"I can't make you love me if you don'tYou can't make your heart feel something it won't
Here in the dark, in this final...
"I can't make you love me if you don't
You can't make your heart feel something it won't
Here in the dark, in this final hour
I will lay down my heart and I will feel the power
But you won't, no you won't
Cause I can't make you love me if you don't
And you don't"
Mike Reid and Allen Shamblen, two masterful writers wrote this monster song that has been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Adele, Bon Iver and many more artists.
The melody is haunting. The lyric is simple.
There is power in simplicity. When you write something in simple, conversational language that nails people right in the heart, the listeners have this "aha" moment where they slap their head and say "That's exactly how I felt when..."
You can't really get that response from clever, poetic lyrics. People may admire a unique twist of the language, a double entendre, or a phrase that they've never heard before. They may be impressed with your craftiness or your wit. But all of that is different than connecting to people on a heart level.
Bonnie Raitt's powerful version of "I Can't Make You Love Me."
Admiring someone's skill is not on the same level as believing that the writer of a song has been reading your mail. Noting a clever wordplay is not the same as FEELING a song and feeling that the writer of the song KNOWS what your life is like. That's the grand slam of writing. Connecting to listeners in a powerful, heartfelt way.
I'm not suggesting that every song should connect in that way. I am suggesting that we, as writers shoot for that. That we set the bar there. I want to write songs as powerful as "I Can't Make You Love Me"