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Cool Ideas for Song Titles

Websites such as Spotify, Youtube and iTunes have widened access to music, letting people you browse through vast libraries of songs by title. While this provides an increased listening choice, it makes it more difficult for a song to stand out. Therefore a song title must capture the imagination of a potential listener to increase the chances of having them listen.
  1. Character Titles

    • Jeff Lynne's lyrics tell the story of a timid man named Horace.

      Some songs have characters and those characters often form part of the title. "The Diary Of Horace Wimp" by ELO, "The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker" by Prince and "Peggy Sue Got Married" by Buddy Holly are all story-based titles. They give you a sense, just by naming the person, of what the song might be about without giving away too much. There's a sense of mystery and playfulness in this approach to titling.

    Personification

    • This is the process of assigning human attributes to inanimate objects or abstract concepts. It is a useful means of describing the qualities of an object or idea without simply listing color, size, shape or texture. The song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by George Harrison portrays the instrument as having emotion and feelings. "The Wind Cries Mary" by Jimi Hendrix portrays the wind as capable of speech, rather than just noise.

    Play on Words

    • Sparks regularly inject dark humor into their lyrics and titles.

      You can make song titles seem funny, interesting and quirky with word play. Fit two words together as Sparks did with "Barbecutie" or replace a word from a well-known phrase with a new word like Alice Cooper did with his song "Mister And Misdemeanor."

    Metaphors

    • Metaphor is a powerful language tool that enables you to convey more than just words. A metaphor can paint a picture of an idea, something that will resonate with your audience. "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin, is a powerful visual metaphor that evokes images of spirituality. The Blondie song "Heart of Glass" uses metaphor to convey the fragility of emotion. "Love Is the Drug" by Roxie Music details the addictive nature of love.

    Imperative Song Titles

    • The imperative mood is a linguistic device that conveys a direct command. You'll see the imperative mood used in road signs and instructions, for example "Don't Walk," "Stop!" or "Remove Batteries." Song titles can use this grammatical approach too. "Do The Hustle," "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," "Get Back" and "Fight For Your Right (To Party)" are all examples of song titles that implore the listener to do something. This creates a sense of action and involvement for the listener.

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