5 More Handwritten Lyrics by Music’s Greats
By: Ivan Munoz
Our handwriting is as unique as our fingerprint, or the sound of our voice, so it’s no surprise that society has a deep fascination with signatures and autographs. We’ll intently peer into the bulletproof glass case holding The Bill of Rights in Philadelphia, not just because of it’s historical significance, but the feeling of connection we get to the past and the realization to how close we truly are to those who’ve written it. The written word is a form of identity much like saying your own name, so we’ve compiled 5 more handwritten lyrics of some amazing songs for you to enjoy. Along with some classics, this time we’ll be examining some more contemporary songs that we all love and have formed the soundtrack of our lives. Read on to get an insight into the artist’s personal creative process!
1. Billie Jean
Micheal Jackson (1988)
You could say that Micheal’s birth as The King of Pop took place when he officially debuted Billie Jean at Motown 25 in March of 1983. This was a celebration of 25 years of Motown, and Jackson was sure to make his mark not only as a Motown Veteran, but as a modern pop maestro; and he certainly did. It is here that he debuted the sequined glove AND the moonwalk. The Billie Jean performance shows his energy and dedication like no other. Believe it or not, after this legendary show, he was upset because he didn’t feel like it was good enough; a true artist, never fully satisfied. After reading these hand lyrics, hastily scrawled on four pieces of paper, you realize that Micheal knew he was creating something huge. His mind was working so quickly hammering out his new song that his hand could barely keep up. And just like that, in a flash, one of the biggest songs of the 80s (and of all time) was composed.
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit
Nirvana (1991)
Kurt Cobaine’s early lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit show the creative process of making a song in it’s nascent stage. Did you know that the title of this song came from deodorant? The story goes that his girlfriend at the time spray-painted “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on his wall. Not realizing she was referring to his deodorant, inspiration struck. So, Kurt set off to make the ultimate pop song inspired by one of his favorite groups, The Pixies. The troubled figurehead of the 90s grunge movement did just that, creating the archetypal, and widely renowned, grunge hit we all know and love to this day. On the left side of the page, you could see that the words are written with an upward slant, an interesting visual element to the particular example of lyrics. It can be deduced that is because Cobaine was left-handed and needed to angle his hand in such a way that it did not hit the spirals of the notebook with his hand when writing. There are other, more complete, copies of the written lyrics to this song out there, however I chose to showcase this one as it’s the most interesting. With doodles, crossed out lyrics, and a stream-of-consciousness like log of all the thoughts and ideas, it shows the creative process of songwriting playing out in real time.
3. Rebel Rebel
David Bowie (1974)
One of Bowie’s bigger hits and the most popular song from 1974’s Diamond Dogs is Rebel Rebel. From it’s instantly recognizable intro guitar hook and driving beat, to its provocative lyrics and captivating melody, this song gave “catchy” a whole new meaning. The bulk of this (what could be defined as a) proto-punk glam-rock album was written while Bowie was on tour with the US. Here we can see that the lyrics were written in two colors. Presumably in pink marker first, and then finished off later in blue pen. Bowie left some space for line’s he hadn’t quite come up with in pink marker, and then finished them up and made amendments to the lyrics with the blue pen. It’s really cool to see him honing in on the perfect combination of words and ideas to convey perfectly the message he was looking to put out there. And by the sounds of it, and as time has proven, he was more than successful with this endeavor.
4. Lost Souls
Tupac Shakur (1997)
The song on this list that has the most about of lyrics is Tupac’s 1997 Lost Souls. This song made it’s appearance in the movie Gang Related that not only features Shakur’s music, but stars him as well, as a protagonist alongside of Jim Belushi; both of whom portray crooked cops. While there are a lot of lyrics here, if you read along with them while listening to the song, you can really see the method. Each line on the paper is a verse (single metrical unit) of the song. The cadence of the lyrics are perfectly complemented by the ostinato synth bassline. Discussing themes of police discrimination, inequality in the justice system, and topics of personal identity, it appears as though this was written in a single session, when he was inspired to create a song the tackled these topics. This song not only served to be autobiographical but was very germane to the subject matter of the movie it is featured in as well.
5. My Life
Billy Joel (1978)
Billy Joel’s 1978 hit My Life is a declaratory anthem about a man finding his own way, being himself, and pursuing his passion. In some ways it’s a story of an old friend, but in other ways it can almost be interpreted as an autobiographical song too. Did you know that this song features Chicago’s Peter Cetera and Donnie Dacus on backup vocals during the bridge and outro? Gotta love musical fun facts! If you look at many Joel lyrics, especially from around this period, most of them are written in a spiral-bound notebook. You can also see through the translucence of the page that there is writing not only on the back side of this page, but on the other pages in the notebook. Considering this was right around the one of the higher points of his career, it’s safe to say he was having a writing hot streak!
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About The Author
Ivan Munoz is a musician, bassist, singer, musicians advocate, and member of the Victor Talking Machine Company. Along with this Ivan can be found devoting his time to various musical projects, compositions, and working on musical instruments. Click the photo for more!