Lyric Writing For Dummies

I'm listening to the radio, and that song by The Killers comes on... you know the one.

"I've got SOUL but I'm not a SOLDIER!" (repeat. a lot)

What does that even mean? Last time I checked, one was not required to be a James Brown impersonator to get into the army. In fact, I think they discourage that.

And it's not even a little throw-away lyric either. It's the biggest hook of the song. It's the lyric you would sing to the hapless min-wager at HMV if you (like myself) did not know the title of the song and (unlike myself) wanted to buy the album. See, to me, it's the same deal as singing

"I've got LICE but I'm not a LICENSED PRACTITIONER OF NEUROSURGERY"

See? Not so good.