Telling stories with verses

T

troythemac

New member
Arguably one of hte hardest things for any songwriter/mc to do. do you guys have any good ones? post up your best story verses, i will try to find some or write one in honor of this. i always love songs that tell stories, a la slick rick childrens story.
 
troythemac said:
Arguably one of hte hardest things for any songwriter/mc to do. do you guys have any good ones? post up your best story verses, i will try to find some or write one in honor of this. i always love songs that tell stories, a la slick rick childrens story.
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I usually get innovation from either reading books based on recording artists and the hip hop culture(Born To Use Mics, The Wu Tang Manual, The Way I Am;etc). Listening to golden era gets me in the mood (Fugee's The Score, Wyclef's The Carnival, Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Big Pun's Capital Punishmentm, The Shady LP or Eminem's Infinite, Its Dark And Hell Is Hot, Nas' Illmatic, De La Soul's 3 feet and Rising, MF Doom's Mf food;etc). It wasnt hard crafting a story out of rhymes once I became accustomed to picking up the pen daily. If you're into comic books you should try to paint a vivid picture of a spoken word graphic novel. Immerse the listener inside of a world told through your imagination. Try to pull off some Grand Theft Auto or Prototype free world visuals w/ your lyricism. You can be the hero, villian or the avid body snatcher jumping from person to person to person, all w/ the purpose of conveying that ill ****.
 
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well i've made a recent attempt, this might be seen more as a imagery then an evolving story (quality is up to you to decide...lolsy's)

Caravan of Ivory Frames:

upon illuminated plains of darkness
a tainted thought strips naked these frames part from flesh
the doom of hatred that proclaims it's harvest
in the garden that starved, and rebargained its offers
to the full coffers of a carcass, the merchants
that caravan through the clause of death, herding
tales of the beast as they sail through disceased
battalions and fleets of galleons at cease
as they made a feast out of the pain of all
they'd take there desert with a grain of salt
as dissolved was ambition, when he had it all
when man conquered the ocean, he'd walk in it's withdrawal
and amongst other poems of past omens
they'd turn there pile of bones into xylophones
play the funny ones to reconcile the tone
made there eternal home as they defiled the throne

this the story of a travelling man
both far and wide
peeks his glory at the gravel and sand
as his soul's stored inside
chambers of gold, thrones of mangled flesh
holds his old bones that he jangles with
his inner devil, which he cared to dance
forever instrumental to his caravan

trading to the cold of dark, from the heat of light
they wouldn't find rest or awakening, peace or life
only to cherish today, what would perish away
in palaces of bones they'd grace the merits of slaves
as the minstrels travel, falters by the anvil he leasures
bearing more of a weight as there shackled to there treasures
a path once paved in gravel, then gold, then to sand
alike the scimmed skins of lambs, it cleansed the lands

this the story of a travelling man
both far and wide
peeks his glory at the gravel and sand
as his soul's stored inside
chambers of gold, thrones of mangled flesh
holds his old bones that he jangles with
his inner devil, which he cared to dance
forever instrumental to his caravan

as she was infiltrated, raped, and deserted
she was nature who nurtured, this hate, and perverted
from love and affection to lust and contention
to assumptions and dead ends, the ecumbrance of heavens
the plunderings of fallen angels that gave birth to a hell
the callings of the faithful to curse and repel
the passing, the ones unscathed by creaking of bones
the apeasement tombs, enthroned in weep and atone
 
my inspiration mostly come through by my own experiences,the thought in the momentum,stories from friends. Based often on emotions......for example I wrote a song by thinking of the break-up from my girlfriend......on that day it haven´t even took more then 10 minutes to write down my thoughts....own line came after another ......on other days you don´t even know if you first start with the melody and than with the text or otherwise.
I would give u an example what I mean, but most of my songs or better poems are in German..... I just started to write songs and poems in English^^
 
So now I'm finally back on this planet called Earth.
It is the place I got jacked from the place of my birth.
Intergalactic bandits picked me up as a prank, but
I bet they never thought big bang would have his shank.
stabbed one in the eye another in the neck
who would have thought this was a sign of respect
they took me to their leader so I could see what was up
he said that I could live if I would drink from the cup
so first I took a sip then I slammed that ish down
my eyes turned to slits so i had to sit down
I started freaking out, but they told me not to fuss
that's when they said, "Cuz, now your one of us"
sit back and relax cus now your immortal
set hyperspeed max and jump into this portal.
 
Some bull**** that Imma key style for you

I'm the demon w/ dominion in my gauntlet of pimpin
If Alice gives me brain it'll be off her britches
I aint into goth lore or the nostic type ****, but
but I got a concentration camp where Iock up my *******
I take novakane for stress because it softens my itches
I knew that i was blessed before I fondled my inches
my cannabitch is losin iron so she gobbled my liver
12:30, I was dyin if you followed my twitter

I could go on and on for days off of some bull**** like this. You'll become accustomed to story telling if you keep at it.
 
troythemac said:
wow bigwon that ish was straight up amazing
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thank you for those kind words! I've just remembered one other lyric i've written a while back..not too far..but i'd say this is on similar grounds with the other one. Don't worry i'll refrain from clogging the thread up with any more.

Both Sides of the Barrel.

Born on high noon, his eyes opened at midnight
sworn to take and give light, in the midst of a fight
forced to measure worth, whether truth whether lie
and whether rich or deprived, he'd sift through there lives
and to testify with god, was dance with the devil
no allegiance to set he kept his hands to his pistol
no one to hang with, no one to show him the ropes
as he only trusted himself, and the going was good
and whatever the just is he'd abide to justice
kept a clever remark for when he'd bite the dust as
the bounty on him dead, kept the counties alit
everyone from sheriffs to (women slang) wanted his head
only comfort in death, with ambushes in full beds
skimming clusters of bullets he lived life to the fullest
he felt the heat at it's coldest, but kept his muscle strong
From Dusk till dawn he'd keep his hustle on

learns from life as he plays with death
tries to reap the awards
whether on peace pipe, or cancer stick
he's ready to unsheath for war
devils arise, as the angels fall
and he's hated by either or
living on both sides of this peril
on both sides of the barrel

whether inspiring the rebels or the accord of the law
firing there metal was the only award that he saw
so for the lore that he'd start, he was a source of a star
and of course a kept art for when he was forced to draw
and as many settled to call the rebel a fool's soul
he gone ahead and cheated the devil with fool's gold
only followed christ's symbol as he'd crossed the lines
another way to put fire and water defined
Sometimes a bad aim but always a good shot
from town squares, to villages, to the saloons and pubs
as well as blood spread in chapels, to talley his rep
he made a red canal out of the valley of death
and in a stallions breath he treads into the winds
and If he was saint to us he'd be a sinner to them
The Quiet bark that bites hard as a D-O-G
So may a God bless his soul as he sleeps on his feet

learns from life as he plays with death
tries to reap the awards
whether on peace pipe, or cancer stick
he's ready to unsheath for war
devils arise, as the angels fall
and he's hated by either or
living on both sides of this peril
on both sides of the barrel
 
kk i'll drop 1 more to keep it going...this one's a scrapped one, but has some narrative in it.

Cruising Atlantis:

aside the still of a pond, surrounded by concrete and steel
I fell asleep concealed, under a tree's arm until
i awoke on a free country hill, my panic on call
as desire was once revealed the canvas unrolled
under the sun shaped as gold, the clouds face of woal
i felt the soul beneath my feet as they scraped the soil
the landscapes of old, and to the paved stone to my right
i saw my jade coloured bentley, and made it my ride
twisting the keys in ignition, unleashing the engine
nodding my head to the system, the beats and the rythmns
i went in ease, rolling through monuments of magic
upon this continent of the lavish
and to the capital city, i saw it's mystical beauty
truly the visuals juicy, like there city girl booty
my head's up, as i paraded the street
within the enchants of atlantis's charade of mystique


 
I just wrote a whole album in STORY TELLING format. Which like you said is hard. What made it even harder for me was that I referenced other emcees who's work I was influenced by in Hip Hop to create al album that is a metaphor for what Hip Hop is for me.

This is the 3rd song on the album which was a tribute to EPMD:







You can here and read all the lyrics to the project on my website, ominousred.com
 
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http://www.divshare.com/download/10869960-5cc

^Audio. Be patient theres about a minute in between verses.

death falls silent but its screamin like a ****in siren
a person heard it but they never spoke of word of it
tragedy occurrence that was never found or heard about
three decadeds later discovered by a little boy
at a house in some woods that was filled with toys
too young to see the warning signs that were all around
surrounded by some gross **** that had gone down
hold up lets make it clear of what im talkin about
there was this man he was ****in drunk and had a gun
his wife had came home late and the fight begun
she started screamin and told the man that she was leavin
taking baby girl and that he would probably never see em
hes enranged yell his words coming our slurred
points the shotty at her face but shes a blur
knife to his chest hes down on his knees a blast goes off
2 dead the only witness is the baby girl

reverse to the first verse it hurts to immerse
myself in my own my memories brain my own enemy
9 years old, stumbled on this little house in the woods
door unlocked, mischief got the best of me i stood
in the doorway my nose leading to the kitchen
floor creakin but the silence is ear splittin
take steps can hear the fear in my breath my body shakin
next thing i saw is the reason for my achin
one two i counted three bodies on the floor
thats bein generous not really bodies anymore
teeth and bones, i'd seen it in the movies before
this is real ****, my legs carryin me out the door
screamin but i dont even know it, strangers house
yellin 911 im dizzy and i show it for real
falling sensation i cant breathe my legs spazzing
5 am wakin up night terrors again

Thinking of adding a verse in the middle from the dad/husbands perspective
 
I never thought I would be this way
This life that I live - pain pain pain.
But what doesn't kill me will only get me stronger
the stronger I am the harder I hit
To be the best, you must be willing to work.
work harder than the next, the next n the next
till you get noticed and then your true journey begins.

I believe in miracles, calling on angles
do they hear my words, my prays,
do they ever spare a thought for me,
cos I spend many days honing my craft,
I wish I could be there now.
I wish I could win somehow.
I believe in miracles.
cos I believe in me doing what I do to
make beats, spit rhymes, make friends
One love. yea.
Peace.
 
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