Last lesson we looked at finding lyrics and in this lesson we’re going to briefly explore the themes of those lyrics.

In this lesson we’ll cover:

  1. What is a theme?
  2. How to work out the main themes
  3. Examples of song themes

1. What is a theme?

In musical terms, a theme represents the main subject which then impacts the compositional decisions and style. For example, if the theme of the lyrics is loneliness and missing a loved one, a bright major key and quick tempo is unlikely to convey the sadness in the words.

Emotional connection

The most effective songs tend to be those which the listener develops an emotional connection to – it makes them memorable.

Think about how you want the listener to feel when they hear your song.

2. Working out the main themes

In order to set the right tone and atmosphere for your song it’s important to read the lyrics carefully and think about what they’re trying to get across. We need to choose 3 or 4 themes to work with which will help us to make musical decisions when we start composing.

Here’s a reminder of the lyrics I’ve chosen for my song. I’ve highlighted some key words which will help me identify the main themes:

Verse

I’m longing for the phone to ring
To hear you say my name
Those precious moments sharing thoughts
Until we meet again.
How could I forget you even though we are apart?
You’re the one who cares for me and have done from the start.

Chorus

I wish I was as free as a bird
High up in the sky
Instead I’m all alone and sad
And have to say goodbye.

Earlier, we found that a popular structure for ballads is verse-chorus structure and noticed that my lyrics naturally divide into these sections. Before we move onto looking at the themes in more detail, it’s a good idea to read through your lyrics and see if they’ll divide into verse and chorus. It doesn’t matter if they don’t but it will help the structure of your song!

Work with your lyrics

Look at your lyrics and if possible, divide into verse and chorus.

Now highlight any key words that will help you to identify the themes.

What are the themes?

Read through the lyrics of our working example above – what do you think the main themes are? I’ve suggested 3 of them below and there’s one more which we’ll add in a bit later.

Key Themes

Frustration

Flight

Freedom

  • Frustration and sadness – is the relationship over or is this just a temporary break?
  • Bird imagery – height, flying
  • A desire for freedom (linked to the bird imagery)

3. Examples of song themes

Below is a list of general themes that are commonly found in popular songs:

  • Desperation
  • Breakup
  • Desire / unrequited love
  • Pain
  • Confusion
  • Loss
  • Aspiration
  • Nostalgia (looking back)
  • Rebellion

Explore your themes

Now that you’ve structured your lyrics and highlighted any key words, read through them again and decide what the main themes are. If you wrote your own lyrics, you may have decided on a theme before you starting writing.

There might be one overarching theme and a couple of ‘secondary’ ideas or you may find that there are 3 or 4 themes. You can use the list above as a starting point.

You may wish to create a mind map or bullet point list.

Hopefully you have now identified the main themes for your lyrics – please do make sure you’ve completed this before moving on, because in the next lesson we’re going to start setting the words to music…

Let’s Go!

Click the MARK COMPLETE button below and move on to the next lesson.