Nothing New Under The Sun? Uniqueness Vs. Originality in Songwriting

This is a follow up post to Get Over It: There Is Nothing New Under The Sun

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc. 1:9)

So you want to be an original songwriter, eh? Odds are slim to none that that’s not gonna happen. But don’t fret you can be, and should pursue being a UNIQUE songwriter.

What’s the difference?

Some would say semantics, but I think not.

ORIGINAL

Original means the first. I’m sure there is an original songwriter somewhere along the timeline of history. I mean somebody had to write the first song at least once in history, right?

But you might say, but rap music didn’t come around until the 20th century, somebody originated that, right? Sure, you can look at it that way. But that person did NOT originate the SONG. They are not the first person to write a song. They are not the first person to write poetry and put it to music. It’s ALL been done before.

I’m pretty sure that person isn’t you and it isn’t me, so let’s just move that notion out of the way.

UNIQUE

Being UNIQUE in songwriting is a far more realistic and attainable goal. Why?

Unique doesn’t mean being the first to do something. It means doing what you do in a way that carries your own personal flavor. It bears your mark. But what is YOUR mark? What is YOUR flavor?

It’s a combination of the things you have seen, heard, and experienced throughout your lifetime. It is the music and lyrics you’ve heard and sung. It’s a mashup of every influence, big and small, that played a part in shaping who you are.

GENRES/STYLE

You can “create” a new genre. You can even “originate” a new style of music. But honestly, if you look at the end result, I guarantee you that it’s just a UNIQUE expression of something that has come before. In reality, it’s not truly original. In a private response to the previous post about nothing being new under the sun, a person disagreed with me and agreed with me at the same time. The disagreement was over genres and styles of music.

They said that “rap rock” wasn’t heard of in the past, and someone did it and they are “original” because of it. I say no, they are just expressing a UNIQUE combination of styles (rap and rock) that have already come before.

Question:

• Was Elvis Presley original or unique?

I say UNIQUE. He definitely wasn’t original, even though we have this notion that he is the “King.” If you listen to him with open ears you can hear the MANY, MANY influences from his small town, southern upbringing. He just mashed them all up and expressed them uniquely.

UNIQUE SONGWRITING

So, when writing music. Don’t pursue originality. Like I said in the previous post, there is nothing new under the sun. What’s been said has been said again. Pursue UNIQUENESS. I truly believe that if you will just be who you are (allowing your influences to shape you) and do what you do, you will be effective.

Write what you write. But write intelligently. Music doesn’t move people because it’s original…and on a deeper level, it doesn’t move people because it’s unique.

For example, think about that rusty old “art” sculpture that every town has. I’m sure that 7.2 people think it’s nice and pretty, but seriously, what purpose does it actually serve. It is probably unique (but metal scultpure has been done before), but I bet it doesn’t move people because most people look at it and go…what is that even there for.

Music is the same way. Sure, you can throw the “but I just write to express myself” argument out there. I’m sure there are artists who create art only as an expression of their personal creativity. But let’s be honest, if it’s an expression of your personal creativity and you could care less if anyone else likes it, then why express it outwardly anyways? Why paint? Why sculpt? Why write songs?

We ALL know that artists make art (at least on some level) because they want to express their creativity to, for, and around others. It’s just the truth.

Music moves people because they can relate to it. There is something about it that they just inherently understand. That being said, if you ad lyrics that are trite and don’t make any connection on any level, then NOONE will connect to your music.

So say what you’ve got to say, but BE UNIQUE. Be you.

We’ve already got Tomlin, Crowder, and Redman running around in the modern worship arena. What we need is a little more YOU!

* Edit for clarity’s sake: I’m SPECIFICALLY talking about the actual WRITING of songs here, NOT genres and styles of music.