How to Write Adult Standards Lyrics

You want words that feel like a cigarette lit slow and a spotlight finding you in a velvet room. Adult standards are songs people hum at the end of a classy night. They are for late nights, long looks, and older souls who want a story told plain and elegant. This guide gives you the toolkit to write lyrics that sound lived in, emotionally crisp, and easy for a singer to wear like a tailored suit.

This is written for songwriters who want to craft lyrics that stand the test of time. You will learn the difference between story and mood, how to write for classic forms such as thirty two bar AABA, how to shape prosody for a jazz phrasing, and how to make language that is both sophisticated and relatable. We will explain industry terms so you never nod along pretending to understand. Real life scenarios and exercises will get you writing right now.

What Are Adult Standards

Adult standards are songs drawn from the classic American songbook and related repertoires. Think Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday and their peers. These songs are not a genre bound by tempo or instrumentation. They are a style of songwriting that prioritizes lyrical clarity, melodic elegance, and emotional honesty aimed at grown up listeners.

• Common themes include love, longing, memory, travel, regret, celebration, and soft cynicism.
• Typical forms include thirty two bar A A B A, verse and chorus shapes, and extended ballad forms.
• Sonic textures range from sparse piano and voice to small combos with brass and strings. The lyric must sound good whether the arrangement is bare or lush.

Terminology You Will See

Let us define the key terms so you do not fake your way through studio conversations.

• A A B A This is the classic thirty two bar form. Each letter represents a section of eight bars. The A sections share the same melody and often similar lyrics. The B section is the bridge or middle eight that offers contrast and then the final A returns to the main idea.
• Prosody Prosody means how words fit the music. It is about which syllables get emphasis and how natural speech rhythm maps to melody.
• Topline The topline is the main vocal melody. Sometimes a lyric comes first. Other times the melody comes first. You will write to either situation.
• Cadence A cadence is the musical or lyrical moment that feels like an end. In lyrics it can be a punctuation point, a long vowel, or a word that breathes.
• Hook The hook is the memorable line or melodic gesture that people hum later. In adult standards the hook is often lyrical as much as melodic.

What Makes an Adult Standard Lyric Work

Adult standards reward craft and restraint. The lyrics tend to be economical and image rich. They prefer implication to explanation. A great lyric will say less but mean more and will sound conversational when sung.

• Clear emotional center Pick one main feeling that every line or image returns to.
• Concrete details Use objects and scenes to evoke feelings without naming the feeling every line.
• Elegant language Use words that feel lived in but not self conscious. Luxury is in the small precise verb.
• Singable lines Keep syllable counts comfortable. Leave room for breath and subtle rubato.
• Contrast Use the bridge to offer a different perspective rather than more of the same.

Voice and Persona

Adult standards often sound like a monologue to one person. Decide who is talking and why they are talking now. Are they confessing, reminiscing, or teasing? The persona can be sincere, wry, manipulative, or resigned. The trick is to be convincing.

Real life scenario

• You are thirty nine and five years out of a messy relationship. You meet your ex at a mutual friends dinner. That evening provides the raw material for a song of polite revenge and sad acceptance. The lyric could be amused not bitter. That voice will carry authenticity.

Form Choices for Adult Standards

Pick a form that matches the song intent. A slow intimate confession often wants a verse plus refrain shape. A conversational story or a memory may live best in thirty two bar A A B A. Fast swinging numbers can still use the same forms with a different rhythmic feel.

Thirty Two Bar A A B A

This format is a mainstay. The A sections establish the hook. The B section changes the mood, often shifting the lyric perspective or revealing a new detail. Return to A to land the promise. The B gives the listener the sense of a journey that returns home.

Verse and Chorus

Use this when you want a repeating chorus line that acts like a refrain. The verse tells the story. The chorus states the main idea in concise, repeatable language.

Through Composed

Less common but powerful for narrative songs. Each section introduces new melody and new lyric. It avoids repetitiveness and is useful for stories that need forward motion without return.

How To Pick Your Theme and Title

The title in this style should be succinct and evocative. It can be a phrase or a proper noun. Titles can be the emotional thesis or a concrete image that symbolizes the feeling. Aim for one clear idea.

Examples

• Moonlit Taxi
• After Midnight
• He Said That Once
• Room Service

Real life scenario

Your grandmother calls you at two in the morning from a hotel room. She says she is fine and then cries about a lost chance at love she had when she was young. That detail, hotel room at two in the morning, becomes a title like Hotel at Two. That concreteness makes the lyric human.

Language, Diction and Word Choice

Adult standards use words that sound natural when sung slowly. Avoid slang that dates quickly. Avoid clunky multi syllable words that strain a singer in a low register. Choose verbs that move, nouns that anchor, and adjectives that whisper instead of shout.

Guidelines

• Prefer action verbs over abstract nouns. It is better to write I fold your sweater than I feel abandoned.
• Use contractions to sound conversational. Do not overuse them so the lyric feels lazy.
• Keep vowel friendly words for held notes. Open vowels such as ah, oh, and ay are easier to sustain.
• Avoid clunky consonant clusters at line ends that will make breath awkward for the singer.

Prosody and Singability

Prosody is king. A line that reads beautifully on the page can fall apart when sung if the stress pattern fights the melody. Test every line by speaking it at normal speed and then singing it on the melody. Wherever the spoken stress and sung stress conflict rewrite.

Exercise

1. Write a four line verse.
2. Speak the lines aloud and mark the naturally stressed syllables.
3. Sing the lines on any melody you like and mark where the musical beats fall.
4. Adjust words so strong syllables land on strong beats or long notes.

Rhyme, Meter and Internal Rhyme

Rhyme in adult standards is usually tasteful and not overworked. Use rhyme for lift not for show. Internal rhyme can create a whisper like quality. Rhyme at the line end carries weight so use it to land a phrase with authority.

Techniques

• Use imperfect rhymes or slant rhymes to avoid sounding cloying.
• Use internal rhyme for conversational flow. Example classic phrasing is I saw you standing, city lights landing on your face.
• Vary line length to keep the singer and listener engaged. Do not lock every line into the same syllable count unless you are intentionally building a chant.

Imagery and Metaphor

Metaphors in adult standards work best when they reveal character. Avoid grand metaphors unless you can make them specific. A simile that feels like a memory beats an abstract comparison every time.

Example

Instead of my love burned like a fire write my love was a cigarette in the rain meaning it kept going but got smaller each night. This tells a story and leaves room for melody to breathe.

The Bridge That Changes Your Mind

The bridge, or middle eight, is the place to change perspective. It can reveal a motive, offer a confession, or flip the emotional logic of the song. The bridge should feel like a small shock of truth that makes the final return to the main idea land with new meaning.

Real life scenario

You have been singing about keeping the distance. The bridge reveals you still keep a photo under your pillow. That reveal changes what distance means in the final A section.

Working With a Composer or Melody

If you write with a composer you must learn to be specific and flexible at the same time. Match syllable counts, be willing to change words for melody, and keep your core idea intact.

Tips

• Bring a short pitch sentence that tells the song in one line.
• Count syllables within the phrase the composer sets and offer alternative words that preserve stress and meaning.
• Ask for a scratch topline by the composer if you write lyrics first. This helps you hear phrasing before final arranging.

How Famous Lyricists Do It

Listen to examples from Johnny Mercer, Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter and Carolyn Leigh. Notice how they combine urbane language with small domestic images. Mercer often used conversational phrasing. Hart used a playful internal rhyme and surprising word choices. Porter packed wit into high society scenes and also wrote slow aching songs that sound like velvet.

Real life observation

When you hear a great lyric from that era it sounds simple whether it is witty or tragic. That simplicity is the result of ruthless editing not lack of skill.

Editing Passes That Turn Good Lines into Great Lines

Once you have a draft run these edits.

1. Read out loud. If a line trips in speech it will trip in song.
2. Trim excess. Remove any word that does not add new detail or necessary rhythm.
3. Replace abstractions. Swap feelings for objects or actions.
4. Check final syllables. Make sure the last word of each line can be sung on the note intended without strain.
5. Verify cadence. The line ending should breathe. If a line ends on a closed consonant consider moving the thought so the singer can resolve into the next phrase.

Before and After Examples

Theme: An old love that is remembered kindly but without desire to return

Before: I remember you and sometimes I want to call but I do not.

After: I walk past your building like a tourist in my own town and pretend the lights mean only maps.

Before: We had good times and now they are gone and I miss them sometimes.

After: Your record still plays in the dark drawer. I fold my shirts with your old careless laugh between them.

Melodic Considerations for Singers

Singers of standards often take liberties with rhythm and timing. Leave room for that. Avoid rigid prosody and allow repeated vowels to be elongated. Provide small pauses for breaths. If you supply several possible lyrical replacements for a line you increase the chance the singer will find an interpretation that fits their phrasing style.

How to Tell a Story in Fourteen Lines

Many standards get to the point quickly. Use these moves to tell a compact story.

1. Open with a snapshot that orients time and place. Use one concrete object.
2. Add a detail that complicates the snapshot emotionally.
3. Use the bridge to reveal motive or regret.
4. Return to the opening image with a twist created by the bridge reveal.

Example structure

Line 1 snapshot: The streetlight keeps my sweater company.

Line 2 detail: I fold it like it might remember where you left it.

Bridge: I learned to love the silence that kept me from calling.

Return: Now the sweater holds the shape of a hand I do not reach for anymore.

Exercises to Build Your Standards Muscle

Image First

Pick one object in a room. Write ten lines where that object changes function in each line. Keep each line short and singable. Time yourself for ten minutes. This forces concrete imagery.

Bridge Flip

Write a four line A section where the speaker decides something. Now write a B section that reveals the opposite motive. Return with the A section again altered by the new knowledge.

Vowel Stretch

Write a chorus where the last word of each line ends on an open vowel sound. Sing it slowly and feel how each vowel allows a breath. This teaches you to place sustained notes on easy vowels.

Common Mistakes and How To Fix Them

• Too much drama. Fix by choosing one emotional direction and trimming anything that pulls elsewhere.
• Abstract language. Fix by replacing a feeling with a specific object or action.
• Over clever rhymes. Fix by asking if the rhyme advances feeling. If it does not, lose it.
• Stuffing lines to match a syllable count. Fix by changing the melody slightly or varying the syllable count to allow natural speech patterns.
• Not testing for singability. Fix by recording yourself singing and noting where you run out of breath or where words clash with melody.

Workshopping With Singers

When you play a lyric for a singer be specific about intent but leave room for their interpretation. Ask questions like which line felt awkward and which line they loved. Offer alternative words and be ready to rewrite rather than argue. Singers will often offer phrasing ideas that make the lyric more natural in performance.

Publishing and Pitching Adult Standards

Adult standards often live on in lounges, cabarets, small jazz clubs and specialized radio. When pitching make a one line pitch that captures mood and image. Provide a demo with a clear vocal performance and either a simple piano or a small combo. Mention if the song fits a particular singer on your pitch so editors see a match.

Real World Example Walkthrough

Let us build a short chorus idea together.

1. Emotional center: polite regret about a love that once was necessary but is now optional.
2. Title: After We Learned
3. Hook line: After we learned to sleep alone we learned how to leave.
4. First A section lines: The kettle knows my nights. I pour two cups out of habit. I hang your coat by the door for old muscle memory.
5. B section idea: Reveal the speaker kept a postcard from Paris folded like a secret and now sends it away.
6. Return A: The kettle whistles differently now. It sings to an apartment that learned to close.

This sketch uses small domestic detail, a clear title, and a bridge that shifts the meaning of the ordinary images.

How To Make a Timeless Lyric Without Being Old Fashioned

Timelessness comes from clarity and human detail. Avoid trying to sound classic by copying period language. Instead write about universal experiences using concrete imagery and an honest voice. If you want a vintage flavor use one or two period details not an entire decade. That keeps the lyric modern and relatable.

Publishing Rights and Collaboration Basics

When you co write be explicit about split percentages. A common default splits credit equally but negotiate what makes sense for contribution. If you write lyrics and someone writes the music document the split in writing. If a performer changes words during recording agree on ownership and final credits before release.

Action Plan You Can Use Today

1. Pick one small domestic object near you. Write six lines where that object appears and performs an action each time. Ten minutes.
2. Choose an emotional center and write a one line title that says it plainly. Five minutes.
3. Map a thirty two bar A A B A outline for your idea. Decide what each A will show and what the B will reveal.
4. Write a vocal friendly demo with piano and one vocal track. Sing conversationally. Leave room for breaths.
5. Play the demo to one singer or a friend. Ask which line they remember. Rewrite to strengthen that line and cut anything that distracts from it.

Pop Culture and Age Considerations

Do not worry about age. Adult standards speak to listeners across generations when they tell authentic human stories. Younger artists writing standards often bring fresh perspective. A modern slant can make an adult standard feel immediate. The key remains craft, not era painting.

Frequently Asked Questions About Writing Adult Standards

What is the ideal length for an adult standard lyric

There is no one size fits all. Many standards run between two and four minutes. It is more important to maintain the narrative pace. If the song tells one compact idea aim for a shorter length. If you are telling a complex story allow extra bars. Always stop when the emotional arc completes.

Should I use old fashioned words to sound authentic

No. Use clear language that sounds natural when sung. A single authentic period detail can evoke an era without forcing dated phrasing. Modern listeners appreciate plain speech that reveals character through action.

How do I write a bridge that feels necessary

Use the bridge to add information that reframes the earlier lines. It can reveal motive or a memory. The bridge should not simply repeat information in a new key. Give the listener a small surprise that alters the meaning of the final A.

Can adult standards be upbeat

Yes. Standards include swing numbers and cheeky uptempo songs. The lyric tone may be playful, ironic, or flirtatious. Even an upbeat lyric benefits from concrete imagery and a clear hook.

How do I write for a specific singer

Study their vocal range, phrasing style, and typical lyrical concerns. Write lines that match their strengths. Provide alternate versions of tricky lines to let them choose phrasing that works for their voice. Mention the singer in your pitch so producers see the match.

Songwriting Checklist Before You Call It Done

• One clear emotional center exists.
• Title states the main idea or symbol plainly.
• Prosody check passed by speaking and singing lines.
• Bridge offers a meaningful perspective change.
• Last words of lines are singable on the intended note.
• Demo captures the mood with spare arrangement.
• At least one concrete detail appears in every verse.

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