Audiance For Songwriting

When I write a song, I draw off of personal life experiences and/or storytelling. However, I also try to keep the lyrics abstract so that they may appeal to larger audiences (forming inside jokes/people/place/etc). Basically, the more personal I make lyrics, the more confusing they become but also closer to heart. I want want my lyrics to mean something to those who hear them, rather than sit and explain what they mean to me.

So my question is: when you write lyrics, do you write more for yourself or primarily for the people who may listen to your song?

I write for the people who feel like I do.

Well, every person is kinda unique. So if you make lyrics that is close to your heart and mean something to you, dont mean that listener most cases do feel same.

So I think that if you like to do lyrics for big audience, you must pick subject for your lyrics that touch bigger audience. What those are. I dont know. Maybe Love, Politics, War, Misery and some emotional states.

Listener also might not understand the meaning if you use many visionary words, so that is to think do you want segment your lyrics to onekind of audience or wide audience and pick your style to that, Visionary or regular texts.

There are some artists that write extremely vaguely as Empirism has pointed out, so that the idea behind the song is the same, a love story, finding yourself, or thelike, but the topic is not clear.

A perfect example of some Christian Rock bands. Some leave out the main idea of their story, the love for god, or the following of his word. They talk about finding someone to pull them from under a rock, but who does it? Does God do it? Your girlfriend? Your parents? Your friends? It leaves the topic open to interpretation, thus hitting a larger audience.

Very well said, Jeff.

However, there are some Christian Rock bands who never mention the word "God", or "Lord", but still make pretty obvious references.