I thought of this while posting in Glyn's "What do we want from critiques" thread. I didn't know whether to post it there or here but decided to do it here.

Maybe yall have some interesting memories of critiques you've received.

I remember two critiques I got from people on the row years ago.

In one of the songs, I used the words "lose ya" to rhyme with the "uh" sound that ends the word "Chattanooga." I loved it, thought it was great. They said I shouldn't use "ya." Then T.G. Sheppard did a song called "Doncha" and K.T. Oslin did "Do Ya." I went around for a while loudly complaining about how they said I couldn't use "ya" like Sheppard (who didn't write his song) and Oslin (who did write hers). I figured these critics didn't know what they were talking about. They were all against me!! So I changed it to "love your love."

Over time, I began to see some things more clearly. (1) It didn't really matter what I thought, they had the power and they weren't going for it. (2) Oslin and Sheppard were both performers with a track record of success while I was a newbie (3) Oslin and Sheppard's songs, while not novelty songs (at least Oslin's) were off the beaten path and mine was fairly mundane kind of stuff. (4) Finally, I have to admit, "lose your love" grew on me as being better than "lose ya."

The other song was about how life changes and things we want to escape can become things we miss. It took a little country image from youth to an adult image where a farm was sold to a big corporation. In this song, I used a line that said a woman was raped as a result of crime that came when the corporation came to the area. I'll never forget how the word "rape" instantly changed the mood from acceptance to disdain. I even remember the looks on some of the faces. Now, it wasn't a description of the act, it was just one line like "last week a woman I know was raped." To me, it was a good example of things that are more likely to happen when areas go from rural to urban but to everyone it meant one thing: an ugly ugly personal event no one wants to think about.

One of the songs I've enjoyed hearing was a song called "No Man's Land" written by Don Wayne recorded by Tanya Tucker. In it, a young girl is raped and the rapist goes to prison. The event so traumatized her she never had a relationship and was called "No Man's Land." In the end, well you can look it up. It was great writing in my opinion. So the problem with my song wasn't the mention of rape necessarily but it was such a jarring shift it didn't fit the song and there was no payoff.

Interesting thread.
I can relate several but what's the point. I have seen this happen right here and I have had it happen on more than one occasion in Nashville. That's why I don't pay any attention to these "experts" anymore.

One told me my song was not pitchable because I used Heart/Start in a rhyme. That same "expert' played a couple of her songs after the critique session and the first one had Heart/Start as the rhyme in the first two lines of the chorus. She was actively pitching the song.

On another occasion Love/Above was the Rhyme. I was told it would never get listened to after hearing that rhyme. Lo and Behold at the next session that same person played one of his songs. Guess what rhyme the first verse contained.

Then I had a song about an angry female. You can guess what the critique said about that one right before they played there own angry chick song.

Same with drinking songs. Yet Guess what our own Chris Young released as his first single.

Not a slam on Chris. I am a fan. It was just an example.

Critiques and critics, to me, are a guilty pleasure. I love to hear what people think of my songs, but I don't put much stock in their opinions, whether good, bad or indifferent. It's not like sex, where you better listen and learn how to please your partner if you want to be invited back.

Maybe at the earliest stages of a songwriter's development they can be helpful to teach you the fundamentals and structures of songs. But once you're up and running you have to develop your own thoughts and feelings about what makes a good song and then trust your instincts.

I write songs for my own personal satisfaction and enjoyment, not to please some audience. That's a different attitude from the one a performing musician or singer must have, where you better be concerned with pleasing and entertaining the audience or you'll soon find yourself without one.

To me, that's the big difference between performers and entertainers and those, like myself, who write songs just because we love to write songs. It's two different breeds of cat.

If you're a performer or entertainer, you'd better be more open to critiques, suggestions and requests from your audience and the people putting money into your pockets.

If you're writing songs for more personal reasons, you shouldn't be blown this way and that by the swirling winds of critiques and critics. Listen to them, yes, because they're always fun to read, even when they're ripping you. Maybe even learn something from them once in awhile, because a different perspective often opens up a different road to explore. Just don't let them overrule your own artistic and creative decisions and judgments.

I agree..Interesting Thread.

Dunno if songs about Rape'll ever be Big Hits...there IS something called the Common Denominator..& JMO, that's what us "Newbies" need to aim-for..IF, we're out to pen that First Hit.

&..finding a Subject, Genre, & Angle ALL can be improved/assisted by The Critics...be they a man on the street..or the so-called "Experts". What do THEY Like & WHY do they Like It?

Sure, you CAN pen 'em Just For Yourself...BUT..pays to listen..sometimes a LOT..to get that one that SELLS & Gets Airplay. (Listening to the ones that DO get Airplay CAN Save You a Lot of Time.) Reading the How-To Books is also great preparation..& you'd be amazed how few ever do.

Lastly, are YOU Critiquing OTHER folks' material? You can learn a lot about what You've Been Doing Wrong by criting What They've Been Doing. (I'm a lot LESS-Poetic as a result of reading so MANY overly-poetic lyrics.)

I'll add the early P.S. too: NOBODY has ALL The Answers. Songs that are VERY Different..& VERY Honest..have probably the best chances of "Making It"..as long as they're pleasant-enough to hear/preferably danceable, too.

All JMO..for whatever that's worth.
Best Wishes/Big Hugs
Stan

The big problem I see is critiques concentrating on lyrics.....in most songs nowadays lyrics are not that important...more important is the production and the melody......few people can remember more than a few lines from most chart songs...but they remember the tune, the beat, the arrangement and the slick production.
Most critiques dissect the lyrics but pay little attention to the meat and bones of the song. The bit that sells......and it sure is not the lyrics.

I love you but I beg to differ, Big Jim. I have been moved to tears over the lyrics of a song. It has to have the component of being believable or somehow weave it's way into my heart.

Although, I'm not a musician, it takes more than "just a melody" to make me want to listen intently to or to buy a cd for a song or two.

Music is certainly an important component to the success of a song but it is not the only thing that will make a song great. I was listening to some Loretta Lynn songs last night. The melodies were good but without her lyrics they could not stand alone. I have a great respect for Loretta. She is an amazing woman in more ways than one.

She is one of those artists that prove you don't have to be educated to be talented. The things she sang about were real and had mass appeal, obviously.

I have to disagree.....Whilst I accept what you say and agree that some folk are lyrically turned on.....that is not the norm. Most people fall into my scenario. Yes words are important and I PERSONALLY, like you, would rather see great lyrics AND great music that envoke all kinds of feelings and empathy from the listener. The public mostly only listen to the music......whilst capturing the odd word the lyrics usually go over their head.

"GA GA GA GA GA, GA GA GA GA GA".....to quote a RECENT pop lyric. Most folk could not tell you what the rest of the lyrics are or what the song is about. But it did RHYME...LOL.

If I'm not mistaken, T.G. Sheppard's "Doncha" came out in 1985 and K.T. Oslin's "Do Ya" came out in 1987. It's pretty interesting to find out that you were posting songs here for critiques several years before the World Wide Web even existed. I'm not trying to be a smarta$$ here, but I am curious.

Sausagelink, I apologize. I went back and realized that I missed where you said, "on the row". Oops.