded his own songs as an artist, he scored big with “Broken Halos,” a song with a lot of that folksy, roots appeal. The big hits he’s written or co-written for other artists-including “Drink a Beer” for Luke Bryan and “Never Wanted Nothing More” for Kenny Chesney-tend to fall into a neo-traditional Country style that harks back to the acoustic, folk roots of Country music. “Cold” is a powerhouse Alt Country song that adds to Chris Stapleton’s solid reputation as one of Country’s great songwriters.Īlthough Chris Stapleton has had Mainstream Country hits, his songs don’t fit easily into the Contemporary Country style.
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