Write From A Different Point of View

Most songs are written in the point of view of the first person. An example of this is Otis Redding and Steve Cropper's, 'Dock of the Bay.'

"Sittin' in the morning sun, I'll be sittin' when the evening comes. Watching the ships roll in, I'll watch 'em roll away again." I'll bet most your song's are written in the 'First Person' POV, mine are.

'Second Person' POV shifts the storytelling to 'you.' Same example with the new POV. 'Dock of the Bay.' "Sittin' in the morning sun, You'll be sittin' when the evening comes. Watching the ships roll in, you'll watch 'em roll away again." See how it dramatically changes the vibe of the line?

'Third Person' POV has the storyteller as 'he' or 'she.' Same example. 'Dock of the Bay.' "Sittin' in the morning sun, she'll be sittin' when the evening comes. Watching the ships roll in, she'll watch 'em roll away again."

When I write a new song, I try it out in these three points of view before I get too far.

Once you've chosen a point of view, stick with it. If you change it up mid-song, it can get ugly.

I'd love to see some samples of how you've experimented with this concept in your songwriting.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 13, 2019 at 7:19 AM

    Dobie Gray didn't write Dock of the Bay

    ReplyDelete

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