The Crazy Easy Trick to Write Great Lyrics (The FLIP Method)

I don't think I can get over "Freedom felt like summer then on the coast, now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings" in "Hits Different" because we get the cliche of freedom feeling like summer, then a sunburn, and the combined cliche of "sand hurts my feet" and "hurts my feelings." It's so so good.

I try to use this trick as often as I can. I think my most successful application was after a John Mayer concert when I was feeling particularly inspired and tried borrowing his tendency to flip clichés. I started off my song with: "Woke up to snow in the morning / I guess April fooled me" and to this day, it's my favourite opener that I wrote. ❤️ Thank you for shedding light on such a cool technique.

one recent example of a flip i loved before i even knew what to call it is from History of Man by Maisie Peters where the opening line is “tale as old as honey.” it immediately grabbed me bc ofc the expectation was that she would say “time,” but instead it just magnified how the issue in the song has probably always existed. then when i found out that honey actually doesn’t expire if it’s stored properly… lol i was blown away.

I've always loved the line from dodie where she says 'We won't eat our words, they dont taste so good.' Ive always found that such a great use of the 'eat your words' phrase.

(No examples) 1. Replacing - cliche that can be replaced with something else so that the phrase triggers the cliche in the listener to fill the blank but you introduce a novelty that creates the delight of surprise 2. Magnify - uses a commonly used metaphor but zoomed in the detail of a specific concept to avoid the cliche. Try to magnify on a unique linking property, showing a new connection 3. Extending - take a cliche as is and extend the imagery of the metaphor/ simile, doubling down, perhaps subverting the meaning commonly linked to the cliche. Recast the phrase in a new light 4. Inverting - turning negative into positive or vice versa. Finding the opposite of a certain cliche (not all will work). Can be subtle or more dramatic depending how it’s inverted 5. Swapping - 2 words or images of a cliche are swapped, while still making sense. Makes listeners think of what new combination means keeping the comfort of familiarity with added delight of surprise 6. Pairing - cliche as predictable way of pairing words (hot/cold) or predictable rhyme pairs. Take the predictability out and replace with something new and different. Try to write down 10 different ways and after the first 3/4 you’ll get interesting results.

I’m not really that “comment man“… But after watching a couple of your videos i’m grinning just a little more… It’s really good content. Being able to make songwriting relatable is a delicate and mystifying task. Your channel really knocks it out of the park. Where were you back in 72 when I wrote my first 50 “cringe worthies”? Thank you for bringing an old man an actual honest pleasure❤

There's another layer to the Lorde example: pseudo-ephedrines is found not just in nose sprays but also in (met)amphetamines, often nicknamed "speed". Thus she connects two properties that sport opposite qualities by juxtaposing them to each other. Nifty songwriting indeed!

As an English teacher and consumer/player of songs, I often naively assume I've heard all the differences between varieties of English... Americans typically say "tempest in a teapot", how have I not noticed this before? I guess it went passed me. The replacement method using synonyms, antonyms, homonyms... or even using the structure of a cliched phrase and inserting random words, Mad Libs style is fun. I'm reminded of the old American game show, Match Game which generated humor by subverting expectations. I'll show this video to my EFL students. They often directly translate cliches, idioms, and slang from their native languages and I steal them for my own purposes! A cliche to one person may be a fresh phrase to another. Storm in a teacup... how did I not notice that? Now I'm going to hear it all the time. I'm learning a lot from ya'll! Keep it up!

This was really helpful! I think one of my favorite “flipped” cliche was from the Barenaked Ladies with their lyric from “Blame It on Me.” The third verse, they say “Absence makes the heart grow fungus.”

This is my favorite tool to use! Often they pop in my head and surprise me by their effectiveness. It’s lovely! A few of my favorites I’ve written lately: She wanted to be touched by God, But she was touched by the hands of man instead I don’t deserve you I deserve so much better I tried to keep my head down for so long Now I have a crooked spine You’d always shoot from the hip we were attached at The ceiling is closing in And I pray it’s made of glass I packed the bags under my eyes You tried to trim the fat with a rusted blade Infection led to swelling, alcohol, and medication Please stay Please stay away

Nice techniques! One of my favorite Bob Seger lyrics fits in here: "Wish I didn't know now, what I didn't know then"

Gosh, even the words you guys choose to explain these ideas are so well chosen. So clear and concise, wasting no words at all. Your ability to explain like that proves your writing talent in of itself. Sooooo well spoken, with such great advice. Thank you! Subbed! ❤

I've certainly used all of these a fair amount, as most of my favourite artists did too... one of my biggest influences as a songwriter and lyricist is Elliott Smith, and his songs are filled with these... one that springs to mind is "Stickman", it's not one of his well known songs and wasn't even released, but the opening lyrics go: I sit here shooting blanks out at emptiness Aint nothing that I want to kill, maybe time I guess

My favorite flip is from Fall Out Boy's Sugar We're Goin Down: "Drop a heart, break a name"

I'm learning so much from you guys. I'm new to song writing and I really appreciate what y'all do. Keep up the good work. ✌️

I'm soooo grateful for this channel 💜 thanks so much for all your fantastic content!

THIS IS BRILLIANT! Thank you both 💜

I just found this channel and it’s AMAZING! So useful for all of us musicians! Thank you for your work❤️

One technique I’ve been thinking about that you could cover is how songwriters often use the last word of a lyric as a jumping off point for the next line, or it’s used to continue/expand upon that previous line So then each line isn’t a contained sentence, which gets boring

Swapping two words, like your teacup in a storm example, really does make you think! I now think the prospect of being a teacup in a storm absolutely terrifying. Why am I small enough to be in a teacup? Why is the teacup outside in a storm? Can I scale the sides of the teacup before the rain overcomes me and I drown. SO thanks for that. I shall have nightmares now.