So I'm a girl singer in a guy punk/rock band and we want to write some of our own songs. So they told me that I should write them since I'm the singer, but I can't make them "girly". I wanna know what counts as "girly" and how I can write lyrics that would fit into my band and not be a song about like an alligator or something. Please help me!

with all due respect to them... tell them to f8ck off and that you'll write girly lyrics if you want to.

for example... if you were to write a love song, i would assume that if you are standardly hetrosexual you'd be writing your song about a guy. Now, technically, i think that counts as girly. Look at No Doubt, she writes "Girly" lyrics, but their sh*t wrawks hard.

i say write what you want... i think they're just concerned (as i might be) that a girl can *actually* rock out, because you are so few and far between, (you being, girls who can actually rock)

so... write what you want, if it's good it's good... that's all that matters. and in their minds... i think that generally songs about ponies, shoes and care bears are sort of out of the quesion. but i don't know who in their right mind would or could write a song on any of those topics and make it cool... hmm wait, scratch that... Ween did a fantastic song about a pony... and Tuck & Patti did a jammin song about shoes... ehhh... yeah but care bears, i dunno... i suppose whoever wrote the theme song for the TV show did everything there was to do with that topic.

anyway, the point is... if you write WELL... there's no topic that's off limits that can't be turned into a good song of any genre. just as a suggestion... i dare you to write a dark deep brooding angry song about the color pink. it's all relative... you ARE in a punk band... and female musicians ARE notiorious for being pussies, i mean you do have them, so it's natural... please don't be offended, it's just a general observation, cuz i mean, girls are girls... socio-demographically speaking... it's a matter of culture.

so the guys in your band are trying to tell you a couple things... one that they are desperately insecure with themselves as masculine beings, and two that they're desperately doubly insecure with themselves as masculine beings if you, a girl, are able to step up to the plate and be a punk rocker also. so do it... step up... be hardcore, but don't forget... you ARE a girl... act accordingly.. to your own desires of course 

i think it's important to understand that not all songs are necesarily (i can't spell that word... forgive me.) about "girly" topics.  especially in a punk band.  punk is good.  punk is life   i love that gendre (and all the little ones that it keeps spawning!) and i can't even try to count the number of topics i've run in to over time.

guys do their share of "girly" lyrics too, it just doesn't come off that way when a guy does it.  yeah, people will call him things, like he's being emo or something, but it's about the same as "girly" i think.  and look how far some of them go

but back to the point:  there are other topics that can work really well, regardless of the singer, such as watching life fly by, people changing (for better or for worse, you decide), how highschool jobs suck, you could crack down on somebody that's just too over-dramatic and thinks highschool is a parallel for life.  a good band can switch it up randomly and make a slower song, though.

new found glory is awesome in that respect, i think.  they're all writing songs like "Better Off Dead" and "At Least I'm Known For Something" to "I'd Kill to Fall Asleep", but then they can go and write songs like "Eyesore" , "I Don't Wanna Know" , "Broken Sound" , and "The Story So Far".

i DO agree with this though:

it can be hard, but if you take enough time, anything will work.

good luck to you!

What counts as girly. Don't make them about guys, or what a woman wants. If they're about love make them non-gender specific, or at least negative. If they're negative then they can be about guys, but they should have maybe some biting witt or sarcasm

I think it's really annoying when people sing lyrics they would never write, like when it's a Britney Spears singing "hit me baby".  That song sounds like it was written by some 40 year old virgin who's only female contact is through mtv.  I find it much more interesting to hear something from a female perspective.

On the other hand it's also not all that interesting to hear Tori Amos whine some more.  Not many (straight) guys own a cd of hers, and I doubt your band would play that stuff for free. 

IMHO the very best female-written lyrics belong to Bjork, Linda Perry (wrote the Christina Aguilera song "Beautiful"), Peaches, and The Dresden Dolls.  I would listen to them if you really lack guidence.

I also diagree with everything DirkDiggler said.  Listen to the song "Coin-Operated Boy" by dresden dolls which is a positive darkly humerous sarcasm free song about a boy that works very well.

As the others said, don't try to change your writing style too much - make it come from the heart. Just keep away from the obvious "girly" topics already covered. And seeing as it's punk, a negative edge will never hurt... I find that it's easier to write negative stuff (even though I don't play a whole lot of it), but that's just me.

I think what you're doing with your band is cool. I'd really hoped for a long time I could put together a rockin group with a female lead... adds a very nice change to the sound. Nowadays, a unique sound is big plus when it comes to standing out from the crowds of other groups out there. My current group uses a number of unusual instruments to help the sounds of different songs. I'm kind of the odd-man jack-of-all-trades who ends up playing them all. 

Anyhow, good luck!