WRITING LYRICS FOR A PRAISE AND WORSHIP SONG



WRITING LYRICS FOR A PRAISE AND WORSHIP SONG

BY NG WAH LOK

1.0 Introduction

Praise and worship songs have swamped our churches in the last 30 years. Prior to that, up to the 1960’s most Churches used traditional hymns. Today, we find that most fast growing churches use modern praise and worship songs. The songs are shorter and the lyrics are more simple. The tunes are catchy and easy to sing. This tutorial will help you to write lyrics for simple Praise and Worship songs.

2.0 How do you get started ?

Firstly, keep your eyes opened to what God is doing in your life and in your church. Try to get a thought from God. The best lyrics usually come from real life experiences. For example, when I saw my church praying intensely in our early and difficult days, I wrote the song “Every Time I Pray” in 1981. Similarly, when I personally experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, I wrote the song “Flow Holy Spirit” in 1995. If God is moving in a particular way in your Church eg. there is a season of healing, then write a song on healing. A song linked to a real life experience is usually a powerful and anointed song.

3.0 How to move on after getting a main idea ?

So you got your idea for your song. You should have the main phrase by now. eg. God is good…….Healing waters…. Amazing Grace…Trading my sorrows….Ticket to heaven… ??? What is next ? Well let this idea burn in your heart for a while and keep thinking of the main thought and develop some nice lyrical lines. Write down all the possible lines you want to put into your song. To get more ideas, read a hymn book.

Let me share with you how I wrote Healing Waters . My church leader was afflicted with cancer. She was only 47. I was a little mad with the Devil for bringing all these sicknesses especially to those who love God so much. I have lost some close friends to cancer before. So I asked God for a song on healing. Here is how I wrote the song.

Example.- Healing Waters (main idea)

a) Firstly I wrote a list of all my ideas, whatever comes to my mind. Search hymn books if you are short of ideas.

Healing waters flow (main idea )

Jehovah Rophe, we need you now

By your stripes we are healed

No sickness too great

No barrier too wide

We need your power

We need your healing touch

Open the heavens, let healing waters flow

Open the heavens, let healing power flow

Woman with the issue of blood

You died for my sickness

You died for my shame

Power in the name of Jesus

Power of the cross

Power of the blood

Healing in your wings

Healing from your throne

4.0 Start creating your melody/lyrics for the chorus and one verse after getting your main idea intact

When you have written down all the ideas and lyrical lines you have thought of, you can start to create a melody to fit some of these lines. Go to your instrument. Remember “Healing waters” was my main idea. So try to write at least a verse or a chorus. This is what I did first.

Healing Waters Flow– By Ng Wah Lok

|First draft |Final Draft |

| | |

|Verse 1 |Verse 1 |

|We need You now, |We need you more than we did ever before |

|We need Your power, Your healing touch |We need you now, |

|So won’t you come, With Your healing power |We need your power, Your healing touch |

|So open up the heavens |So open up the heavens |

|Let Your healing waters flow |Let Your healing waters flow |

|Jehovah Rophe come |Jehovah Rophe come. |

| | |

|Chorus:- | |

|Come with healing in Your wings |Chorus:- |

|Your healing power flows from the throne of grace |Come with healing in your wings |

|Healing waters flow. |Come with healing from the throne of grace |

| |Healing waters flow. |

When I finished the first verse and chorus, I looked at the song and thought it could have at least another one or two more verses. So I decided I wanted the second verse to come from Isa 53 “By Your stripes we are healed”.. It is usually very easy to write a second verse once the first verse is written. So verse 2 goes like this.

Verse 2

By the stripes upon Your back, We are healed

By Your death, upon the cross, We are saved

So we can call upon the power of Your name

Jehovah Rophe come.

If I do write a third verse, I would want to use the woman with the issue of blood who was healed. So far, I think my third verse is not necessary. This song could stand as it is.

5. Keep your lyrics in the chorus simple

Most praise and worship songs have simple chorus so people can sing it almost immediately. Let me give you some examples of top worship songs with simple chorus.

1. Heart of worship – Matt Redman

2. I could sing of your love forever – Martin Smith

3. We want to see Jesus lifted high

4. Trading my sorrows – Darryl Evans

5. Let Every thing that has breath – Matt Redman

6. Shout to the Lord – Darlene Zchech

7. God is good all the time – Don Moen/Paul Overstreet

I can go on and on with the list of our favorite worship songs. Many of them will have simple chorus. All these are great writers. It is not that they do not have ideas to write in the chorus. They kept it simple so people would be hooked to the song the first time they sing it.

0. Try to write your lyrics building one line after another.

Lyrics must have a flow of thought. A person reading it without listening to the music must feel satisfied that you have written a good message and have consistent flow of thoughts.

One technique is to follow an idea line after line eg.

Example 1 – We rejoice in Your love

We rejoice in Your love

We rejoice in Your grace

We rejoice in Your majesty

You bring into this place

The writer is playing with words, love, grace, majesty….other words which could be used are joy, goodness, power, strength, mercy etc. for another verse.

Example 2 –Every Thing that has breath – Matt Redman

Verse 1

Praise you in the morning

Praise you in the evening

Praise You when I’m young and when I’m old

Praise You when I’m laughing

Praise You when I’m grieving

Praise You every season of the soul

Matt Redman continues line after line in his second verse but with some variation. He adds in a variation “joining with the angels/earth now”. For his second verse eg

Verse 2

Praise you in the heavens

Joining with the angels

Praising You forever and a day

Praise you on the earth now

Joining with creation

Calling all the nations to Your praise

It is easy to follow these lyrics and see how the writer takes a thought and add line after line to it.

8. Write your verses following a fixed structure

This is another technique used by song writers where the verses follow almost a fixed structure ie after the first verse is written, the writer merely changes some words in the second verse so maintaining a good flow of thought.

Example : Days of Elijah by Robin Mark

|Verse 1 |Verse 2 |

|These are the days of Elijah |These are the days of Ezekiel |

| | |

|Declaring the word of the Lord |The dry bones becoming as flesh |

| | |

|These are the days of Your servant Moses |These are the days of Your servant David |

| | |

|Righteousness being restored |Rebuilding the temple of praise |

| | |

|These are the days of great trials |And these are the days of the harvest |

| | |

|Of famine and darkness and swords |The fields are white in the world |

| | |

|Still we are the voice in the desert crying |And we are the laborers in Your vineyard |

| | |

|Prepare ye the way of the Lord |Declaring the word of the Lord |

You will notice that there are a lot of similar words in verse 1 and 2. If the writer does write a verse 3, it will definitely be similar and he will most probably use two other Bible Characters.

Martin Smith uses a similar technique with his song “Did you feel the mountains tremble ?”

Example : Did you hear the mountains tremble ? Martin Simth

|Verse 1 |Verse 2 |

|Did you hear the mountains tremble |Did you feel the people tremble |

| | |

|Did you hear the oceans roar |Did you hear the singers roar |

| | |

|When the people rose to sing of |When the lost begin to sing of |

| | |

|Jesus Christ the risen one. |Jesus Christ the saving one |

Having a nice structure in your verses helps the audience understand your song.

9. Switch ideas/persons/activity from verse to verse

This is another technique song writers use. When they start to plan the lyrics, they already know what they want in their verses. They have different person/idea/words in each verse but they try to maintain a similar structure.

Example 1 – Did your hear the mountains tremble – Martin Smith

Verse 1 – Did you hear the mountains tremble

Verse 2 – Did you hear the people tremble

Verse 3 – Did you hear the darkness tremble

So the same structure is repeated verse after verse. The writer merely switches the person/activity/attribute

Example 2 – Prepare the way – Darrell Evans and Eric Nuzum

Verse 1 – He has come to bring light into the darkness

Verse 2 – He has come to bring hope to the hopeless

10. Edit your lyrics over a period of time

This is critical. Think over what you have written for several weeks and look for better words. You have only got the first draft now. Refine it until you are fully satisfied with the words.

Conclusion:

Well, we have come to the end of this tutorial. Hope you have learnt some new tricks in lyric writing.

About the author Ng Wah Lok

Ng Wah Lok has written over 100 songs in 23 years. His song “Every Time I Pray” written in 1981 is widely used in Asia. He has released 2 albums, “Every Time I Pray” and “Shining Stars”. He has also co-written 9 songs in the album “Favored Chick” by Barbara Tipper. He can be contacted at ngwl@pc.jaring.my. You can visit his website to read his other articles on music and songwriting.

( Ng Wah Lok 2002 All rights reserved.

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