"I start with the subject matter I want to write about. Then I make a musical base for that and create an atmosphere with the music. Once I've done that, the lyrics come last"
About this Quote
Midge Ure is quietly dismantling the romantic myth of the lightning-bolt lyricist. His process runs in the opposite direction of the diary-to-guitar cliché: concept first, then sound design, then words as the final layer of meaning. That order matters because it frames lyrics not as confession but as craft - a deliberately placed voice inside a world he has already built.
The intent is almost architectural. “Subject matter” signals purpose: he’s choosing a topic, not waiting for inspiration to strike. The “musical base” and “atmosphere” language is pure studio-era thinking, the mindset that defined late-70s and 80s pop as much as punk defined its rebuttal. Ure came up in the period when synthesizers, production sheen, and mood were not accessories but the message. You can hear it in Ultravox: the drama isn’t carried by a line-by-line narrative so much as by a climate of sound - icy, cinematic, romantic in a guarded way.
The subtext is control. By postponing lyrics, Ure protects the song from becoming didactic or over-explained. The track gets to suggest before it declares. It also implies a respect for the listener: if the atmosphere is right, words don’t need to shout; they can arrive as captions to an emotion you’re already feeling.
In cultural context, this is the logic of “new wave” maturity: pop that wants to be emotionally big without being lyrically blunt, and political without turning into a pamphlet. Lyrics last isn’t a demotion; it’s the finishing stroke that locks the mood into meaning.
The intent is almost architectural. “Subject matter” signals purpose: he’s choosing a topic, not waiting for inspiration to strike. The “musical base” and “atmosphere” language is pure studio-era thinking, the mindset that defined late-70s and 80s pop as much as punk defined its rebuttal. Ure came up in the period when synthesizers, production sheen, and mood were not accessories but the message. You can hear it in Ultravox: the drama isn’t carried by a line-by-line narrative so much as by a climate of sound - icy, cinematic, romantic in a guarded way.
The subtext is control. By postponing lyrics, Ure protects the song from becoming didactic or over-explained. The track gets to suggest before it declares. It also implies a respect for the listener: if the atmosphere is right, words don’t need to shout; they can arrive as captions to an emotion you’re already feeling.
In cultural context, this is the logic of “new wave” maturity: pop that wants to be emotionally big without being lyrically blunt, and political without turning into a pamphlet. Lyrics last isn’t a demotion; it’s the finishing stroke that locks the mood into meaning.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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