Why songwriters should pay attention to John Mayer
By Ryan Galloway • Sep 7th, 2006 • Category: Songwriting Advice, Songwriting Articles
(From contributing blogger Ryan Galloway)
Hello, everyone. Checking in from 36,000 feet and headed home from a week on the road. A steady gig has got me bouncing between Dallas and the East Coast these days, as I let American Airlines beat the crap out of my guitar—but that’s a whole ‘nother blog.
Since I’ve been traveling so much lately, I’ve gotten a chance to listen to a lot more music than I have for a while. I’m really giving the MP3 player a workout, and I’ve been able to pay more attention than usual. One songwriter I’ve been paying attention to is John Mayer.
John is a new generation classic rocker; a nice mix of acoustic and electric with just a slight hint of jazz. He’s young, but some of the kids don’t like him very much because he’s a bit preppy and they think he’s “sold out.” I never really understood that mindset. If that’s the music John likes to write and sing, I don’t think we can call him a sellout—and I don’t think he could do it so well if he was just doing it for the money.
Not every single song that John writes is a masterpiece. In fact, there are just a few that I’m really knocked out with. I’m asking you to suspend any thought of whether you like his music or not, and get analytical. From a pure technical perspective, John is both an excellent guitarist and songwriter.
From “Why Georgia”:
I am drivin’ up eighty-five in the kind of morning that lasts all afternoon
[Ry’s note: Interstate 85 is the major north/south route through Atlanta]
Just stuck inside the gloom
Four more exits to my apartment, but I am tempted to keep the car and drive
And leave it all behind
Wow. There are so many internal rhymes, I don’t even know where to logically break the lines—AND they still make sense!
From “Your Body’s a Wonderland”
We’ve got the afternoon
You’ve got this room for two
One thing I’ve left to do
Discover me discoverin’ you
One mile to every inch of
Your skin like porcelain
One pair of candy lips and
Your bubblegum tongue…And if you want love, we’ll make it
Swim in a deep sea of blankets
Take all your big plans and break ‘em
This is bound to take a while..Your body’s a wonderland
Pretty racy, but great evocative poetry. On top of that, he’s not afraid to leave the rhyme unresolved, which would normally drive you crazy. But listen to the song, and he really makes it work. Frankly, I’m not sure how he pulls it off.
One more for you to listen to when you get a chance is “Daughters.” This was one of his big hits off of Heavier Things. The first verse is some of the finest lyric writing I’ve seen in long time:
I know a girl, she puts the color inside of my world
But she’s just like a maze where all of the walls are continually changed
And I’ve done all I can to stand on the steps with my heart in my hand
Now I’m starting to see, maybe it’s got nothing to do with me
Again, lots of internal rhymes, and great articulation. Have you noticed that lyrics often sound stupid when you read them and don’t sing them? Bigtime exception here.
If you notice, John doesn’t always take the easy way out. He may end with a typical rhyme like “do” and “you,” but in the process of getting there he does some really twisty and interesting stuff. Likening a girl to “a maze where the walls are continually changed,” may end with a simple word, but what a wow leading up to it.
If John keeps it up, he may be the next generation’s Billy Joel—and I hope he doesn’t find that to be an insult.
Okay songwriters, get your headphones out and get ‘em cranked up.
Listen and learn.
John Mayer CD’s and DVD’s on Amazon.com
Get John Mayer’s Continuum at 
Author: Ryan Michael Galloway, “The Gigster”–and a founding leader of the Collin County Songwriters Association
http://www.myspace.com/rmgalloway
Contact: Ryan@RyanRocks.com
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Ryan Galloway is the founder of GigsterClinics. He is also a highly experienced performer, songwriter, and business consultant based in a northern suburb of Dallas, Texas. Mr. Galloway serves as Vice President of R&D, and holds the post of "Alpha Gigster," but he is assisted by other experienced professionals in the areas of filmaking, performing, songwriting, law, accounting, and business management.
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I liked the point about the common words he rhymes with, but uses really cool ways of getting there. I hadn’t thought of that before. Thanks.
Waiting on the world to change. Does John profess that we wait? I would rather be a catalyst for change.
I agree. I think John Mayer is a great poet in addition to being a guitarist and a musician
I agree with this post. I think John Mayer is a great poet in addition to being a guitarist and a musician
John Mayer is a beautiful man. He sings like and angel adn is not afraid to sing with heart and soul. He makes it all seem so easy, but we know that it never is. I think that john has the potential to be around for quite a while. This Billy Joel comparison is not necessary. Mayer is actually much better than Billy Joel because he has a healthy view of himself and seems to have a degree of genuineness. Billy Joel is a talented crooner but he can not be considered in the same league as John Mayer. I think Mayer sings for the common man and that makes him perhaps even greater and more important than artists like dave matthews who sometimes alienate themselves because of their pretentiousness…
“A quick game of chess with the salt and pepper shakers” is one of his best lines. This goes to how the concrete details and metaphors should support the subject of the song. Not only do we get the visual but the correlation of the date with a “quick game of chess.” Of course we know who looses that one.
That is a great lyric Tim. Good catch.