Writing Good Lyrics

Lyrics that rhyme are for pauncy tossers prancing through dewy fields and meadows. Okay, so this rule is obviously untrue, but when you’re starting out writing lyrics, you’ll probably discover how difficult it is to make things rhyme. Every time you write a good line and then can’t find a word that rhymes, just repeat out loud to yourself: “Lyrics that rhyme are for pauncy tossers prancing through dewy fields and meadows.” You’ll feel better, really you will.

Seriously though, you can dodge rhyming lines occasionally, and nobody is going to shoot you for it. Creative phrasing can let you get away with a lot, but that depends a lot on singing ability. Screw around with language. Anyone who speaks English can tell you that “Antichrist” does not rhyme with “Anarchist,” but that will never stop Johnny Rotten from pretending that they do.

If you’re really sweating about it, find yourself a rhyming dictionary. I’m not making it up, they really exist. Lots of words rhyme. Just to prove it to you, later in this article I’m going to spontaneously write some lyrics that rhyme “bat” with “Laundromat.”