Cold Chisel: Lyrics Any Copywriter Can Learn From


by Glenn Murray - Date: 2007-02-20 - Word Count: 607 Share This!

Anyone who's heard Jimmy Barnes sing/scream might instantly ask, "what's Cold Chisel got to do with copywriting?" Many would also ask, "why discuss the lyrics of a screaming pub-rock band?"

My answer? Cold Chisel's songwriters - particularly Don Walker and Ian Moss - were excellent writers; I wish I were half as good!

The very fact that you might question my choice shows how good they are; Cold Chisel enjoy the status of one of Australia's greatest ever pub rock bands, but most people - even fans - overlook the quality of their lyrics. That's because the lyrics do their job so well. They're elegant without being pretentious, and evocative without being 'soft'. They meet the needs of their audience perfectly. (And isn't that what every writer aspires to?)

Take, for example, "Bow River" (the song that inspired me to write about Cold Chisel today). Penned by Ian Moss, Bow River celebrates an escape to the Australian desert and the northern tropics.

But what's important about this song isn't so much the destination - although many Australians do identify with the Australian outback; it's the way in which Moss strikes a chord with the Australian working class. He successfully combines youthful romanticism, profanity, escapism, contempt for authority, slang, and visual, aural and tactile imagery. The result is an elegant piece of writing that captivates its target working class audience, yet still lends itself to fast-paced, raucous vocals and a hard rock arrangement.

Take a look at the lyrics below (quoted from the Cold Chisel website). Of course, as with all good song lyrics, you have to hear them in context to fully appreciate their inherent meter and timing, so whether it's your first time or - like me - you're revisiting after a long absence, it's well worth a listen... Bow River

Ian Moss Listen now to the wind babe
Listen now to the rain
Feel that water lickin' at my feet again
I don't wanna see this town no more
Wastin' my days on a factory floor
First thing you know I'll be back in Bow River again

Anytime you want babe, you can come around
But only six days separates me and the great top end
I been working hard, twelve hours a day
And the money I saved won't buy my youth again
Goin' for the heat babe, and a tropical rain
In a place where no man's puttin' on the dog for me
Waitin' on the weekend, set o' brand new tyres
And back in Bow River's just where I want to be

Listen now to the wind babe
Listen now to the rain
Feel that water lickin' at my feet again
I don't wanna see this town no more
Too many years made up my mind to go or stay
Right to my dying day
I don't wanna see another engine line
Too many years and I owe my mind
First set o' wheels headin' back Bow River again
First thing you know I'll be back in Bow River again

Got the motor runnin', got the rest of my days
Sold everything I owned for a song
So anytime you want babe, you can come around
But don't leave it too late you just might find me gone

Listen now to the wind babe . . .

I don't need the score
I'm goin' through the door
Gonna tell the man I don't want no more
Pick up a fast car and burn my name in the road
One week two week maybe even more
Piss all my money up against the damn wall
First thing you know I'll be back in Bow River again

Ah, it's music to a copywriter's ears (if not to the vocally trained).


Related Tags: copywriting, copywriter, audience, songwriting

* Glenn Murray is an SEO copywriter and article submission and article PR specialist. He is a director of article PR company, Article PR, and also of copywriting studio Divine Write. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at glenn@divinewrite.com. Visit DivineWrite.com or ArticlePR.com for further details, more FREE articles, or to download his FREE SEO e-book.

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