Remember how Jay-Z used to punch up raps for the likes of P. Diddy before Jay-Z didn’t need the extra bread. Rob Sharpe, lyricist behind songs like “Diamonds Are Forver” and “Born Free” does the same thing for the likes Of Michael Jackson, Gary Barlowe and Robbie Williams.
So what’s his secret?
According to Rob Sharpe interviewing Black in the Independent: “Black says that every time he gets sent some music he plays it this way; he then sits at his desk, strolls across Holland Park or goes to get a cup of tea until inspiration takes hold. Sometimes it takes minutes, other times, days.”
Black said: “”When I write a song I hope many singers will sing it,” he says. “Tom Waits and Bob Dylan write for themselves. I’m looking for universal themes, adhering to a few basic rules, like not doing the high note on E. I’ve learned to find original things to say about the human condition. If you say ‘you’ve lost that loving feeling’ it’s better than saying ‘you don’t love me any more’. ‘Love changes everything’, because it does. ‘Tell me on a Sunday’; I think people can relate to that if you’re about to break up with someone.”
David Arnold, who co-wrote 007 songs “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “The World Is Not Enough” with Black concluded: “One thing I learned from working with Don is that he makes things sound believableHe creates words that are very singable. It might read poetically, but it is the way they tumble out of the mouth. He has a great love of the shape and meaning of words. He has a great sense of the vernacular. It sounds like you’ve heard it before, but you never have.”
Black is currently re-writing the lyric to “Diamonds Are Forever”. To paraphrase yet another of his lyrics, it’s like we never said goodbye.