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How Important Is Song Lyric Meaning To You?


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I was recently discussing this topic with another musician and  I think we were saying some of the same things basically but might have had slightly different views. Communication might have been an issue as well.

 

I hear a lot of music with lyrics that I have no idea what they mean. Sometimes an artist has an intended meaning and at other times the artist has a very generic approach to it. My method is either an overt meaning or a partially hidden meaning. Sometimes hidden meanings can be dual meanings depending.

 

Sometimes when I write the latter I get requests from listeners to explain what I intended to say in the song. Since a lyric can help to move a person emotionally, the way a lyric is taken can have an impact either way as I see it.

 

I have never set out to write anything with an extremely difficult understanding but that's me. I tend to be very analytical in my approach and my brain tries very hard to make some kind of a connection pretty soon into a song.

 

Some songs seem to be a way the writer is grappling with an issue but hasn't resolved the issue and so the song kind of lets you hanging ,because the writer is still hanging...I have heard several songs like that lately. Some of those songs leave me with an unfinished feeling even though the music itself is wonderful. Sometimes the answers in songs don't work in the real world...at least not for me.

 

Some writers seem to think that if they are too overt in their approach it might sound like they are "preaching" some kind of a message that others might not welcome. I can certainly see where this could happen although in my case I feel my songs simply make a statement of a percieved reality that might invite further introspection, alternate thought or neither depending on the listener. For instance, my song" Wise Man From Wongo" could be taken to mean that someone visited a guru on a mountain and recieved some kind of insight from him that helped. The deeper meaning is that to recieve wisdom is to pursue the wise. The wise could be anyone...but I chose to use a guru type of figure to represent wisdom even though I don't consider gurus to always be wise...the picture of an older man is very representative of wisdom as older people usually are more wise( not always).

 

Sometimes my meanings are very vague....so I think I might be a lot like those who write mysterious songs. I write mysterious sometimes but I intend the listener to get a meaning from it.

 

Usually though in the music I hear...there is some kind of a purpose, but not always. Music can move with no lyrics at all..good music is moving no matter what. If you include a lyric, how do you decide what to write? Do you intentioanlly set out to be mysterious? Why? 

 

Sometimes when I listen to music it seems like a snapshot of an artist...of where they are emotionally, mentally, etc. A point in time where they are sad or confused or happy,or telling a story...but I can usually tell what these songs are. Other times the artists seems to me to be insulated from or detached from the music. The music seems less about personal expression and more about an aim to do something that sits well with a majority of people. I like to read the artist when I hear the music see a glimpse into who they are or what they are conveying from  their viewpoint.

 

What are your thoughts???? Does a selection of lyric determine the value of the music? For instance a TV commercial...does the use of music for commercial reasons cheapen the medium in your opinion? Is music written for or about...say God make it more valuable? Music about sex? Music about love? 

 

Music about everyday activity can tell a story but it takes away any important story elements IMO. Unless people find it interesting and can somehow relate to it. The power to make it important or unimportant seems to be in our hands.

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To me lyrics mean a lot, and honestly I can say that took about 38 years to happen. For the longest time I, like you Larry, didn't hear lyrics at all, because I didn't listen for them. Today I listen and have discovered a whole new world, a better world for the greater part but the downside being, going back to some of your teen idols you grew up listening to, and you start listening and also reading their lyrics?!?! Ouch! There's some I wish I could have just left alone and unspoiled believe me.

But the songwriting becomes a greater challenge and more fun when you try to add good/great lyrics to it. I just wish I could have listen to lyrics all of my life, but even though I haven't, I'm glad I do now.

This is my very own take on how I used to listen so take it for what it is, but regarding the overall listener, the one I used to be. The kind of listener that more so hear the music and the harmonies before the actual lyrics, I'd say it's more important to not throw in something lyrically that doesn't belong in the song?!?! Not so much what you say but how it sounds when you say it!?! You get what I'm gunning for here? Hehe! This is a hard one for me to explain but I'll try. I think back in the day, I was more apt to hear a weird, or even bad sounding, lyric/wording than a smoothly written one. Meaning, even though I didn't listen or heard lyrics, I heard when they were off or bad. Makes sense? For example, a song like Yesterday, it took me forever to listen to the actual words and what the song was about, but never in my life has it sounded weird or off, the lyrics just runs very smoothly with the music from start to finish.

In short, if you, like me in my latter years, are really into lyrics…well good for us! It's more fun this way.

However I don't think the average listener cares really as long as it doesn't sound too weird and have a few catchy lines in the right places. Popular music proves this fact over and over again. If you have something memorable, that stands out lyrically, preferably a short phrase or better yet, one word, that reveals the context of your lyrics, the rest just needs to be a smooth fill out, not too cliche and on topic, and you're good to go. Easier said than done though...

S

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Larry I can really relate to your OP.

 

I approach song construction  the same way as you most of the time.

 

I  usually develop  the mechanics of the song first from something I am feeling. The tough part is to convey that feeling into words. Sometimes it comes easy..other times it can be tough. I'm working on one now that I have all the underpinnings for and I can hear a vocal but in my mind it hasn't formed into anything verbal yet ..lol. All I need are words and I can develop it into something but the words haven't came yet.

 

I know I want to write something about interconnectedness, maybe using string or web as some kind of a description...but things peter out after that :) If I were to draw the conclusion that there are others like me , then I can understand why we have so many songs where the writer might have settled for second best because a wonderful lyric couldn't be found and since this is *ahem* art...we can get away with it and not too many people even seem to care.

 

Just like you I grew up full of hormones and pumped on caffeine most of the time ( ok maybe that wasn't you :))...so I took songs  in big gulps. If it were a book I would be speed reading it. I liked more of the vibe...the jist of the whole thing without really knowing anything about the song meaning and I must not have cared because i never went to a lot of trouble to find out back then. Heck for all I cared the lyrics could be part of the instrumentation and sometimes they had that effect.

 

Then as I got older. I started to listen to music for an actual reason. It became more than something going on in the background as a kind of distant entertainment. If I read you right S , you  have taken a similar route. You started to appreciate lyrics more later on.

 

 I appreciate the artist more if I discover a meaningful lyric in their music. It takes the music to a deeper level for me. I like to feel what they are feeling but also know why they are feeling it. I'm no longer as satisfied with something I can't readily comprehend,feel or relate to. .I might try to listen several times to get the meaning...but sometimes it 's impossible to get a meaning and it's obvious that you can't get a meaning from it unless you consult the artist and ask them and sometimes they don't know.Sometimes the music is powerful enough for me to be only mildly concerned with lyric, but I still wonder what it all means.

 

To me a song doesn't need to be overly complicated to accomplish its mission.Remember some of those lyrics in  some Kansas songs? I don't think many would get to the bottom of some of those in one listen. To me, making such long drawn out lyrics can take away , rather than add to it.

 

Some great thoughts there Tunesmith! If you are solely looking at monetary considerations when referring to Sting, then maybe taking that direction or non direction is a good thing. I don't know all of those lyrics to this day , the part that comes across is the part about watching and yes, us men, we  watch and make calculated decisions based on what we see and hear...so that part of the song resonates with me even though I don't know the rest of it....although I always thought it was odd that watching was emphasized so much in that song. I think I had a small hunch but never really knew.

 

What I hear you saying is that commercial success isn't dependent on clearly understood meaningful lyrics.From that perspective I totally agree. Commercial success back when Sting was hot was arguably more dependent on record companies than it is now. Has todays listener/buyer changed any since then? Buying habits maybe...listeners, probably not.

 

 

Some people don't really want to listen or reflect. They are looking for an escape from that . Life can seem easier when you don't know the details sometimes. I think we all need to detach at times and just enjoy something without thinking about it. OTOH taking in meaning and depth can make us stronger...and maybe we can do both. :)

 

I like to think that there are more people out there who really appreciate a song with some kind of depth to it and not just song writers. I think it's possible to do both. Write a good song with a meaningful lyric...doesn't need to be a deep soul searcher kind of thing...just have some kind of meaning and direction to mean more to me personally and I haven't always been that way.

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TuneSmith!

I believe that article to be spot on. Memorable lines/phrases and/or singled out words is what people tend to hear, no matter what we want them to hear. Sting's song "Every breath you take" is the perfect example of this. People, myself included hear the line; every breath you take, and from there they create their own reality about the song. That line, separated from the rest of the song, to me is a love song. I think that's how most people listen to songs without realizing it, one bit sticks out and that's the bit you remember. Doesn't matter if you miss out on the whole intended meaning of the original song, if so, you just create your own version subconsciously and everyone's happy.

This may not be the most likable nor prettiest scenario being a lyricist and all, but I believe it to be the truth. But, on the other hand, it's fun writing lyrics and there's plenty of people left that DO listen and enjoy great lyrics so it's not all bad is it?!? =)

S

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Then as I got older. I started to listen to music for an actual reason. It became more than something going on in the background as a kind of distant entertainment. If I read you right S , you  have taken a similar route. You started to appreciate lyrics more later on.

 

I like to think that there are more people out there who really appreciate a song with some kind of depth to it and not just song writers. I think it's possible to do both. Write a good song with a meaningful lyric...doesn't need to be a deep soul searcher kind of thing...just have some kind of meaning and direction to mean more to me personally and I haven't always been that way.

Yes and yes. ;-)

On your last part, there are people out there that appreciate a great lyric and always will be. I don't think it applies to the majority of the people though, they hear bits and pieces they like and that's about it.

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That's ok Tunesmith...when have you ever read any thread and had everyone agree on everything? Me neither :)

 

I think middle of the road is a safe place to be. I think at my place in life now I like some kind of a substance to things...to me this adds a value. We live in a time when nothing means anything to anyone, or everything can mean anything..so when something means something I like it, even if I'm not in agreement with it. Even if I don't pick up on it in the first listen.I see a depth...know what I mean? 

 

I'm not against hidden meanings. We have had them for centuries in many things. In covering this subject matter I think we have a scope of opinion that is a reflection of how society generally handles everything....one person states something, another person states an alternate or different view...the democratic process most of us live with accepts all views as equal and maybe they are or maybe they aren't...yet in order to make everything sit well with everyone we accept that all views are equal even if one view can be proven to be wrong or is not accurate. When talking about art there is always room for flexibility and it  comes down to what the artist wants and that might be entirely different than the public perception of it...although this is another condition of society...the herd mentality usually follows that we don't go too deep in anything because the deeper you go the more room there is for disagreement, but at what cost..reality? The elephant in the room sometimes is that we are all less because we all all inclusive to a fault.

 

So if I were to take my instructions from this thread to write a song I would try to write something superficial in order to be digestable to the most people commercially.Or maybe try to cram a meaning into a few quick phrases....I think we are mostly talking about pop music here because it is usually upbeat and has a hook of some kind...to me the commercial value is secondary to  the substance of it. 

 

 

I'm no expert in songwriting, I don't know every trick.I like to try. I like to be moved and to understand what I'm listening to if at all possible but that's me...:)

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So if I were to take my instructions from this thread to write a song I would try to write something superficial in order to be digestable to the most people commercially.Or maybe try to cram a meaning into a few quick phrases....I think we are mostly talking about pop music here because it is usually upbeat and has a hook of some kind...to me the commercial value is secondary to  the substance of it.

OH hell no!!! ;-)

I had record companies hanging over my shoulder, demanding a certain type of music they could sell, for years. It's a dangerous way to make music, at least for me it was. I found myself at that place many moons ago and it almost got me to the point I stopped writing altogether. I won't go back there ever.

What is mentioned above is just one recipe of many that more so caters to the masses. No matter what we think of it, this is how many people hear music and it's one formula that works, however superficial it may be.* Do I follow it? No I don't. But I'm not after commercial success in that way anymore, I was when I was younger, now I write what I like without restrictions. Thankfully there's more ways you can go to reach success or be liked by many. I like to think you can still add lyrical and/or musical hooks along with thoughtful lyrical depth and still get commercial success, if that's what you want.

S

Edit: *This is mostly mainstream (pop) I'm talking about here.

Edited by The S
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