The chorus that was a bridge for six months
Jonah and a co-writer trace a song whose chorus started life as the bridge, playing the voice memos that show the moment it moved and why the song finally worked.
Writing a sad song that does not feel sorry for itself
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Show notes
Grief without the violins
An artist brings a song she wrote after her father died and talks with Jonah about writing something true without wallowing. They look at specific details, restraint in the melody and the one line she almost cut.
- Starting with an object rather than a feeling
- Why small details carry more weight than big words
- Keeping the melody plain so the words can do the work
- The line she nearly cut and why it stayed
- This week's exercise: write a verse using only things you can see
The exercise is in the notes, along with the lyric sheet.
Transcript
This is Verse Chorus Bridge, I am Jonah Lefebvre. Today we are talking about sad songs, and specifically how to write one that does not feel sorry for itself. My guest wrote a song about her father after he died, and it is one of the most restrained pieces of writing I have heard in years. There are no violins, no big words, and the first verse is just a list of objects on a kitchen counter. We will talk about why that works, why she kept the melody so plain, and about one line in the second verse that she nearly cut and that now makes people cry. We play the first voice memo, then the record. At the end, an exercise about writing with only things you can see. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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