Speaking from the constructs of the song, working a song from beginning to end, rather than from the usual organic approach, had some benefit in expanding the possibilities. As a songwriter, you don’t use every morsel, but there’s a delight in the gathering.

Mixing for the middle or staging for the start; enabling the end, are all capable of being done mechanically.

If you have a particular techno beat or trip hop treatment then lyrics are tools for that. But that is a different emphasis. My teaching is in the classic song form that I use. Clearly, knowing the strengths and limitations of different songwriting strategies is what you want when you are learning the trade.

Given the genres that continue to use verse chorus verse or variations thereof, you won’t miss too many core tenets of good lyric writing if you stick around.

II

Having looked at beginnings to end in both a structured and unstructured style, let us meet in the middle. The middle we went to before? Well, this time with the features we’ve found in the start and finish of the song.

First let’s theme a song before doling out the three sections and their potential, separate and combined.

Canopy

The cool collective gather there in branches
Underneath the leaves their shadows dancing

Live solely in the canopy
Never touching ground

Here the three parts are all still on the subject of canopies but the style is different: the first is a poetic romantic walk through the forest, the second connoting the presence of humans or else casting the narrator as a beast, and the third managing to be scientific and Doorsy at the same time.
Whether you want as abstract a notion as this natural feature (?) being cast above kindred creatures, as to trust it to lead to the end (or The End for that matter) is something for you to decide as you work on it.

You could also rest on a moss-covered log and ponder whether you feel that the quite violent ‘flung’ reference might disturb the mood.

Meditative mood setting in the opening does complement the science wonder the song closes with and we feel reassured that we haven’t left the rainforest.

That middle line introduces drama and mystique and it’s knowing when those are not wanted that is crucial in developing as a songwriter. Without those narrative fellows with something- presumably the canopy but possibly not – flung above them, this would serve an ambient purpose while still satisfying those who came for the music. Arpeggios go well with birdsong and brook babbling if you time it right. And if hammering the Hammond conjures the forest, so much the better.

III

You could at this point decide that it’s time for the flung line to be flung aside.

Or keep it in reserve in case the subsequent song suggests it again.

Needless to say, if you’ve followed my approach to the art, there’s no need to be prescriptive about the position these lines hold after there’s a certain progress. If you can see that the number of verses looks right and the conclusion brings satisfaction then why shoehorn in some aspect of the songwriting tool you started with. Don’t let these considerations hamper your style. Choosing to write to a formula; albeit a loose and arty one, is worth it for the exercise. It can on occasion lead to other things.

IV

Canopy

The cool collective gather there in branches
Underneath the leaves their shadows dancing
They commune as common lesser spotted

Live solely in the canopy
Never touching ground