Lyric Writing Tools #4 - Symbolism

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It’s day 4 of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing symbolism in lyrics.  

Symbolism

Symbolism is the ultimate way to open up a song to interpretation. It allows an open-endedness that will result in more people relating to it- because they will interpret the lyrics through the lens of their own life experiences.

Maybe you meant to be doing commentary on the sorrow of losing your dog. But the open-ended symbols for your sorrow allows the person who just had their fiance break it off be able to relate. They may feel the song is specifically about their situation.

If you talked about how good ol’ Rusty barked at his last squirrel, no one is thinking “Dang, it’s like he’s talking about my fiance leaving me!”. Symbolism is beautiful.