How to tell a story in a handful of verses

Shoutout to Ri_Ya and Pixabay.com

In this article you’ll learn about:

•INTRODUCTION: Why use Imagery?
•What is Imagery in songwriting?
•Types of Imagery devices (Follow your senses)
•Examples of popular songs that use imagery really well!

Music is a beautiful device that connects the listener to a whole different world, full of majestic sounds, beautiful textures and a rich language, with stories that pull audiences closer to the writer’s mind state and put them into the scenes depicted.

But one, If not the main factor that separates songs that climb charts and win the critical acclaim from subpar tracks is the ability to paint a detailed picture of the powerful statements that accompany the sonic landscape of your favorite records.

From using metaphors comparing someone’s eyes to the moon to describing the slamming of a door, the cold wind on her hair, the taste of our tears or the smell of death, the use of imagery is an essential tool every songwriter should have If they want to connect with their audiences and make a song more than a beat with words.

That’s why, if you want to succeed, keeping a vast library of visual resources in your arsenal is a main priority to make your tracks genuine pieces of art through relatable writing, resources that you’ll learn about here. Without further ado, let’s begin:

What is imagery in songwriting?

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When you read a passage from your favorite novel, you’ll notice that its paragraphs contain descriptions of the physical world, from the smell of a plant to the way the clouds look. This is done to make you feel more immersed in the journey of the characters that the writer presents and, in the case of songwriters, keep your attention.

Imagery is the use of words and phrases that stimulate the spectator’s senses to bring a deep sense of empathy and amplify the emotions that the listener feels upon hearing of an event that happened in the song. This can be reached with verbs, adjectives and nouns.

This means that whenever you hear “The smell of acrid smoke and horses’ breath”, what the artist’s doing is bringing you closer to the action by giving you a detailed tale of how everything feels, increasing your level of investment with the story and providing you with a better view of everything.

Types of Imagery Devices

You might think that imagery is limited only to our sight, but this is far from reality. Whatever device evokes a vivid picture in the listener’s mind through the senses can be categorized as imagery, even internal sensations. Examples of these are:

SIGHT

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The most common use of imagery is always associated to the way we see things, as for a vast majority of us, this is the sense we rely in the most. This can be associated to the way we see colors, the proximity of someone and the emotions that faces convey. Demonstrations of these are:

• I saw the regret just in the way you looked at me.
• Your tears look closer from the rearview.
• The blade of the knife shinier than your white lies.

HEARING

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Another popular choice by songwriters whenever they are trying to depict a scene. Hearing is a really versatile sense, as It can tell us about the emotions and intentions of someone by just hearing their tone of voice and also describe external events. Examples of this:

• Heard the heavy rain hit the roof like bricks
• Knew from your grunts that this wouldn’t last.

TOUCH

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What better way to say that It isn’t the same that to say “Your hands have never been colder”? Touch is a great imagery tool, as It also helps convey emotion and sensations, adding to the weight of the song. Examples:

• The cold from the ground went up my drunken spine.
• Felt the hesitation in your not so soft kisses.

SMELL

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Even If it’s not used as much as Sight, Smell can be really effective when trying to convey a scene quickly. The fragrance of a perfume or even an abstract metaphor where you smell the words they keep. Examples of these can be:

• The smell of wet sand brought me back my teenage years.
• The scent of sin permeated your skin.

TASTE

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Usually more reserved for abstract sensations that add up to the weight of a story, taste is useful when you want to talk about internal states such as heavy emotions.

Examples:

• Finally knew what success tasted like.
• Not even liquor masks the bitterness of losing you.

INTERNAL PROCESSES

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Unlike the senses, internal reactions are connected to the way our body reacts internally to anything that happened. Examples of this can be:

• Felt my Adam’s apple go up my throat.
• My stomach told me she wasn’t the right one.

EXAMPLES OF IMAGERY IN POPULAR SONGS

Now that we know how imagery is used in the context of songwriting and the many iterations It has, we can begin to take a look at some of the most popular songs and analyze one of the reasons of their success: The use of sensorial metaphors, all to find how you can come up with the next storytelling anthem.

GEORGE MICHAEL – CARELESS WHISPER

I feel so unsure
As I take your hand
And lead you to the dance floor
As the music dies
Something in your eyes
Calls to mind a silver screen
And all its sad goodbyes

Even If what this verse’s really referring to is sex, we can’t deny the masterful use of imagery that George used in this song. In the last part of the first verse, he tell us how, when he looks at the eyes of the person who he cheated on his partner with, all he can see is his significant other breaking up with him, this in just 3 lines.

JOHNNY CASH – HURT

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

This song was originally written by Trent Reznor from Nine Inch nails to talk about his feelings of desolation, but when performed by Johnny Cash, It gained a whole new meaning. In the first verse he reflects on his past and how he hurts himself to remember what real feelings are.

The best example of imagery in this song is in this section:

The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting

Even If It sounds ambiguous at first, upon further examination and taking into consideration Mr. Cash’s past as a drug addict, one can realize that these two lines have a double meaning. The first is that whenever he feels a needle or a sting, this remembers him of the time he did heroin. The second, that the remorse for actions of times long gone still haunt him, a sad portrait that the listener can visualize.

PHIL COLLINS - IN THE AIR TONIGHT

Well, if you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand
I've seen your face before, my friend
But I don't know if you know who I am
Well, I was there and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies

When he wrote it, Phil Collins didn’t even know what or who this song was directed to. However, during that time he was going through his first divorce and he was at a songwriting session, where he played some chords he liked and began to sing, improvising all the lyrics.

Even if this song could have multiple interpretations, If we take It as a story, this is a precious demonstration of the use of Imagery, where someone chooses not to save another person from drowning out of spite, because he knows about something that the other individual’s hiding, getting us deeply invested, both because of the use of the first person narrative and the use of visual imagery that make It all the more effective.

Telling a whole movie in a handful of verses is a skill in Itself, and It can make all your compositions gain a whole new level of depth, helping you stand out from all the bland attempts at songwriting.

That’s why I encourage you to put into practice the use of imagery in your songs right away, all so you can see the amount of power a couple of details can add to your pen game, giving you a headstart over everyone in this beautiful art. Thank you for your support and good luck!

Pages used for research:
https://www.secretsofsongwriting.com/2016/05/11/creating-a-multitude-of-emotions-through-imagery/#:~:text=Imagery%20is%20a%20powerful%20tool,and%20reactions%20in%20the%20listener.
https://www.secretsofsongwriting.com/2021/12/21/creating-a-more-effective-song-lyric-with-imagery/