When I'm writing lyrics I generally start out with what I want to say by writing down keywords or little phrases. Then I think about what other words come to mind when I look at the one's that I have already written down. I'm not just searching for words but for images and refrences aswell. What events that I've witnessed, songs that I've heard, books that I read or films that I've seen have corresponding ways of expression? I'm searching for that tone. Not just what I want to say but how I want to say it. Look at all the things you've written down and see if there is somethng that could figure as the main theme. Something that could be a metaphor for the core thing that you want to say. I like it best when it's something that could be interpreted in 3 different ways. Your audience will have the power to project their own feelings or imagination on your words.
There is this nice example of how a song with a simple phrase can mean a lot of different things to many people but when the author explained what it was about, you couldn't have guessed it. I'm speaking of the song 'Nice To Know You' from the band Incubus. It was apparantly about a physical illness that came and went. Not about love or leaving home behind.
I'm working on a new song with my band which is called 'Extraction Ceremony'. It refers to a fictional ceremony in which an alien parasite is removed from it host, figurering as an execution of the evil alien enitity and the release of a victomised host. I've seen this in the series 'Stargate', which has inspired me over many years with it's crazy and clever ideas. The theme of the extraction ceremony allowed me to use my imagination beyond what I had seen in the series and set the stage in the stars, which always makes for some interesting lyrics, especially when you're in the psychedelic and hard rock genre.
Everything that I wrote from there on seemed like a fictional story with a hero and a villain and it suits the music, but in reality I'm actually singing about certain things that I wanted to extract from my own life.
"All of this has happened before and all of it will happen again"
- R. D. Moore- There is a reason ancient mythology became the cornerstone for many ways of storytelling. There is a reason there will always be a need for songs about love, happiness or sorrow. Societies change over time, our technology expands and our knowledge of our planet does aswell. But emotions and how we cope with them will remain the same. We urge for recognition and to be understood. Stories have always been there and will continue to do so. Themes will return. But a lot of these themes can be traced back to ancient Greek mythology. The fact that we are using the same constructions today as all these thousands of years ago says that the human condition hasn't changed all that much.
If you are a good writer you can find a bridge between you and your reader/listener by offering them recognition and then extrapolate on the possibilities. You are actually living the story together.
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