Lyric Writing Tools #5: Multiple Meanings

It’s day 5 of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing multiple meanings in lyrics.  

Multiple Meanings

Symbolism is one-directional. You have a symbol that represents something “real”. But you can also have multiple meanings, which is bi-directinal. 

Instead of a “fake” symbol representing the “real” thing you’re talking about, you have something literal you are utilizing to also symbolize something deeper.

Multiple meanings doesn’t even need to have any symbolic one. And you aren’t even limited to 2 meanings. 

A song I’m working on for my upcoming EP is a great example of multiple meanings. I learned that Alzheimer’s patients often attempted to escape their nursing homes to return to what they remembered as “home”, and nursing homes had started to remedy this with fake bus stops. 

So, naturally, I wrote a song about this. It’s called “Bus Stop” and centers around a man trying to talk an Alzheimer’s patient back inside from the fake bus stop. The first chorus lyric (from the patient’s perspective) goes like this:

I’m going home

To those I need to see

I can’t recall their names

But I know they wait for me

I hear this is a bus stop

To where I need to go

I need to take this journey

To someplace that I know

Within this story, this is a very literal bus stop. And he very literally may or may not be trying to go back home. Taking a look at the final chorus, this time from the perspective of the young man, helps illuminate the layers of meaning.

Now I know you’re home

With the loved ones you knew

You remember their names

And all their love for you

I hear this is a bus stop

And we don’t stay too long

I’m glad you finally made it

To where you belong

Now, we see that, not only is the bus stop very literal, but it also represents something deeper. The old man has now passed away, but he got what he wanted. To be able to go home, and see all the loved ones he knew. 

And, now, since he’s in heaven, he has his memory back and remembers their names. The young man then closes with the thoughts of how our lives are just like bus stops- we’re here for a short period, and then we’re gone. 

So, while the bus stop is symbolic of life itself and the old man’s desire to escape back home, it also functions as a literal bus stop. 

This setup leaves the listener with more questions as well. Was the old man trying to say he was ready to pass away the whole time? When he said he wanted to go home, was it his literal home or did he mean heaven?

That’s for the listener to decide.