James LaBrie, the lyricist

[bosk1]

As I was listening to At Wit's End on the drive home, I paused to reflect on the fact that James really has a knack for being able to read something, or see a situation between two people, or whatever, and really make some deep observations about the human condition and to weave together pretty deep, introspective lyrics about it. 

He does this brilliantly on At Wit's End, taking a very controversial topic, and one where men might just pass on the opportunity to even try to write lyrics altogether.  Yet, he handles it with grace and tact, and still manages to tell a gut-wrenching story that resonates with just about everybody. 

It reminds me of how he did something similar with Disappear and Vacant.  Even Out of Reach, when reading what James says about how he came up with the lyrics shows this same quality--just observing an everyday situation and come up with a story that he is able to weave together very poetically.

So just wanted to have a thread to appreciate James' lyric writing.  When you dig into what he does and how, he has a pretty unique approach, and I really appreciate what it brings to DT.

[TheRich13]

Couldn't possibly have said it better ! Totally agree with your observation. I've always admired James as a lyricist as well as just the voice of the band .

[Cool Chris]

Everyone who writes enough lyrics are going to have some gems, some mehs. and some turds. James seems to have a higher % of gems, so I appreciate that. I generally like his lyrics because 1) they never get overly detailed or complex (not everyone can be Neil Peart. If you try, chances are you will fail); 2) they are concise and not too wordy, 3) they always seem well-constructed within the context of the song. KM gets so much praise for his lyrics, but they often sound like they were just thrown in to the song at random with no disregard for phrasing or the singer's need to actually take a breath periodically.

[erwinrafael]

Disallear captures perfectly the experience of being with a loved one at his deathbed. My father died while I was holding his hand, and James' lyrics hit the mark.

[TheCountOfNYC]

James has consistently been my favorite lyricist in the band. Almost every song he penned the lyrics for, even if the song itself isn't that great (i.e. Prophets of War) has some of the best lyrics on the entire album that the song appears on.

[wolfking]

He should be writing more, no question.  At Wit's End is just epic.  I never really took too much notice, but these lyrics and the way he delivers them is absolutely perfect, top tier amazing stuff.

[V_R11]

Absolutely, yes. James usually has great, beautiful lyrics. Disappear might be my favorite

[RoeDent]

He's definitely written the songs that are very obviously about some pretty deep topics. Anna Lee, At Wit's End, Sacrificed Sons, Disappear, to name just four. Whereas Petrucci and Myung in the main tend to veer towards either the fantastical or the philosophical.

[Trav]

Agreed! I really love all of James' lyrics. At Wit's End and Disappear, especially.  I think what he did with Prophets of War was really clever. Sacrificed Sons was really good. Talking about that specific situation without being cheesy and over glorifying. Speak To Me, The Way It Used To Be, Blind Faith...all great!

[SeRoX]

I think he is the best lyricst among the others, close second Myung. AFAIK, He reads ton of book in a year, so it reflects his writing ability.  He mentions that some of his interviews.

Disappear and At Wit's End are his peak lyrics.

[Mladen]

He's a very solid observational lyricist. I prefer his lyrics to Petrucci's from 2002 onward. I'm not a fan of the political lyrics, but that was worth giving a shot, I guess. Disappear, One last time and Far from heaven are the best ones in my opinion. His lyrics on Distance over time are also good, I'm glad he contributed.

[fibreoptix]

James is the band's best lyricist these days. Said in another thread but I'd be all for a DT album where James writes all the lyrics.

[Samsara]

James is the band's best lyricist these days. Said in another thread but I'd be all for a DT album where James writes all the lyrics.

AMEN. And no disrespect intended to any other DT lyricist. But YES.

James has a lot of talent, and it needs to shine more. I've always believed that a singer should always write the lyrics they are going to sing. There's a connection that way. That's not to say that lyrics written by someone else are less meaningful to the singer, but if a singer writes something, they just have that passion, and it always shines through in the performance. Very appreciative when we get JLB lyrics.

[MirrorMask]

Preaching to the converted here but yes, James has always had brilliant and meaningful lyrics, he knows how to deliver emotions with his voice but also through the lyrics. Also on his solo albums there's a lot of very interesting stuff, lyrics-wise.

[Samsara]

Also on his solo albums there's a lot of very interesting stuff, lyrics-wise.

Funny enough, I don't think he wrote more than a couple of song lyrics for the last solo record. Something I'd like to ask him about if I get the opportunity.

[MirrorMask]

As far as I remember he wrote everything for Mullmuzzler, mostly everything if not all the lyrics for Elements of Persuasion, the majority of the lyrics of Static Impulse and half at best of the lyrics of Impermanent Resonance.

[Samsara]

As far as I remember he wrote everything for Mullmuzzler, mostly everything if not all the lyrics for Elements of Persuasion, the majority of the lyrics of Static Impulse and half at best of the lyrics of Impermanent Resonance.

I was only referring to Impermanent Resonance. I'll go back and look. Thanks!

[The Jester]

As I was listening to At Wit's End on the drive home, I paused to reflect on the fact that James really has a knack for being able to read something, or see a situation between two people, or whatever, and really make some deep observations about the human condition and to weave together pretty deep, introspective lyrics about it. 

He does this brilliantly on At Wit's End, taking a very controversial topic, and one where men might just pass on the opportunity to even try to write lyrics altogether.  Yet, he handles it with grace and tact, and still manages to tell a gut-wrenching story that resonates with just about everybody. 

It reminds me of how he did something similar with Disappear and Vacant.  Even Out of Reach, when reading what James says about how he came up with the lyrics shows this same quality--just observing an everyday situation and come up with a story that he is able to weave together very poetically.

So just wanted to have a thread to appreciate James' lyric writing.  When you dig into what he does and how, he has a pretty unique approach, and I really appreciate what it brings to DT.

I think he's underrated as a lyricist. His words are simple but convey so much.

[gzarruk]

I agree, JLB definitely knows how to write very emotional lyrics. We need more of his lyrics in DT albums (Myung's too).

[Herrick]

In one of the interviews for the new album, LaBrie said it takes him weeks to write lyrics. Maybe that has something to do with the quality of his writing. I don't know how long it takes for the other lyricists (or past lyricists) in the band to write.

Note: I'm not saying Labrie's a good or bad lyricists because honestly, I don't pay much attention to the lyrics unless I really really love a song and even then I still might not care enough to fully check out the lyrics.

Edit: Couple things: At Wit's End was one of the first songs that stayed in my head (lyrically oddly enough) so it's interesting to hear LaBrie's the one who wrote the lyrics. And I was going to make another observation but I forgot what it was 

[LCArenas]

I agree. I don't sense James as much of a showoff when it comes to songwriting; not even in his solo albums does he take credit of his lyrics, but when he does he makes sure he can convey emotion in the most simplistic yet moving way possible. He won't make a Count of Tuscany or Trial of Tears or This Dying Soul (All of them having either specific, story-telling lyrics or abstract Stream of consciousness reflections); but when he feels he can write a lyric for a song he can connect to, it fits the glove perfectly. I can't imagine Disappear, At Wit's End or Far From Heaven having better lyrics than the ones he puts in; and when you find out he's gonna write the lyrics of one song, you can be 100% sure he'll put his heart and soul into it.

[DoctorAction]

James is the band's best lyricist these days. Said in another thread but I'd be all for a DT album where James writes all the lyrics.

Totally.

Lyrics are so important to me these days.

[ytserush]

I'd take James' and Myung's lyrics over Petrucci's probably 80 to 90 percent of the time. John has some great ones, but they are generally few and far between.

[Madman Shepherd]

I'd take James' and Myung's lyrics over Petrucci's probably 80 to 90 percent of the time. John has some great ones, but they are generally few and far between.

I agree I'd like to see James and JM write more (very satisfied that they finally contributued  a decent amount to this album) but I disagree about Petrucci. I'd say 80-90% of the time his lyrics are excellent. I bet if the other two wrote as much as he did, you could find 10-20% clunkers

[ReaPsTA]

As I was listening to At Wit's End on the drive home, I paused to reflect on the fact that James really has a knack for being able to read something, or see a situation between two people, or whatever, and really make some deep observations about the human condition and to weave together pretty deep, introspective lyrics about it. 

He does this brilliantly on At Wit's End, taking a very controversial topic, and one where men might just pass on the opportunity to even try to write lyrics altogether.  Yet, he handles it with grace and tact, and still manages to tell a gut-wrenching story that resonates with just about everybody. 

It reminds me of how he did something similar with Disappear and Vacant.  Even Out of Reach, when reading what James says about how he came up with the lyrics shows this same quality--just observing an everyday situation and come up with a story that he is able to weave together very poetically.

So just wanted to have a thread to appreciate James' lyric writing.  When you dig into what he does and how, he has a pretty unique approach, and I really appreciate what it brings to DT.

Very much agreed. While there's a lot of collaboration with Matt Guillory, the solo album stuff shouldn't be forgotten either. Slightly Out or Reach (as opposed to just out of reach) gets me right in the feels every time.

[Trav]

I love Slightly Out of Reach!

[JLa]

A big +1 from me - James' lyrics are usually of really high quality. Special mention to "Disappear". How can anyone read / hear that and not feel like crying?

[Max Kuehnau]

Vacant might be tear-inducing too. (and if anything, At Wit's End got me thinking about some things)

[TheGreatPretender]

James LaBrie is very good at evoking that empathy, really channeling some pathos with his lyrics (and his performance of those lyrics too, if you ask me), so yeah, I certainly agree.

But I have to say, I absolutely loved the lyrics for Viper King as well. It's, of course, much simpler, but it captures the fun groove of the song perfectly, and honestly, it's also very refreshing. I mean, Dream Theater has covered all sorts of topics in the past, real and fictional, but it's usually darker or more serious, or just something personal, which is good, I have no problem with that. I just find it so fun and refreshing that he decided to write the lyrics about the joy of driving a car. It's so simple, and yet, DT has never done that. In fact, I don't remember the last time anyone has done that, and it's a real shame, because as a subject matter, it used to be a staple of Rock music.
So yeah, as far as I'm concerned, The Viper King is Dream Theater's own Highway Star, and I think it's really awesome, and lyrically, it's all thanks to James.