Character Development
Character Development
Let’s talk about one of the most important pieces of an effective song: Character development. There are four different ways to look at a character in a song:
You are the main character, and everything is true (minus the occasional creative liberty)
You are the main character, taking on another persona within the song.
You make up the main character
You make up details about an existing character (from a piece of literature, maybe).
Let’s take a look at some examples!
You are the main character, and everything is true (minus the occasional creative liberty)
“Every Rose Has its Thorn” by Poison.
This song was inspired by a phone call Bret Michaels made from a laundromat payphone. He was trying to reach his girlfriend, but instead, another man picked up. He was devastated, and went into the laundromat to write the song.
What Works:
Melodically: This song uses the same chords as “Can’t You See” by the Marshall Tucker Band, and expresses the same amount of urgency about the failed relationship. It’s a gentle song for a heavy topic. Fun fact: The label almost rejected the song, saying they liked it, but it “wasn’t a Poison song,” since the band was known for songs like “Nothing But a Good Time”. But somehow you can have a great time with the party animal that is Brett Michaels, while also feeling sorry for his girlfriend cheating on him. Any song is a Poison song if it’s written by a member of Poison. Always remember that with your own writing–don’t be afraid to not sound like yourself.
Lyrically: The lyrics are incredibly poetic and visual, which almost makes up for using the phrase “Cuts me like a knife” in the third verse. You can feel every bit of the relationship’s end just crashing down on this guy’s daily life, and you really feel for him. The first verse talks about lying with your significant other, both knowing it’s over. The second talks about hearing “your song” on the radio, and knowing you could win the person back, if they could just win. The last verse is the most powerful. The narrator thinks about what he could’ve done differently, and then hears about her finding someone else. Then he runs into the two of them, and it just pains him. We’ve all been there, and it works so well.
Structurally: Ok, here’s the kicker. I’m a big proponent of putting a bridge in songs, and going right into another chorus, rather than into a verse. Because what tends to happen in a lot of pop songs is you’ll have the bridge, a solo, and then an a capella chorus, which totally kills the progress of the song you had in the bridge. But this song works wonders with its structure: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Solo, Verse, Chorus. The solo builds up the tension until the final verse. It admits fault: (“I could’ve saved our love that night if I had known what to say”), while still continuing to talk about the heart-wrenching pain of the end: (“Now I heard you found somebody new, that I never meant that much to you.”)
2. You are the main character, taking on another persona within the song.“Deacon Blues” by Steely Dan
Melodically: Steely Dan’s sonic trajectory for the first 7 albums started with everything from Calypso (heard in their song, “Do It Again”), to piano and guitar-based hooks in their later albums. But “Deacon Blues”, and its parent album, Aja, trade that for a slicker, jazzier sound, thanks to the 40+ studio musicians they used on the record. This sound is especially appropriate on a song about a misunderstood suburbanite, who embraces the role of the tortured soul.
Lyrically: While talking about character development in songwriting, few do it better than Steely Dan. Fagen and Becker both grew up in the suburbs of New York, so many of the people in their songs may be a projection of themselves. People who are too cool for school, but who still have the audacity to play the underdog in society. We all know the type of person discussed in this song. I also can’t talk about the lyrics without mentioning the idea of having a separate name for the winners and losers of the world. Aja was released in 1977, less than a week before Billy Joel’s “The Stranger”. The difference between many of Billy’s characters and the narrator in “Deacon Blues” is that you’re strangely rooting for The Dan’s characters, whereas someone like Anthony just seems like a privileged complainer.
Structurally: Aja is both a melodic and lyrical masterpiece, but there’s definitely a little more emphasis on the former. “Deacon Blues” follows the Verse/Chorus format, but with plenty of solos in between for the listener to get lost in. Any good song is going to mirror the moment it’s trying to capture, but the structure of this song almost seems meta–It’s got this beautiful smoothness to it, which is exactly the slick persona that Deacon Blues is trying to have on stage.
3. You make up the main character
“Hello in There” by John Prine.
Melodically: The melody to this song follows a simple picking pattern, written in the key of C, using open tuning, and to me, feels like it has both a hopeful and melancholy sound to it, almost resembling a ukulele. It fits the lyrics, which are ultimately a little hopeful, albeit in hindsight, with the sad part being letting life slip away from you, before you can reconnect with the ones you love, or connect with new people who could just use a friend.
Lyrically: John Prine worked as a mailman, prior to hitting it big as a songwriter. He has said in interviews that he only started writing songs, because he forgot the lyrics to the covers he’d play, and would compensate by making up new words. But perhaps his interactions with people as a mailman gave him a unique ability to create these lifelike characters. Both this song and “Angel From Montgomery” could have fit the last category, as he makes strides to step into the shoes of Loretta’s husband. But I have always interpreted the last verse to be written from his own perspective. (“If you’re walking down the street sometime…”) Bob Dylan did this a few years later with “Simple Twist of Fate” (“They sat together in the park” and later, “I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring.”)
Structurally: “Hello in There” is a really unique song, structurally. It doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary, but the last verse, which I mentioned above, always takes me by surprise. It could’ve just ended with Loretta dying and him talking about why he hasn’t called Rudy in a long time, followed by the reminder that old people get lonesome and need you to stop in and say hello, even if that’s all you have to say. But adding the last verse gives it a little bit of an extra gut punch.
4. You make up details about an existing character (from a piece of literature, maybe).
“Young Moses” by Josh Ritter
Melodically: Much like many of the songs on its parent album, “Young Moses” contains a driving guitar part that instills a sense of adventure in the main character (yes, that Moses).
Lyrically: In both Josh Ritter’s songs and his novels, he creates characters that, much like the Steely Dan characters, you can’t help but root for. Someone in a Josh Ritter Facebook group once referred to his characters as “bombastic vagabonds”, and they’re ones you’re rooting for, no matter what. He knows the road ahead, knows what he’s been through, but also knows what he deserves, even if no one else sees it. He saves the best line for last, with Moses proclaiming, “I’ve been the beast of burden, that is to say that I’m a beast.” Interestingly, with the exception of one album, Josh tends to fall into categories 2-4, often subverting truly personal narratives. “Young Moses” is one of my favorite examples of taking a person from an existing story and turning that narrative on its head.
Structurally: In the spirit of keeping the driving melody going, the song is composed of all verses, plus a bridge and a solo. The bridge completely changes up the melody of the song, similar to what’s done in the bridge of “Nights on Broadway” by the Bee Gees, then builds back up with a solo. After the solo, he hits you with one more verse, ending in the aforementioned line, “I’ve been the beast of burden, that is to say that I’m a beast.”
