Your Take: The Importance of the Song Title

Two of my favorite song titles: ‘Seven Year Ache’ which is of course a play on the phrase ’seven year itch’ – and that’s exactly what the song is about, a philandering man. I’ve also always liked ‘It Ain’t Easy Being Easy’ as a song title – it’s just self-explanatory.

And I’ll admit to being drawn in by interesting titles. I’ve been known to scour iTunes and buy tracks just because they have cool titles.

I’d contend that there have been as many great songs with lousy titles as there have been lousy songs with great titles.

But among my favorite titles would be just about anything by Roger Miller. From silly- “My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died” to serious- “The Last Word in Lonesome is me”

I bought Neko’s cover of Tom Wait’s Postcard From A Hooker In Minneapolis just based on the title.

Sometimes a boring title will annoy me, but I love creative ones. Shania Twain has very interesting titles, like “Waiter! Bring Me Water!” One of my favorite song titles is “Lions, Tigers & Bears” by Jazmine Sullivan- a creative title can only be good, never bad.

Song titles are necessary indentifiers of each individual song, but they don’t affect my opinion of the quality of the music itself. I will admit that clever, humorous song titles may motivate me to take a chance on an unknown artist or one I’m just slightly cognizant of. Examples include “I’d Hate Me Too” by Dave Cox, “You’re Too Ugly To Be Cheating On Me” by J.R. and the Roadkill Choir, and even Trailer Choir’s “Rockin’ The Beer Gut”.

Interesting titles can help arouse interest -

John Hiatt’s ‘Since His Penis Came Between Us’

Tom Waits’ ‘What’s He Building In There?’

Gary Allan’s ‘Smoke Rings in the Dark’

The Rolling Stones’ ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’

Billy Thorpe’s ‘Most People I Know Think That I’m Crazy’

James Brown’s ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag’

All of them conjour up a unique piece of intangible imagery and provoke a curiosity that isn’t inherent in many great songs’ titles.

[Caveat: I think Craig Bickhardt is a great songwriter and one of the very best, most insightful songwriting teachers.]

What matters most, in my view, is the whole song, not the title.

Sometimes the title is the “last word”…in the sense that you’ve set up a lyric in the verse so that the first line of the chorus (often the title) is the perfect punchline to what came before. And, as with joke punchlines, a perfect title “punches” you emotionally or amusingly.

It should feel like the perfect thing to sing. Sometimes it’s perfect because it’s funny in itself, sometimes it’s perfect because it just FITS. Sometimes its sparseness or ordinariness creates a beautiful effect.

I’m afraid that we songwriters overvalue the ability of titles to draw in listeners. We wish they were that clever, but most listeners listen to what they know, or what comes up by chance on a video station or radio.

But I too love great titles…