Writing Pop Song Lyrics

Jane Joritz-Nakagawa

University of Information and Library Science, Tsukuba City

Additionally, this activity can simultaneously draw upon a number of student "intelligences" such as verbal, interpersonal, and musical. See Gardner (1993) for a discussion of multiple intelligences.

Procedure

1. Have the students seated in pairs, or groups of four to be broken into pairs. (If there is an odd number of students, one group of three can be used.) Ask students to brainstorm, individually or in pairs/groups, what they think are the ten most common words (e.g. yume/dream) or phrases (e.g. tori no yo ni/like a bird) in Japanese pop song lyrics. Ask them to jot down both the Japanese words/phrases, in Roman letters, and their English translations. I give a time limit for this activity of about ten minutes. Time limits and other aspects of the activity can be adjusted up or down to suit the level of the class.

2. After students have generated lists, randomly choose students or group representatives to write their ideas on the blackboard, enough so that you will have roughly ten or so items on the board. Instruct students not to write a word or expression that has already been written -- in other words, the items written on the board must all be distinctly different.

3. Once the words/expressions are on the board, erase the Japanese equivalents so that only the English words/phrases remain.

4. Now, ask students to write a pop song in pairs by passing a paper back and forth, where one student writes one line and the other writes the next line, alternating in this way until the song reaches eight to twelve lines of lyric. Students are instructed to use as many of the words on the blackboard as they can (all, if possible) in their English pop song lyrics. Give a time limit such as 15 to 25 minutes.

5. When the pairs finish or time is up, ask them to create a title for their song. Also, have students share their completed lyrics with other pairs. Similarities and differences, favorite lines, etc., can be discussed.

Examples of student work

All the songs below were written during 15-20 minutes of class time after the ten-minute brainstorming activity described above.
Key words/phrases for Songs #1 and #2 below were: yesterday, outside, friend, snow, you, star, wing, rain, night, brave, why, wind, sky, and love

Song #1

"My Star"
Rain is falling from the dark sky
It reminds me of you
I have been waiting for you outside the town
The wind is cold. The rain has changed to snow
Why don't you come here?
You promised yesterday night
I love you more than anything else
If I had wings, I would be brave enough to go to you

Song #2

"Brave My Heart"
Yesterday, I saw you by chance
Why did I see you?!
I love you, but you don't know my feeling
Because we are ordinary friends
I think about you every night
It rains in my heart
I want to be your lover
I wish the stars would carry my feeling to him

The key words/phrases for Songs #3 and #4 below were: feelings, love, you, warmth, memory, night, rain, eternal, miss you, and tell you.

Song #3

"Longing For Your Love"
How long has it been raining?
Your warmth is becoming a memory
Have I told you that I still love you?
As the night comes once more
My feelings burn again which I can't stop
Who are you with right now?
I believe that our love was eternal.
I miss you...

Song #4

"Even Raining"
The leaves turn red and yellow.
And I'm thinking about tomorrow
The day I can meet you
It will take away my feeling of blue
Even if it will be raining
Just your smile makes me sing

Additional Activities

Following are other activities my students have done that can precede or follow the above activity:

1. Students bring English song lyrics they have found on their own to present and discuss with the class. These lyrics can be original lyrics, lyrics originally written by someone else in English, or a student's translation of lyrics from a different language into English. Discussions can focus on themes, favorite lines, devices, etc.
2. Students working alone or in pairs work on a translation into English of a Japanese pop song. Later, students/pairs compare with other students/pairs. A composite translation can subsequently be made of the "best" parts of all translations. Two easy Japanese language songs I recommend for this purpose, written by Yoshii Kazuya of the popular Japanese rock/pop band The Yellow Monkey, are included in the references below. More difficult songs can be used for a more advanced class.
3. Students complete a cloze of an English pop song, filling in the cloze blanks with any words or phrases that appeal to them. Later, clozes are compared with other students and subsequently with the original work. One song I have used very successfully in this fashion appears in the references below (see McCarron, 1999).
4. Students create oral or written reports or discussions/debates about favorite musicians and songs.
5. Students create songs with vocal melodies and English lyrics and perform them in class.

Variations

This activity is suitable for anyone familiar with the lyrics of Japanese pop songs; therefore, it might be especially appropriate for teens and young adults (e.g., junior high school to university). As a variation for older students, rather than J-pop the model could be, for example, Japanese enka. For children, the model could be children's songs.

Conclusion

The above activity is a fun and easy activity that challenges students' use of a variety of English, and employs other creative skills as well.

References

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: the theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.

McCarron, A. (1999). Because today [Recorded by Swimmer]. On Surreal [CD]. Beverly Hills: Maverick Records.

Yoshii, K. (1998). Hanareruna [Recorded by The Yellow Monkey]. On Punch drunkard [CD]. Tokyo: BMG Funhouse.

Yoshii, K. (2000). Brilliant world [Recorded by The Yellow Monkey]. On Brilliant world [CD]. Tokyo: BMG Funhouse.