1. Writing Lyrics Created by The University of North Texas in partnership with the Texas Education Agency

2. UNT in partnership with TEA, Copyright ©. All rights reserved.2 Write your own lyrics Write your own lyrics In this activity, students have the opportunity to create their own lyrics to a piece of music. Follow the directions on the next slides to create your own song!

3. UNT in partnership with TEA, Copyright ©. All rights reserved.3 Simple Songs… Simple Songs… Many famous songs have very simple lyrics. Take for example, “You Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley. Each verse has only 3 lines. The first 2 lines are the same and the last line is different. You ain’t nuthin but a hound dog, crying all the time. Well you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine. Elvis Presley, 1957

4. UNT in partnership with TEA, Copyright ©. All rights reserved.4 3-Line Lyrics Below are some examples of 3-line lyrics. Just fill in the blanks or use the ideas to create your own. 1. You can take away my _________ You can take away my _________ But please don’t take my _________ away. 2. I can live without ________ I can live without ________ But I can’t live without ________.

5. UNT in partnership with TEA, Copyright ©. All rights reserved.5 Write your lyrics on a sheet of paper. Work with a partner if you’d like. Then click on the music sample below to match your lyrics with the instrumentation and create your own song! Music Sample