I read an interesting quote today, from E.Y. Harburg (American lyricist, librettist and song writer, 1896-1981):
Harburg may not have been the first to describe the distinction between words, music and song in this manner, but this was the first time I’d seen it stated so succinctly. Just thought I’d share. 
John
I wonder if song writers have to think a feeling first?
An interesting thought you’ve shared there, John, though I feel Mr Harburg’s quote doesn’t bear too close a literary scrutiny.
Be careful there, Gary. If you play “grammar police” in this thread, you could be accused of trying to cop a feel.
I think not!
Therefore I am not… d’oh!!
Mmm… d’oh-nuts…
I’m sure some do. Many professional songwriters start with a title and work from that. There is definitely a flow when songwriting is at its best. Many top songs are written in a very short time.
Songwriting is defiinitely something that improves with practice and repetition. For anyone interested in developing the craft I suggest the following:
Spend time on this every day for a month or two and it is amazing how much improvement occurs over time. A voice recorder helps for recording melodies. Plain pen and paper work fine for the rest (and can also do melodies if a person is proficient in transcribing music). Some people have more affinity to melodies, some for lyrics, so reversing the order is fine.
Modern songwriting is a bit different because of the popularity of genre’s where the traditional lyrics and melody do not apply (rap, trance, abstract). Many traditionalists pooh-pooh rap. I admire the ability to improvise rhymes on the spot off the top of the head. This same skill applies to more traditional genre’s but the writer has more time to edit and think and use tools.
The best of Tin Pan Alley and American popular song exhibited musicianship that closely coordinated the words and music. E.Y.(Yip) Harburg wrote the music for Wizard of Oz. “Over the Rainbow” is among the most wonderful integration of words, music and feeling in a popular song. He also wrote “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?”, words switching from the past to present while the music went from major to minor.
One of the many reasons I never (ever) listen to modern pop music is that the music is so often disjointed from the lyrics. Heavy metal bands front men scream, “I love you!” in a sound that would be more appropriate for “Someone shoved a hot poker up my butt!” Rap music is uniformly angry, mechanical and disaffected no matter what the words are. Country music is mostly a set of cliched phrases and a set of cliched musical turns that are permutationally reassembled over and over again.
IMHO, and I know my comments on pop just set myself up as a big fat target, but I just had to say what I feel. And you know I’m right.
Roger
That happens in “trad” from time to time as well. Solas’ version of “Newry Highwayman” has very upbeat music to the story of a criminal being executed.
Country music is mostly a set of cliched phrases and a set of cliched musical turns that are permutationally reassembled over and over again.
Kinda like Irish dance tunes? 
The best matching of lyrics & music I’ve heard recently is The Shins, a recent 60s’ pop revivalist band.
A very good approach. Try as I might I have never been able to come up with a song worth a shite by doing it this way though. 
I always try to start with the melody and rough harmonic motion of the hook (refrain/chorus) Something that will really stay with you. Having that I come back with lyrics for just the hook. This is where the songs identity is born. Then melody and harmonic motion for the verses and then verse lyrics. This enables me to have variation from verse to chorus musically while maintaining similar thought strings, and development of ideas, emotions, and stories. The title is usually the last thing I do and is usually based on the most powerful (usually the last) line in the hook.
I go with the music first because even as a trained arranger, composing music is more difficult than composing words for me. I always find it easier to come up with a compelling melody and match words to it than trying to force fit a melodic line to words that are arranged in a thought. Plus, the music will lend itself to a the sing-songy nature inherent in lyric creation that will lead you to use certain words with similar meanings but totally different sounds and syllabic emphasis.
It is easier for me to come up with a cohesive work when I build from abstract (music makes you feel a feeling) to concrete (words make you think a thought) the other way around has never really gelled for me. But still a very good approach. The key is (as you said) daily progress and the open mindedness to change or scrap an idea altogether if necessary to make the song better. 
Best regards,
Scott
I think that about “Misty”, “Mona Lisa” and “Summertime”.
I like the old “Blue Sky (Smiling at me)” but I don’t think the lyrics fit the tune.
One of the many reasons I never (ever) listen to modern pop music is that the music is so often disjointed from the lyrics. Heavy metal bands front men scream, “I love you!” in a sound that would be more appropriate for “Someone shoved a hot poker up my butt!”
What I hate is when they start with a beautiful accoustic guitar line and when the real song starts you think, “What was the point?”
Rap music is uniformly angry, mechanical and disaffected no matter what the words are.
Can I get a big AMEN?
Country music is mostly a set of cliched phrases and a set of cliched musical turns that are permutationally reassembled over and over again.
It seems most traditional/folk music is reassembled musical turns. The beauty is in how they are utilized by the performer. (Excluding so-called country which is just pop rock with a twang).
The Country genre owns the market on cliched phrases.
Just as “frog” and “toad” are often used as synonyms in the US, so, too, are “tune” and “song,” pretty much.
We Merikans don’t have that same discerning linguistic sophistication that Yurpeens do.
I never heard them used interchangeably when I was growing up. It was always, “Play a tune; sing a song.” But then, my Mom used to be a church organist, and my Dad plays multiple instruments (though not at the same time, except for harmonica and guitar; he has one of those funky harmonica holders).
I agree with the usage of song having lyrics. A musical composition without lyrics isn’t a song to me, exception is a bird song. “Sing me a tune” sounds awkward, though it may be technically passable.