{"id":1185,"date":"2023-02-02T11:43:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T17:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/?p=1185"},"modified":"2023-08-25T10:23:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T16:23:58","slug":"how-long-should-my-song-lyrics-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/how-long-should-my-song-lyrics-be\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Should My Song Lyrics Be?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Are you unsure just how many lines to write for your songs? Maybe you have a few good bars but you don\u2019t know the right number to include?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this guide, we\u2019ll review the average length of song lyrics and how genre may affect the total number of lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-marketing-button uagb-marketing-btn__align-center uagb-marketing-btn__align-text-center uagb-marketing-btn__icon-after uagb-block-dde61f71 wp-block-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beatstars.com\/wrecca\" class=\"uagb-marketing-btn__link wp-block-button__link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"uagb-marketing-btn__title\">NEED A BEAT\/INSTRUMENTAL?<\/span><p class=\"uagb-marketing-btn__prefix\">Visit my beat shop for original indie folk\/indie pop tracks<\/p><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-table-of-contents uagb-toc__align-left uagb-toc__columns-1 uagb-toc__collapse uagb-block-2c1adac8     \"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-scroll= \"1\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-offset= \"30\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 384 512\"><path d=\"M192 384c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375l-160-160c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0L192 306.8l137.4-137.4c12.5-12.5 32.75-12.5 45.25 0s12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C208.4 380.9 200.2 384 192 384z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__list-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#how-long-should-song-lyrics-be\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">How Long Should Song Lyrics Be?<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#what-sections-should-be-included-in-a-song\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">What Sections Should Be Included in a Song?<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#pop-rock\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Pop &amp; Rock<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#hip-hop-rap\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Hip Hop &amp; Rap<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#my-average-lyrics-length\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">My Average Lyrics Length<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#hit-song-average-lyrics-length\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Hit Song Average Lyrics Length<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#pop\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Pop<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#rap\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Rap<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#country\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Country<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#conclusion\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Conclusion<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#other-articles-to-consider\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Other Articles to Consider<\/a><\/ul><\/ul><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Long Should Song Lyrics Be?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The average song will have 6 sections at least, each containing 1 to 2 stanzas; those stanza will usually have 4 and 8 lines each. Make averages to a total between 24 and 96 lines of lyrics per song. <\/strong>These are merely suggestions based on averages; your songs can be longer or shorter if that\u2019s how you want them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of those sections I mentioned will be repetitions of the same lines. A chorus is usually 4 to 8 lines of lyrics. But, in most cases, you will repeat the same exact chorus between 2 and 3 times in your song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, these numbers will vary based on your personal writing style and the genre of music you make. For example, rap lyrics tend to have more lines per section than a rock or pop song. While some styles of music don\u2019t even include <a href=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/does-a-song-need-a-chorus-or-bridge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">choruses<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Sections Should Be Included in a Song?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>The sections of a song usually break down like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Verses (often two, but sometimes three)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chorus (repeated two or three times)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bridge (usually included instead of a third verse)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The most basic template would therefore be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>First verse<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chorus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Second verse<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chorus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bridge or third verse<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Final Chorus<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The genre of music will usually influence how long many lines appear in each section. Let\u2019s look at some common genres and see how they differ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pop &amp; Rock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pop and rock music will follow the basic template in most situations. Common variations would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Starting with a repetition of the chorus at the beginning of the song. If you do this, you may want to skip the final chorus. Too many <a href=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/chorus-vs-refrain-vs-hook\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">chorus repetitions<\/a> can irritate the listener.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Having no lyrics in the bridge, instead opting for an instrumental solo.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hip Hop &amp; Rap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rap music tends to fill verses with more lines of lyrics. Instead of 2 stanzas of 4 lines, you may have 2-4 stanzas of 8 lines. This is common in old-school or underground hip hop that emphasizes lyricism or melody. Modern trap and emo rap will contain less lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My Average Lyrics Length<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve written a lot of songs, mostly in the styles of pop and indie rock. I took the liberty of building a spreadsheet with the number of lines and sections in 50 of my most recently-written songs. Here are my results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td><strong>Mean (Average number)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Mode (Most common number)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Song Sections<\/strong><\/td><td>5.06<\/td><td>4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Choruses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.34<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Verses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.06<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Number of Lines<\/strong><\/td><td>29.42<\/td><td>24<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Note: <em>The total number of lines includes all repetitions<\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hit Song Average Lyrics Length<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, let\u2019s investigate the average length of lyrics for popular songs. For this, I went to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/charts\/hot-100\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Billboard Hot 100\">Billboard Hot 100<\/a> chart and analyzed 50 tracks. Of those tracks, I measured each of the following aspects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>total number of sections per songs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>number of choruses, verses, and \u201cother\u201d sections respectively, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>total lines in each song<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Because I just pulled songs from the main Billboard chart, it includes tracks from multiple genres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here are the results of that research:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"789\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chart-Song-Lengths-wm.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chart-Song-Lengths-wm.png 789w, https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chart-Song-Lengths-wm-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chart-Song-Lengths-wm-768x427.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 789px) 100vw, 789px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Bar chart: Length of Hit Song Lyrics (Median &amp; Mode)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td><strong>Mean (Average number)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Mode (Most common number)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Song Sections<\/strong><\/td><td>7.84<\/td><td>7<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Choruses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.76<\/td><td>3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Verses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.08<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Number of Lines<\/strong><\/td><td>48.76<\/td><td>43<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Note: <em>The total number of lines includes all repetitions<\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>I also broke down these results further for the 3 most represented genres: pop, rap, and country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the genre-specific numbers:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"729\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chart-Song-Length-by-Genre-wm.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chart-Song-Length-by-Genre-wm.png 729w, https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chart-Song-Length-by-Genre-wm-300x181.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Bar chart: Average Song Length by Genre<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td><strong>Mean (Average number)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Mode (Most common number)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Song Sections<\/strong><\/td><td>8.28<\/td><td>6<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Choruses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.89<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Verses<\/strong><\/td><td>2<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Number of Lines<\/strong><\/td><td>45.22<\/td><td>33<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Note: <em>The total number of lines includes all repetitions<\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td><strong>Mean (Average number)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Mode (Most common number)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Song Sections<\/strong><\/td><td>7<\/td><td>7<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Choruses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.4<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Verses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.2<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Number of Lines<\/strong><\/td><td>55.2<\/td><td>59<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Note: <em>The total number of lines includes all repetitions<\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Country<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td><strong>Mean (Average number)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Mode (Most common number)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Song Sections<\/strong><\/td><td>7.08<\/td><td>7<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Choruses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.92<\/td><td>3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Number of Verses<\/strong><\/td><td>2.17<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total Number of Lines<\/strong><\/td><td>44.08<\/td><td>43<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Note: <em>The total number of lines includes all repetitions<\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>The results show us that, in general, the average hit song will have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>3 choruses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 verses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Approximately 48 lines in total<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But genre also impacts the number of lines in an entire song:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Pop tends to have the shortest lyrics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rap averages a significantly higher number of lines than pop or country<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All genres tend to have just 2 verses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>But this does not mean you have to follow these averages in your own songs. This is simply a guide by which you can measure your own song lengths and see if you are under-writing or over-writing them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, I average a much lower number of total lines in my own songs. But comes down to my personal writing style, and also the fact that I write longer lines but include less of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other Articles to Consider<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks for stopping by. If you found this guide helpful, here are a few other articles you may enjoy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/can-you-be-a-songwriter-without-singing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Can You Be a Songwriter without Singing?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/6-ways-to-overcome-perfectionism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">6 Ways to Overcome Perfectionism<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/what-is-the-hardest-part-of-a-song-to-write\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">What is the Hardest Part of a Song to Write?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/i-have-lyrics-but-no-music\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">I Have Lyrics but No Music!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you unsure just how many lines to write for your songs? Maybe you have a few good bars but you don\u2019t know the right number to include? In this guide, we\u2019ll review the average length of song lyrics and how genre may&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"iawp_total_views":698,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[14,12],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-7777137.jpg",1280,854,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-7777137-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-7777137-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-7777137-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-7777137-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-7777137.jpg",1280,854,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-7777137.jpg",1280,854,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Deane","author_link":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/author\/deane\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Are you unsure just how many lines to write for your songs? Maybe you have a few good bars but you don\u2019t know the right number to include? In this guide, we\u2019ll review the average length of song lyrics and how genre may...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1185"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2626,"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185\/revisions\/2626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiesongmakers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}