I’m just going to discuss the melodic aspect. However, minimally, I can say that the melody would be derived from the rhythm, accents and rise and fall of normal speech but with one caveat, the lyrics probably rhyme using some scheme and you should not say the same thing different ways as in poetry or break rules of grammar to make something fit such as; It is I you that love.
That said, we now have to know the form we should be writing in. Yes, even your favorite icons of rebelliousness are using a formula to write songs. Usually a song will have at least two sections labeled A & B which can also be called Verse and Chorus.
Usually the chorus is second so, unless you’re Mariah Carey don’t try to put the chorus first unless a person in the music industry is telling you to do that for a recording. Also, within each section there are usually two phrases. Sections can either be 8 or 16 measures long. So we are talking about two 4 measure phrases or some other scheme such as two 1 measure phrases followed by a 2 measure phrase.
To differentiate between the verse and the chorus, the verse should start on a different note than the chorus and/or in a different rhythmic position. The chorus should feel like home so normally it should start on a stronger rhythmic position and a stronger note than the verse. Strong notes in a scale are the 1, 5, and 3. Strong rhythmic positions are the first beat and third beat of the first measure of the chorus.
If you start on the note C in C major in your chorus and you play C on beat 1 that will help to make your chorus feel like home. If you do the same thing in your verse, you will sound like a complete amateur and I’m not kidding. You CAN fudge on one, but not both. So, if the chorus starts on beat one then maybe the verse should start on beat 2. And if the chorus starts on the first note C then maybe the verse should start on a weaker note such as G, E, F, B, etc...
Another point is that if the chorus does not start on C and starts on G or E for example, the fifth or third respectively, then the verse probably shouldn’t start on a note which is even stronger than the chorus.
If you choose to do that, then please don’t also start on the same rhythmic position as the chorus which, again, will make you sound like you don’t know what you’re doing.
Also, to make the chorus sound like home, it should probably end on a strong rhythmic position and a strong note. A strong ending position in a four measure phrase is different than for a 2 measure phrase. The strongest ending position for a four measure phrase is beat 1 of the fourth measure and secondarily beat 3 of the fourth measure.
In a 2 measure phrase, the strongest ending position is beat 3 of the second measure.
You CAN end the chorus in a weaker position but then you’d have to pay attention to making the verse end even more weak than the chorus.
The reason is that you want the verse to sound like more music is coming, since more music IS actually coming. In which case it’s best to make it sound like it’s not ending.
If the chorus starts on the note G then it would be natural to end on C if you’re in C Major.
If the chorus started on the fifth note of the scale and ended on the first note of the scale then the verse perhaps can start on the 7th note of the scale and end on the third note of the scale.
Also, the chorus should perhaps reach a higher note than the verse.
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