Name five words that recur in some song-lyricist’s work, but don’t name the writer. Let us guess which songwriter you have in mind. It won’t do to list such words as “love” and or “you,” but rather words that this one lyricist uses that are “his” or “her” words.
I’ll start: trouble devil travel dancing lonely
Who am I thinking of?
Roy Orbison? Or maybe his reincarnation Chris Isaak?
I won’t offer my own list unless I got it right.
Nah, go ahead and name someone. I’ll let other people guess mine while they’re guessing yours. It’s surprisingly hard to select words that are peculiar to a writer.
How about I give a hint for every incorrect guess: think of a female lyricist, still alive.
Zircon Encrusted Tweezers Sears Poncho.
Easy. Frank Zappa
My first guess was either Billy Idol or whomever wrote for INXS, but I see by your hint that I was wrong. However, I’m bumping this thread because I’m quite curious.
Joni Mitchell. Who would be easier if I gave true “signature” words for, like “Hejira” or “Clouds,” oddball words that appear prominently in titles of well-known songs or albums, but I was going more for the mood of a typical JM lyric, which are often about her restlessness, her alienation from her current lover, etc.
I wish there were a concordance for lyricists (which should be fairly since the invention of the computer)–I used to to look up words for Shakespeare in his concordance when I was in grad school, and I was often amazed how frequently he used certain odd words and how rarely he used other, more common ones.
Here’s another set of words: father mother motel waitress guitar
Someone I’m thinking about always worked “rainbows” into the lyrics…
There’s a (not terribly good) band that uses “geezers” with surprising regularity. If you’ve heard any of their songs, you won’t need another 4 words to guess!
Girl, night, street.
beauty, especially in the phrase “your beauty”
song/singer
golden
street
gypsy
Springsteen?
How about: Jellyroll, Water, Eyes
Van Morrison
insulated
unobtrusive
ploughmen
turbine
arranger
All from about a 5-6 year period.
Rush?
megaphone misconstrued Jefferson pretend ornithology
Shouldn’t be too hard 
Fleisch
Herz
Feuer
Himmel
Stirbt
Skid Row? 
river
dream
sunshine
mountain
summer
John Denver?
XTC?
quisling
cancer
cutting
downhearted
propaganda