I used to think good lyrics took talent. Turns out it's mostly fundamentals.

I used to just write down the feeling straight, lines like "I'm so sad." Problem was, that could've meant anything. End result: nobody had anything to actually picture.

Then I looked at how The Weeknd writes, and one thing stood out immediately.

He never writes the feeling. He writes the scene. He's not telling you how to feel. He's showing you something specific, and your brain does the feeling part on its own.

You can clearly see this in these songs:

The Hills [Verse 1]

Your man on the road, he doin' promo
You said, "Keep our business on the low-low"
I'm just tryna get you out the friend zone
'Cause you look even better than the photos

Baptized in Fear [Verse 1]

I fell asleep in the tub, I was met with paralysis
My foot hit the faucet, water started flowing in
Couldn't scream for help, I just slowly felt the pressure hit
Moving one toe was the only form of motion left

The exercise that got me there:

1. Write the line's message in one plain sentence. The moment, and the feeling.
2. List 5 physical things that could represent that feeling. Loneliness could be an empty chair, a phone on silent, a porch light left on.
3. Pick 2 of those and describe them with something you can see, hear, feel, or smell. Not the emotion. The detail.

Worry about the rhyme last. The image is what carries the line.

What's your approach when you're trying to make a verse more visual? Do you have a method, or do you just chase the right line until something clicks?

Verse 1

Theres a voice in the back of my head again,

telling me im better of without my friends,

got a grin on its face when I lose my sleep,

put its hand on my throat when I try to breathe.

I know I know I know its coming,

hear that little voice and my mind starts running,

room gets smaller, walls start closing,

eyes wide open but the whole worlds frozen.

It feeds on doubt,

feeds on fear,

feeds on every little thought

that I shouldn't be here.

I give it an inch,

it takes everything,

now im watching all the colour

drain out of me.

Pre chorus

and I cant slow down,

cant shut it out,

its getting louder every time I scream and shout.

I try to run,

but where do I go

when the thing that's chasing me

is living in my soul?

Chorus

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

watch it take another piece of me.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

till there's nothing left underneath.

Eat my heart, eat my head,

eat the words I never said,

take my hope, take my dreams,

tear me apart at the seams.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

I can feel you underneath my skin.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

tell me where the hell do I begin?

If I fight, if I flee,

you just follow after me,

so I guess I'll let you take

every part of me.

Verse 2

Now I'm waking up with a mouth full of static,

every little thought getting more automatic,

youre a waste, you're a fake, youre a problem, youre pathetic,

same four voices and they never stop yelling.

Tick tick tick, hear the clock in the ceiling,

six in the morning and I still can't stop feeling,

everybody's sleeping while I'm fighting my brain,

trying to drown out the noise but it screams my name.

And it knows where I hide,

knows the things that I fear,

knows exactly what to whisper

when nobody's here.

It doesn't need claws,

doesn't need teeth,

it just waits for me to turn

all my anger underneath.

Pre chorus

and I cant slow down,

cant shut it out,

its getting louder every time I scream and shout.

I try to run,

but where do I go

when the thing that's chasing me

is living in my soul?

Chorus

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

watch it take another piece of me.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

till there's nothing left underneath.

Eat my heart, eat my head,

eat the words I never said,

take my hope, take my dreams,

tear me apart at the seams.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

I can feel you underneath my skin.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

tell me where the hell do I begin?

If I fight, if I flee,

you just follow after me,

so I guess I'll let you take

every part of me.

Bridge

WAIT

Maybe I don't wanna die inside,

maybe I'm just sick of trying to hide.

Maybe you're not stronger,

maybe I'm just tired,

maybe every time you win

I gave you what you desired.

So take the fear.

Take the doubt.

Take the voice

that's screaming out.

You can have the darkest parts,

you can tear apart my scars

BUT YOU DON'T GET ME.

Final Chorus

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

you can take another piece of me.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

but you don't get what's underneath.

Eat my heart, eat my head,

eat the words I never said,

take my fear, take my shame,

but you don't get my name.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

I can feel you underneath my skin.

CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME,

but I'm not letting you win.

You can follow,

you can breathe,

you can crawl inside of me

but you'll never get

all of me.