[Lyric Writing Basics] Finding Tips for Writing Lyrics from the Hit Charts

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[Lyric Writing Basics] Finding Tips for Writing Lyrics from the Hit Charts

• createIdol lyricist and haiku poetTaki no namida pin ku
  Lyricist. Has provided numerous works to local idols and underground idols. A broad-ranging idol watcher, from Showa-era idols to Reiwa-era idols. Loves anything that becomes printed words, from manzai comedy to poetry.

Model Sacred Song: IZ*ONE | Vampire

Yasushi Akimoto’s circuitry, a strong image of women

The lyrics are being appreciated entirely through the method of a “writer-centered critique.”

It may seem obvious, but I’d like to address it explicitly at least once.

Here, author-centric criticism, simply put, is an approach that considers a song without separating its lyrics from the person who wrote them.

If I had to put it into words, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi’s lyrics are a part of him, and I believe his alter ego dwells within those words.

By the way, 'text theory' takes the opposite view: for example, even if Marilyn Manson were to write lyrics like 'Kill them!', it holds that this has absolutely nothing to do with Marilyn Manson’s own words and actions or his personal beliefs.

The lyrics for “Vampire” were written by the eminent Yasushi Akimoto—hardly any further explanation is necessary at this point.

Given that they're using this title at this time of year, I think there's a sense that they're targeting Halloween in some way.

I call songs or singers that become popular as seasonal standards during a certain period “season elites.”

Be it Tube or Tatsuro Yamashita’s “Christmas Eve,” the same goes.

I keep that in mind as well when I write lyrics.

The songs I often hear around Halloween these days are AKB48’s “Halloween Night,” Dempagumi.inc’s “Eternal Zombiena,” and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s “Crazy Party Night ~Pumpkin no Gyakushū~,” but compared to Christmas songs, they’re still far from established and don’t have many rival tracks.

If the media reacts favorably, this track might be able to sink its teeth into the Halloween sales season… In that case, it wouldn’t be surprising if, with Mr. Akimoto’s way of thinking, he’s always acting two or three moves ahead.

I think you’ll understand if you listen to the track, but it’s closer to Japanese idol songs from the 2000s to 2010s than to the more recent K-pop style.

of the rust

If I could become a vampire, I'd like to bite you—right on your throat.

The lyrics feature a powerful woman who proactively takes the initiative.

The rapid-fire, upbeat chorus becomes a brilliant expression that wins the audience’s empathy.

Also, wouldn’t this chorus section sound like a clear and fresh melody line to today’s teens?

Conversely, for people of a certain age group, it will undoubtedly feel familiar—as if they’ve seen or heard it before.

And that “I feel like I’ve heard this somewhere before” sensation never gets unpleasant; it sounds like a casually written melody, yet it makes you think it’s actually a meticulously crafted piece.

Normally, just like how people unwillingly get bitten by a zombie and end up becoming one, they get bitten by a vampire and end up becoming a vampire as a result… There’s no one who would go so far as to actively bite someone themselves because they want to turn into a monster.

In these lyrics, the line “I want to bite you and become a vampire too” uses the transformation into a vampire to express a proactive approach by a woman.

These lyrics, which sensationalize themselves, could well come across as quite provocative to teens whose vocabularies aren’t yet fully developed.

IZ*ONE’s Korean members, whose earnest attempts at speaking halting Japanese can look adorably endearing, transform into sharply poised artists the moment they step on stage. That blend of softness and strength—the striking gap between the two—is one of IZ*ONE’s key charms.

Their transformation overlaps with the lyrics about loving the one you care for so much that you would even become a vampire from an ordinary person.

Lyrics and keywords typical of J-pop

Perhaps because groups composed of members from various countries are popular, in Korea there is an increasing number of artists formed as Koreans plus foreigners.

This is probably related to the market.

If we target only the domestic South Korean market, it’s too small to make substantial profits, so we need to expand into other countries’ markets.

I think one of their footholds is that they include foreigners among their members.

Japan, as a neighboring country, is probably one of the major markets for South Korea.

When set to Japanese lyrics, this song ends up sounding completely like J-pop.

I broadly classify J-pop into three categories: songs about hope, songs about love, and songs about sadness.

Of course, this “Vampire” falls into the category of songs that sing about love.

Love is an infectious disease, caused by an invisible virus; no vaccine to prevent it has been discovered.

It’s a classic idea often found in popular songs to liken love to an illness.

If it’s an old idol, then the lyrics to Candies’ “Love Sickness.”

I feel like I'm getting sick; neither medicine nor injections work.

If it’s the ever-popular Kenshi Yonezu, then ‘Koi to Byonetsu’.

I was dreaming, pregnant with a fever of illness; in my blinded eyes I saw the sun falling

The lyrics are abundantly poetic.

That classic motif of “love sickness” has been refreshed in this song by adopting the katakana terms for virus and vaccine.

Even in the Reiwa era, love is still an illness, so it feels like writing lyrics shouldn’t require all that many hints.

Just labeling stages or sections as “chapters” makes them feel much more stylish.

Even just adding katakana elements to an old motif would be more than enough as a theme for lyrics.

I think the vampire is being used as a metaphor for a dashing, cool man, and that comparison has a sense of refinement.

When you set up such a bold metaphorical device, there are cases where the love song itself ends up feeling anticlimactic… but isn’t it precisely where Akimoto-san’s sense for words truly shines?

By the way, “virus” is one of Mr. Akimoto’s favorite words, and it appears many times in his lyrics.

Another key word is the romantic sense of 'drowning,' which the lyrics hint at in various places.

Even knowing you’re a vampire, I’ll let you hold me (into your arms). I can’t refuse a vampire anymore—my heart’s been stolen.

I’m completely hooked on this guy.

At the same time, there are glimpses of a distinctly feminine sense of agency that hasn’t completely lost itself.

Scenes that resonate with teens (mainly girls, in this context) are always underpinned by strong images of women.

In some ways, this overlaps with the image of a woman that appears in Teresa Teng’s songs.

Lyrics and prose

Even if there’s something you want to convey in the lyrics, you have to change its form if it doesn’t fit the melody.

In the A and B verses, the lyrics are spoken by “me,” who has become captivated by “you” and can no longer break away.

I can’t forgive you for being so unbearably wonderful…

If that’s the case, I’d rather just go ahead and hate you.

I know there's no way I can do it.

The lyrics don’t feel constrained by the melody at all—so much so that I almost think of them as prose.

It still retains the vivid immediacy that the words carry.

It already makes sense as prose, so no further interpretation is necessary.

However, how about the following lyrics in the latter half of the first chorus?

Some listeners can enjoy music even without any meaning, but there are also some who want to convey linguistic meaning.

If you could become a vampire, then make me one of your kind too (these scars). Hey, vampire, on a moonlit night, let’s spread this uncontrollable love like an infection.

It’s a phrase that gives a mysterious feeling.

I love you so much that I’d bite you just to become a vampire myself—but if I do, I’ll make you one of us.

Here, I think “to make you one of us” means wanting to be in an equal relationship with you.

In fact, love has an element of “the one who falls is the one who loses,” so as the one in love, I’m at a disadvantage.

But reading the lyrics as being sustained by the desire to become a vampire myself and at least be on equal footing with you wouldn’t be a reading that ruins the song, would it?

It feels like a parting trick from the lyricist—almost as if to say, “I won’t let you read it for free.”

Nonsensical? Yet they became hits—The Killers’ “Human” and The Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus” are famous examples.

There are many puzzle-solving challenges available online, so if you're interested, please check them out.

I think the words used in song lyrics are different from the words we use in everyday life.

Of course it’s natural to want to decipher the literal meaning of the lyrics, but basically, with music, I think it’s fine to just enjoy whatever the situation calls for—whether it’s the melody, the groove, the beat, the vibe, or of course the lyrics.

I think there are cases where it’s fine for the music to be just background music.

This isn’t limited to music, but I think a work’s breadth of interpretation is what makes it interesting.

Recently, solving the riddles in the lyrics of Kenshi Yonezu’s songs, which have been dominating the hit charts, has become popular.

If you search online for "Kenshi Yonezu lyrics meaning," you’ll find multiple interpretations of songs like Lemon, Horse and Deer, and others.

I think savoring ambiguity is one of the pleasures of song lyrics.

"Saying 'ihi ohosete,' is there something?" — Mukai Kyorai