Getting Started

Start with whatever part of the song jumps out at you first. Just get the juices flowing. When I was writing a parody of the opening track from Hamilton, I immediately glommed onto “How does a Jewish orphan…” Perfect for Esther, the Jewish orphan from Shushan. And later on in the song when the cast sings, “In New York you can be a new man,” it was easy enough to swap out “Shushan” for “New York” without changing another word. 

You’ll find that you can cover a good portion of the song this way, just starting with some easy word substitutions and following your inspiration from there. Don’t worry about editing yet! If you’re not sure that a word fits perfectly, or if you think it’s not the best word choice, just leave it in for now.

Get the Hook

Parodying a song well requires a “hook” — a joke or a setup that justifies the parody. When I was preparing to write Esther’s Story (Taylor’s Version), I had a playlist of Taylor Swift songs on constant repeat in my car. When “Bad Blood” came on for the zillionth time, I suddenly thought, “‘Cause baby I’m in a bad mood.” That sounded funny to me, so I wondered, who gets in a bad mood during the spiel? The king does, after Vashti says no to him.

Once I had that one word substitution figured out, the entire song made sense. I knew who sang it, and why, and what the various verses needed to be about.

Find the Problem and Solve It

In every song, there is some portion of the lyrics that is either essential or so specific that you know your audience will be looking for it. A few examples of “problems” I’ve encountered:

• From Hamilton, in the song “Alexander Hamilton,” the title character’s name is repeated throughout as part of the chorus. But it’s very long (seven syllables!) and a specific set of accentuations (4 + 3, as in “Al-exander Ham-ilton”)

• In Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” the breakdown near the end where he sings “Mama-say mama-sa mama-ko-sah” (it’s long, specific, repetitive, and syncopated!)

• From Frozen, the song “Let It Go” uses those three words very clearly and frequently

When I’m starting a new spiel and working through which songs to use, I will often make a note of which songs I think have to be included and start identifying the “problems” for each of those songs. This is where I’ll put some serious time in on the parody, trying out different combinations of words or working through various options. I might write an entire verse, or three versions of a chorus, just to see if any of them jump out at me as being the funniest!

Rhyme and Rhythm

Rhyming

As much as possible, you want your rhymes to be true rhymes. You want to pair “hat” with “cat” not “bad.” Or “fire” with “liar” not “lighter.” True rhymes are easier for your audience to hear and understand, which helps them get the joke as it’s being sung. They don’t have to work as hard to identify the words being sung so that they can relax and be pulled along to the punchline. 

Rhythm

Stay true to the original rhythm as much as possible. This makes your parody easier to sing for the performer and easier for the audience to understand. Hewing to the original rhythm helps them process the new words with the familiar tune and get your jokes! Having the correct emphasis on a word — lining up the rhythm of the music with the correct accentuation of your parody lyric — also helps everyone relax into the song. Even one extra syllable at the beginning of the line can dull the sharp edge of your humor.

Fill Words

Oftentimes I find myself with a one-syllable hole that needs to be filled. I frequently use what I call “fill words:” that, just, and, so, old, dear. They don’t change the meaning, they’re not particularly interesting, but they help a line match up rhythmically to the original, which makes it better.

Making It (Seriously) Funny

Writing a parody is different than writing a joke because the structure of the original song gives you a framework for the humor to shine through. The audience knows the original, they know the words and melody, and hewing close to the source material sets them up for a big laugh when you switch around the words in service to your parody’s theme or the character’s specific situation. By leaning into the source material, you can use one of several strategies that help make a song funnier.

Let’s look at three specific techniques: substitutions, borrowing, and flipping. 

Substitutions

One trick I use is the substitution of a word from the original lyric with a true rhyme in the parody. You leave most of the original line intact, but build a joke out of the single-word substitution.

Here’s an example: in Shushan Rhapsody, my Purim spiel parody featuring music by Queen, I wrote a parody of the song “Somebody to Love” for Haman. The opening line of the song goes: “Can anybody find me somebody to love?”, which doesn’t fit Haman at all. I used a substitution for the word “love,” so that Haman sings, “Can anybody find me somebody to shove?” The parody copies the original lyric verbatim up until the last word, at which point it uses a true rhyme, lending a perfect punch to the joke. The audience thinks it’s going to hear the original lyric, making it ten times funnier when he says something more faithful to his character for the final word of the phrase.

Borrowing

Sometimes you can use the words in the original without changing anything because the new context makes the original line funny. In I Guess That’s Why They Call it a Spiel (featuring music by Elton John), I wrote a parody of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” that used the same title, and in the parody the title lyric doesn’t change. But because the song was about Haman’s affection for the king (as a fellow evil villain), it gets a laugh on a line that, in the original, isn’t intended to be funny. 

Flipping

One of my favorite techniques is taking a song and flipping it on its head, using either the context, style, or meaning to contrast the parody with the original. My favorite example is “Helpless” from Hamilton, which in the Broadway show is Eliza’s song about falling in love with Alexander Hamilton, but in Esther: A Persian Musical becomes Haman’s song about how Mordechai stood up to him and he felt “helpless.” The meaning flips exactly, from a joyous song to one of despair. The style of the song doesn’t change, though, which makes the new context funnier because it’s so bouncy and Haman is sad and angry. 

Keeping the Flow of Your Creativity

It’s easy to get caught up in editing or even judging your parody as you write it. Resist the urge! You will have many opportunities to address problem areas throughout the writing process. Creativity requires an ability to shut off (or, at least, turn down the volume on) that judgey voice inside your head. Let the ideas flow and save the tweaking for another time. 

Here are some tricks I use to keep my flow going:

• Don’t like a word choice? Highlight it or tag it with a comment so that it’s flagged for later. I do this often when either the rhyme is weak or the joke is potentially problematic.

• Use filler syllables like “bah” or “dah” when you know there are missing syllables in your parody. It’s important to use the exact number of syllables to match the flow of the line in the original song. Sometimes I think of a punchline before I know how I’m going to get there, and I’ll write it out like this: “bah bah bah bah bah bah dumpster fire.” (Any line that ends with dumpster fire is going to be funny!)

• Write the original lyric into your song as a placeholder. Place [brackets] around it so you know that it’s not a deliberate “borrow.” (More on that below!)

How Do You Know If It’s Funny?

First off, do you think it’s funny? Go with your gut! You’ll know in your kishkes if it’s funny.

Second, everybody needs an editor. Sing your parody for a friend, partner, kid, neighbor, or a stranger on the bus. Watch their face as you sing it to them. Do you get a laugh? A chuckle? Did they smile where you expected them to? Did they like your dumpster fire joke?

And then, once you’re satisfied that you’ve made the best parody you can given the source material and the time, release it into the world. Record yourself singing it on your phone and post it on Youtube. Go live on Facebook or Instagram.

And if you write a parody, please share it with me! I would love to see what you came up with.