Try using a brand name in one of your songs. Artists have used brand names in their lyrics for years and it’s because of this simple fact: brand names will always invoke more imagery than any adjective ever can. Now who do you see? What do they look like? Do you have a clear picture of their face? How are they standing? How do they carry themselves? I bet you have better, more descriptive answers for these questions when I use the brand Levi’s in the lyric. In your dirty old boots, your leather jacket, and your Levi’s Now let’s try that same thing with the actual lyric from the song: In your dirty old boots, your leather jacket, and your jeansĭid you imagine someone? This lyric has a fair amount of imagery on its own but did you get a crystal clear image of someone? What do they look like? Do you have a clear picture of their face? How are they standing? How do they carry themselves? Can you answer those questions definitively? Maybe, maybe not. You had a sinful little smile and a wild stormy look in your eyes, Let’s do the same experiment we did before - only this time, let’s try it with a lyric from my song “Burn Right Through.” Read the lyric below, close your eyes, and really try to imagine the character I am describing: The listener gets a clearer, more real image of the person I am describing. Suddenly, the adjectives I use to describe a pair of Levi’s (tough, timeless, classic, cowboy) actually describe the person in my song who is wearing them. Using the word “Levi’s” in a lyric immediately conjures the image that Levi’s has spent millions (or, more than likely, billions!) of dollars cultivating for over 150 years. Furthermore, that brand wants us to view the people who use or wear that brand in that very specific way, too. They position themselves in the market with commercials and ads hoping that we, the consumer, will view their product in a very specific way. Brands spend millions cultivating their image. Using brand names in songwriting is a powerful tool for two reasons.Īs a songwriter, my job is to pack three minutes with as much imagery as I can, both lyrically and musically. When I describe of a pair of Levi’s jeans, however, I use words like tough, timeless, classic, cowboy – words I associate more with the Levi’s brand than with a generic pair of jeans. I use words that describe the specific pair of jeans. I don’t know about you, but when I think of a generic pair of jeans, I use words like blue, denim, or maybe even ripped to describe them. Take a moment and think of some adjectives to describe a pair of Levi’s. ![]() Now, let’s do the same thing with the adjectives. ![]() Next, imagine a pair of Levi’s jeans (if you’re unfamiliar, you can read up about them here). Once you have the perfect pair in your mind’s eye, take a moment to list a few adjectives to describe them. ![]() Take a minute to imagine a generic pair of jeans.
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