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As I have pointed out in the other thread, although the band publishes their songs as written by The Corrs instead of crediting individual songwriter(s) over time we can at the very least guess which Corr(s) write(s) what, especially by reading through the lyrics. It is especially interesting to compare the approaches that Andrea and Sharon, as the band's primary writers, use while writing lyrics in a Corrs song.
Steve mentioned songs of the same topic written by Andrea (Angel, No More Cry) and Sharon (Goodbye, Christmas Night). I find Andrea's lyrics about Jean's death have generally more positive outlook on the event and an optimistic feeling to it; for example in No More Cry:
But if it's true what people say
There still is beauty in each day
We'll find comfort in her strength
One day soon we'll meet again
And again in Angel:
It's got to be better than before
You don't need to worry now you're gone
Those particular parts express some degree of optimism; how there's something better out there after death, and how those left behind will be okay going through the comfort of memories of the deceased.
Whereas in Goodbye Sharon writes:
No one can say, no one could explain
Why you were taken
Oh, where are you now?
Could I get there somehow
and
Tell me it's true, tell me there's something more
Another time for love
Also, she writes in Christmas Night:
Lost and found again
I'm homeward bound again
Snow is falling on my fingertips
Dreams still linger on my frozen lips
and
Some days I do okay
Some days I lose my way
Tears keep falling and I just can't fight
'Cause I need you with me on this winter's night
We tend to get a sense of sombreness there, less certainty about whether there's something better after death, a darker outlook at how lives can be taken so suddenly, and more melancholic days await those left behind as they ponder the loss.
Whether the two seemingly different outtakes at life and death in Andrea's and Sharon's songs actually reflect their personal thought on the matter would be something else to see...
Osama mentioned Andrea's wordplay, particularly in Irresistible (that 'make-you-mine-able' bit is one of my favourites, by the way
). This is one of the things Andrea's good at, utilising wordplays and rhymes while seeming to do it so naturally without forsaking the actual content and how it sounds. Humdrum is another favourite of mine that showcases this particular skill of hers:
Hey, you're too true to be good
And I'm too bad to pretend
Transparent and transfixed, I'm uncool
And this part in Angel:
Confidence and conscience
Decadent extravagance
Never-ending providence
For loving when I had the chance
As for her solo songs, I think of this part from Stupidest Girl In the World:
These situations
Are my creations
A dark fascination
I want to be small again
I lose concentration
You sense my vacation
A prime invitation
I'm getting control again
There we can see her penchant for crafting words into great-sounding lyrics and while Sharon also takes this approach quite often, Andrea's lyrics still sound more 'natural' to me than Sharon's, as, especially before she released The Same Sun, I often felt she was being too careful in choosing her words and not as 'loose' as Andrea. But this improved in TSS, I do feel she was way more at ease while writing songs for the album. My favourite in particular is The Runaround:
It's all for the sake of humanity
Nothing more than insanity
Follow one another 'til we get lost
Build our little boxes, totter up the cost
The runaround, runaround
That's the way it goes
Runaround, runaround
In the Emperor's new clothes
Runaround, runaround
It's a game we play
'Til we come around, come around
And start it up again
Step outside, but not of our comfort zone
Feel alright, surrounded by what we own
Just a new beginner willing to submit
We're stupid and we're stubborn, never gonna quit
When it comes to lyrical themes, Andrea quite often writes songs with 'confronting' topics (Queen of Hollywood, Love In the Milky Way, Somebody For Someone, Hello Boys, etc.) and deep, sometimes dark aspects of life (All In a Day, Hurt Before, Borrowed Heaven, Ideal World, etc.) while Sharon tends to play it 'safe' in lyrical themes - IMHO, We Could Be Lovers is the boldest she has ever done in terms of themes and is probably her most 'confronting' song to date, although she deals with the topic more subtly than baby Corr usually does.
Jim and Caroline...as far as I know Jim wrote the lyrics to Secret Life and that's it, so it's quite difficult to determine his approach in writing lyrics - although from reading through Secret Life I feel he has a tendency to use 'heavy' lines ('a cloaked entity', 'mechanised and organised', 'the pool of a human mind', 'put your soul in detention', 'resensitise yourself', and of corrs Rene Descartes's famous proposition), which is somewhat unique when it comes to a Corrs song.
Caroline wrote Miracle (and IIRC she also co-wrote the lyrics to Somebody For Someone with Andrea?), but then again she doesn't write lyrics that much so it's difficult to determine her approach. Miracle uses fairly simple words, is very straightforward ('not born but already changing our world' - perhaps my favourite line in a Corrs song
), but carries a deeper meaning as it is written from a mother's point of view on her child, and always wins my heart every time because it sounds very simple, yet incredibly profound and deep.
That being said, I CAN'T WAIT to get White Light in my hands, take out the sleeve, and read through the lyrics and guessing which Corr(s) wrote what (if the songs are published as written by The Corrs as usual), look through how the words are structured (rhymes, wordplay, etc.), what themes are explored...10 years have passed since they decided to go MIA and a lot of things have happened in those years, from babies to the death of their father. In particular, I'm almost 100% certain there will be a couple of songs dedicated to Gerry Corr, or at least reflect how the writer(s) reflect(s) on his death.
Hmm, quite a rant that was. Then again I tend to pay expensive attention to lyrics - sometimes even more so than music as there are songs with music that's not really my cuppa but I keep listening because of the lyrics, and I read through and consider the meanings of lyrics to Corrs song quite regularly for fun. There's always something new I pick up every time I listen to the words carefully, and I have taken a habit of printing out their lyrics and then scribble my own interpretation and thoughts on the words. I'm sure fellow CC-ers have also noticed some striking characteristics in their lyrics, especially when comparing songs written by Andrea and those written by Sharon, and I'll be more than happy to read others' thoughts and discuss a lot of things!
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