SONGWRITING
A CHORUS LINE : ROOM FOR WORDS | Kevin MacDougall
The chorus of a song tends to explore the song ’ s central idea , encapsulating its major themes and chosen aims .
And while that can be a very good thing ( it has become the standard , after all ), it could also represent an unnecessary limitation the songwriter has imposed on the song .
Let me explain .
I recently saw some examples of songs where the chorus was the part of the song with the least to say — where latter verses or bridges in the song had gone in new and compelling directions to a degree that left the chorus , which had been established early on , feeling quaint , small , even trite . Seeing these examples left me thinking about how this doesn ’ t need to be the case , because a chorus doesn ’ t need to be this static , changeless thing that is unable to evolve . In fact , modern technology ( projectors and large screens , common in churches for 20 + years now ) has given us the ability to embrace something as songwriters that hasn ’ t been “ normal ” since hymnals were all anyone had .
It has made it possible for us to use as many words as we want .
From the time of the Jesus Movement through the 80s and 90s , there was a real premium placed on being economical with your lyrics . The simpler and easier to remember those lyrics could be , the better . The reason for this development was cultural — hippies with acoustic guitars suddenly writing congregational music — but it was also technological . You had a bunch of people forming new churches , without access to hymnals or the funding to make them , coupled with a desire to “ sing a new song … and all of this happening a few decades before digital technology would make it easy to project huge words in front of us .
Flash forward to today , and when it comes to how we involve a congregation in song within our sacred spaces , we have a lot more options — the use of a multi-chorus approach to songwriting being one of them .
I ’ ve often found the rare song that employs this element of multiple choruses compelling and emotionally moving . There ’ s something about how a chorus can develop lyrically , evolving to show contrasts and variance , that is particularly resonant . It ’ s a different thing from what you get in simply writing another verse or even shaping a bridge , because the part of the song that is musically telling you that it ’ s the centerpiece is refusing to let that keep it from meaningfully taking on new dimensions . Rather than a standard rallying point for the song ’ s ideas or aims , the use of multiple sets of lyrics within choruses makes each chorus feel intensely of the moment . You really have to be mindful when each chorus comes along , because that is the only moment to encapsulate that part of the journey the song is taking us on . And contrary to what many writers assume , this does not diminish the chorus or its role in the song . In reality , it can mean a heightened sense of importance to each chorus when the chorus lyrics are no longer a changeless constant .
Standard practice for the great majority of modern songwriting is for the chorus to be the “ hook ” of a song , and its role in providing a musical center or rallying point typically entails that the chorus is the part of the song that is always the same . This practice includes the lyrics of the chorus , which are most often crafted to utilize repetition and patterns to ensure some degree of memorability .
But really , it ’ s just like a verse : if people know the melody , they can sing any words you offer them , even if the words are not the same as they were the last time that melody happened . Either way , those words are probably going to be projected on a massive screen . Technology has made room for us to do whatever we want , lyrically speaking .
So why should a chorus be a static thing ? Why should that be the case even a majority of the time , let alone the vast majority ?
Consider the difference here . The potential .
A song with a “ standard ” chorus that is the same every time — no matter where else the song journeys lyrically — can be compared to a group of backpackers setting up a base camp and going out to hike and explore . Each day , they put out their fire and head off down a new trail . At the end of each day , they return to camp and start their fire again .
A song ’ s chorus is like that fire . It is the illuminating element of base camp . The day ’ s hike ends with trying to get back to that same spot .