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i have a poem about my two grandsons christian 5 and dylan 3, and the way they lived with mom and dad. i want it to make it for a song. i wrote it ,it came from my heart. phyllis

Thanks to our listener’s comment above, we now know that our 7-year old songwriter closely modeled his lyrics (written when he was 6) on a song from a Cartoon Network show. While not literally quoting any lines from the original song, he clearly used the story and some phrases from it. Both his parents and Soundcheck tried to verify the originality of the lyrics in advance, but since there was no direct quoting, even now, with the benefit of hindsight, a google search turns up nothing. Only someone familiar with the original song would’ve been able to hear the similarities.
Because the rules of the contest state that the entries must be original work, we must disqualify “Jeans” as our contest winner. A new winner will be announced next week.

Sent in two (2) entries on the same day (9-9-08). Recieved one (1)acknowledgement. Were both recieved?

Not even sure this contest will fly - judging from the fact that it really IS a lyrics contest - not a bona fide songwriting contest - I mean, call it a poetry contest! Plus - reading the comments - many people are already trying to circumvent the rules and crying "foul play" because a Boy Band is going to sing their girlie lyrics.

But my big question is: Why are people posting their lyrics here?

Good luck with it!

These comments suck.

If I send some lyrics, is it okay for me to attach a recording of a melody that I came up with? Even as just a suggestion to accompany the lyrics

Sounds really cool. Going through my back-log of lyrics now. Thanks, Glenn

Should we also submit a contact sheet that includes are phone number, address, etc?

Boy, some of you folks are tetchy. I think this is a nifty idea and am going to set to work immediately.

This seems more like a poetry contest to me. By the way, has anyone heard of Song Poems? These were songs made by folks to whom people sent lyrics. For a fee, they would write a song to any lyrics sent in. http://www.songpoemmusic.com/

Should lyrics be included within the body of the submission e-mail or should they be attached as a Word document?

Claudine: The lyric writer remains the owner of the lyrics. All lyrics, chosen or not, are available for other use. Thanks!

Does the lyrics submitted become "the property" of WNYC, or are we free to use it for whatever we want if it is not chosen? And is there a prize besides fame?

Yes, I agree it was kinda, i dunno, ill-conceived(?) to call it a songwriting contest. But by now it's obvious what it is, and it's just for fun. If you have a text for an aria, or a female perspective song, or a gaelic reel, or a tribute to Ken Nordine, submit it. See what happens. It's "discreet callaboration". Where's your sense of artsifartsiness? Roll with it.

(just a joke to the tune of "My Favorite Things":)

Meth labs and blood baths
of antlered young creatures
Ball bust the unions to overwork teachers
Kill off the Polar Bears
so Drill bells can ring
Wasilla holds Palin's most favorite things

When her son steals, when his friends squeal
and abstinence won't Last
Sarah is Palin' in Comparison
To her GOP Fairy Tale past

Claiming Executive Power puff tantrums
Abusing new powers as soon as she gets them
To guns and religion most proudly she clings
These are Sarah Palin's favorite things

Sarah Palin!

Looks like a fun contest. I love the literary bend and appreciation for finely crafted material. I'm going to scan my catalogue and see what i have that already fits their style and then take a stab at writing one just for them. Is there any particular pet peeve One Ring Zero is currently obsessing upon (oops, I ended with a preposition!)

Hi everyone,
All great questions. Really looking forward to this! As much as I like the idea of One Ring Zero being a boy band, we are really more of a team of composers. In the past, we have worked with a number of female vocalists including Claudia Gonson (Magnetic Fields), Allyssa Lamb (Las Rubias Del Norte), Hanna Cheek (The Pumpkin Pie Show), and Syd Straw. Perhaps, if the song calls for it, we could recruit one of them to sing the winning lyrics?
Very excited to seeing what you all come up with. Fun!

Although Sara may have a valid point regarding fairness, I'd like to get back to my original technical question: should we only submit male or gender-neutral lyrics? Will One Ring Zero recruit a female singer for the radio performance if a female-oriented song is chosen?

If we assume that one of the objectives of the show will be to showcase and promote One Ring Zero, I'm guessing that they will prefer NOT to have a guest vocalist, and therefore it's highly unlikely that a female-centric lyric will be chosen.

Is this accurate? Or can the Soundcheck producer commit to an equal-opportunity approach to this contest?

life is short. live it why you got it. drop all these concerns and go with the flow.

I second Mike Borok's question. Did Soundcheck not consider the stifling effect on female contest participants resulting from the use of a boy group to preform the winning song?

Should I as a female lyricist shoehorn or rework my songs to fit a male perspective? Not sure I am able to do that with any degree of authenticity.

Not sure I want to try.

Will Soundcheck make it up to women listeners by offering a girl band contest?

Come on fellas. A male judge and male performers?? How is this fair?? (And shame on me for not noticing earlier: all appear to be white guys, too!!)

Hey Jason: We're not supplying a pre-existing melody. One Ring Zero will set the lyrics to music of their own creation.

I think this is fantastic. I have been writing for quite some time and always hope there would something out there like this that focused on lyrics.

Is the band going to create the melody to go with the lyrics, or is there some pre-existing melody that the lyrics are supposed to accompany?

Q: One Ring Zero is an all-male band. Does this mean that all songs submitted must be from the male perspective? Or, if a song with a female narrator is selected, will they record it with a female vocalist?

growing up as a foster child music especially classical music an later on the singing of frank sinatra gave me the road to a successful life hear me now......

Hi Barrie: You'll be emailing your lyrics to our gmail address: soundcheckcontest@gmail.com. And please limit your submissions to three sets of lyrics. (Good questions! Thanks!)

I'd like to submit some lyrics, but need to know if the site is protected, or can anyone see what I'm submitting? Also, can I submit more than one song?

Yes, and having a band perform the song doesn't it kind of limit anyone by virtue of their style of music? What about someone who wants to write text for an opera aria? Or a Broadway show tune? How about a modern-day jazz standard? This feels very limiting to me.

With all due respect to One Ring Zero, I was disappointed to discover that your "songwriting" contest is actually a lyric writing contest. What about the wonderful unsung lyrics AND melodies out there?