Write Away Magazine - April

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The Cut Up Lyrics Technique Simon Wright Writing impactful lyrics isn’t an easy skill and even experienced lyricists sometimes find themselves staring at a blank screen. If you’re looking for some writing inspiration, then why not try the Cut Up lyric writing technique. David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, and The Beatles are amongst the stars who have used this technique, so you will be in good company! Understanding the Cut Up technique In the late 1950s William Burroughs, working with artist Brion Gysin, developed a surrealist ‘cut up’ technique whereby words and phrases from different written works were cut out and then pieced together to create a new piece of art. David Bowie’s use of the Cut Up technique Bowie is rightly regarded as one of the great musical artists of the 20th century, having penned hits such as Heroes, Starman, Life on Mars, and Rebel Rebel. And he was a major proponent of the Cut Up technique. He is said to have cut out words and sentences from magazines and diaries, which he then worked with as part of his lyric writing process. Bowie commented “What I’ve used it for is igniting anything that might be in my imagination”. And in a 2014 interview with LouderSound he expanded on this, saying: ‘I’ll use them to provoke a new set of images, or a new way of looking at a subject. I find it incredibly useful as a writer’s tool. And I’m amazed these days at the amount of cut-up sites that are now on the internet. It’s quite phenomenal. There are at least 10, and two or three of them are excellent. I’ve used them too. I’ve put a bunch of pieces of text into the thing, then hit the cut-up button, and it slices it up for me [laughs]. In ‘94, when I was really starting to get into the computer in a major way, I had a programme devised so that I could specifically do that. Most of the lyric content of the Outside [2003] album came out of that programme. But now they’re all over the place, especially on poet sites. There are a lot of poets who still work in that method, so I’m not alone’ Why randomness helps The human brain has a tendency to function in a linear predictable fashion, but that’s not always conducive to creating memorable lyrics. The merging of several very random disparate words or phrases can create lyrics that are instantly more interesting. And that maybe make the listener think about the song’s possible meaning. How you can use the Cut Up technique Bowie’s 2014 interview referenced websites that automate the process of coming up with random words and sentences. But I think it’s more fun to go old school and cut out some random phrases from magazines or newspapers and then see what they inspire. So all you need is a pair of scissors and then you’re ready to get started! About Simon Wright Simon is an Irish lyric writer who lives in Scotland. He collaborates with musicians across the world to turn his lyrics into songs. Check out his website www.LyricSlinger.co.uk @TheLyricSlinger 06 www.writeawaymagazine.co.uk
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Write Away Magazine - April

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