About My Lyric Writing – A Personal Note

Writing lyrics is, for me, first and foremost telling a story – a true, honest, human story that could belong to anyone listening. I never want the words to feel like they’ve been used a thousand times before. No tired moon-June-spoon rhymes, no empty “love-you-forever” lines just because they fit the meter. Every verse has to earn its place.

The great Jean Frankfurter (the legendary German composer behind hits for Helene Fischer, Roland Kaiser, Nicole and many more) gave me once five words of advice I will never forget: “Watch your selection of words, Evelin.” That short sentence changed everything. It taught me that a single carefully chosen word can carry more emotion than ten clichés strung together.

My craft truly grew during my time studying lyric writing with Andrea Stolpe at Berklee College of Music. Andrea wasn’t just a teacher – she became a mentor and inspiration. Her gentle but razor-sharp feedback showed me how to dig deeper, how to turn a pretty line into something that actually moves people. She always pushed me to ask: “Is this the most honest way to say it? Is this image fresh? Does this line make the listener feel seen?”

Even after finishing my formal studies, Pat Pattison’s books and video courses have remained my constant companions. His brilliant exercises on object writing, rhyme types, and stable-versus-unstable lyric structures keep sharpening my craft every single day. Whenever I want to push a lyric further or break out of a rut, I still reach for Writing Better Lyrics or fire up one of his Berklee Online lessons. Pat’s teaching continues to grow with me – and I’m deeply grateful for that.

Their books 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling, Beginning Songwriting or Songwriting Without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises for Finding – still sit on my desk. I open them whenever I feel stuck, because they remind me that great lyrics are built on universal truth wrapped in original pictures. Angela taught me to treat every song like a short film: clear characters, real emotions, and not one wasted frame.

That combination – Jean Frankfurter’s precision with words and Angela Stolpe’s and Pat Pattison storytelling heart – is what I carry into every new song. The result? Lyrics that try to speak straight to your soul, without detours and without borrowed phrases.

Thank you, Jean. Thank you, Andrea and Pat.

And thank you for listening with open hearts. ♡

With love and lyrics,
Evelin Vordermeier