If you can put your punch in the very last lines, fine.  If you wish to put your punch lines just before the last two lines—­in the third and fourth lines from the last—­well and good.  But it is never wise to put your punch so far from the end that your audience will forget it before you finish and expect something more.  It is a good rule to write your punch lines and then end your song.

Having constructed your chorus from a beginning that uses or does not use your idea line, and having by broad strokes that convey emotion developed it into your punch lines, you end your chorus, usually, but not invariably, with your idea line—­your title line.

Now you are ready to write your first verse.

6.  Make the First Verse the Introduction of the Chorus

If you have characters in your song, introduce them instantly.  If you are drawing a picture of a scene, locate it in your first line.  If your song is written in the first person—­the “you and I” kind—­you must still establish your location and your “you and I” characters at once.  If you keep in mind all the time you are writing that your first verse is merely an introduction, you will not be likely to drag it out.

(a) Write in impersonal mood—­that is, make your song such that it does not matter whether a man or a woman sings it.  Thus you will not restrict the wide use of your song.  Anyone and everyone can sing it on the stage.  Furthermore, it will be apt to sell more readily.

(b) "Tell a complete story" is a rule that is sometimes laid down for popular song-writers.  But it depends entirely upon what kind of song you are writing whether it is necessary to tell a story or not.  “A story is not necessary,” Berlin says, and an examination of the lyrics in the preceding chapter, and all the lyrics on your piano, will bear him out in this assertion.

All you need remember is that your song must express emotion in a catchy way.  If you can do this best by telling a story, compress your narrative into your verses, making your chorus entirely emotional.

(c) "Make your verses short" seems to be the law of the popular song today.  In other years it was the custom to write long verses and short choruses.  Today the reverse seems to be the fashion.  But whether you decide on a short verse or a long verse—­and reference to the latest songs will show you what is best for you to write—­you must use as few words as possible to begin your story and—­with all the information necessary to carry over the points of your chorus—­to lead it up to the joining lines.

7.  Make Your Second Verse Round Out the Story

You have introduced your chorus in your first verse, and the chorus has conveyed the emotion to which the first verse gave the setting.  Now in your second verse round out the story so that the repetition of the chorus may complete the total effect of your song.