Country songs are pretty simple. All you have to do is sing about what you feel. If you're happy, sad, angry, nervous or even scared, write it down in one sentence, but give it a melody - you'll get a country song.
Steps
Step 1. The lyrics of almost all country songs revolve around a motif, a phrase repeated several times and easy to remember, such as, for example, Friends in Low Places
The tune appears early in the song, usually within the chorus, and is repeated several times. It often takes the form of a common expression, like in Friends in Low Places, or it seems contradictory, like This Life Is Me. When you hear a commonly used phrase, try to warp it to see if it can become an interesting motif. It's a Business Doing Pleasure with You by Tim McGraw is a recent example.
Step 2. Listen carefully to the songs and observe their structure
Get a copy of the lyrics or write them down yourself to familiarize yourself with the structure of the songs. You will begin to see patterns and learn to apply them to your own compositions.
Step 3. Start with simple chord sequences and write lyrics based on them
If you don't play an instrument and have no musical training, you should probably find someone with these characteristics and collaborate with them. Words that sound good on paper don't always fit the structure of a song appropriately, and they need to be fine-tuned with the music for everything to work as it should.
Step 4. Most country songs follow a simple structure
However, don't be afraid to employ unusual ones: some of the greatest country songs break the rules; remember, however, that simplicity is the hallmark and strength of most country songs. They usually follow the "verse - verse - chorus - verse - intermission - chorus" pattern or a similar one, but if you think you've found something that works and is a little out of the ordinary, don't be a slave to conventions. The song by the great Hank Williams Cold, Cold Heart disregards the norm of having a chorus and has four verses instead of the usual three. Crazy by Willie Nelson adopts a rather atypical harmonic structure.
Step 5. Great songs tell stories:
then, think about their development within your song. Even if it is just a story of a real life episode, it should still paint a picture that describes the storyteller's experience.
Step 6. While it is difficult to avoid the stereotypes of country songs, do your best to find new ways of expressing the few concepts most songs address:
the pain of a broken love, the thrill of a new one, the regret of a wasted life, the joy of a party …
Step 7. Use strong verbs and concrete images
Give weight to each word. Many songs are composed of less than 100 words and are therefore forced to greatly condense their meaning.
Step 8. Remember that good writing, of any kind, conveys action
Intense images always prevail over sentimental phrases. A verse like "My truck ran into a ditch, today my boss fired me, my wife left me for my best friend" conjures images in the listener's mind. These are your lyrics, but what remains for the listener and makes the mental image memorable is the representation that he gives himself. "I love you, I need you, I want you" doesn't offer much to the imagination.
Step 9. Write based on experience, but not yours alone
Others also have experiences that can make for great lyrics. Learn the art of empathy, putting yourself in someone else's shoes and imagining what it feels like to have a child, lose a parent or spouse, break up with a love …
Step 10. Take note of anything that comes to your mind that could be used in a song or as a starting point
Newspaper articles, movies, books or a snippet of conversation - anything can inspire a song. A friend's story of how a storm made him homesick, for example, served as inspiration for a song. Have a pen and paper handy to jot down and set aside ideas. For example, you could adopt a system to organize ideas and songs and sort them according to their stage of completion, giving them a working title, subject to change as the song evolves. You could arrange them in descending order: at the beginning the completed songs, at the bottom those consisting of one or two lines and, in the intermediate stages, those that require more work, according to the stage in which they are.
