Listen To The Lyrics

“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see”

-John Newton, “Amazing Grace”

That’s packing a lot of information into four lines. I think we as journalists, whether television writers or reporters, print reporters, or bloggers can learn much from songwriters. They have limited time and space. They are trying to make a point, or share an idea, or stir an emotion, and make it work with music.

Just break down those four lines. The writer is talking about Amazing grace. What it sounds like. How it saved him. How he was lost. But now he is found. How his spiritual blindness was cured, and the future is clear. Short, concise, to the point, but also very descriptive. You know exactly what grace has done for the writer. The contrasting of the past and present, once lost, now found, was blind, now I can see. Short and powerful. No adjectives needed.

Great lyrics tell a story with the help of music. Television reporting tells a story with the help of pictures. Great video is easy to use and grab the viewers’ attention. But great writing brings the emotional impact.

Consider Pink Floyd’s “Time”:

“And you run and you run to catch
up with the sun but it’s sinking.
Racing around to come up behind
you again.
The sun is the same in a relative
way but you’re older.
Shorter of breath and one day
closer to death.”

Now, it may be a dark view of life, but listen to the visual language. Running to catch the sinking sun, as it races up behind you to start another day. The sun will always be there, but we get one day closer to the end of life. It draws a picture with words, and makes a point about the cycle of life.

A more positive view of life from Bob Marley’s “”Three Little Birds”:

“I woke up this morning,
Smiled at the rising sun,
Three little birds,
Sat on my doorstep,
Singing sweet songs”

He draws you into a vivid scene illustrating time, place and sound. We can all picture ourselves standing at our own doorstep. This is the secret of how strong, muscular language can be used to describe a pleasant, even intimate scene.

Songwriters can teach us about the use of imagery.

“In the rain the pavement shines
like silver
All the lights are misty in the
river
In the darkness, the trees are full
of starlight
And all I see is him and me
forever and forever”

“On My Own” from Les Miserable

Good writing paints a picture to convey a message. That can often be done by contrasting images to make a point. As in the above example,
the dark pavement shines like silver. The lights are misty. The trees are full of starlight in the darkness. But through all that, the writer sees the true meaning of the relationship.

When I was editing reporters’ scripts, I would constantly be on them to strip away the unnecessary trite phrases and words that made their writing sound like so much white noise. Sometimes, when writing
under pressure, we fall back on the formula that sounds like we copied
the script out of a book, and just plugged in the facts of our particular story.

I think it’s vital for journalists to study the art of writing. We should study the great speeches. Listen to phrasing and cadence. Our scripts should have a rhythm. And they should make us feel something about
the subjects in our stories.

“In the clearing stands the boxer,
and a fighter by his trade.
And he carries a reminder of
every glove that laid him down…
or cut him till cried out in his
anger and his shame
“I am leaving! I am leaving” but
the fighter still remains.”

Paul Simon, “The Boxer”

I’m not sure Paul Simon ever boxed in his life, but his sense of observation and his ability to translate his emotions about it into words, makes a great writer. That’s what we should be doing as journalists. Again, he takes us to a time, a place, a physical description, the boxer’s emotions, and finally his resolve. These verses are like mini stories that can teach us to sharpen our focus, and have stronger impact on the viewer or the reader. There are no wasted words.

As Don Henley writes in “The Heart of the Matter”:

“I’ve been trying to get down to
the heart of the matter
but my will gets weak
and my thoughts seem to scatter”

But, I think if we listen to the lyrics, we will get to the heart of matter.