Do We Take Lyrics Too Seriously?

[TapperMike]

I was watching this video.

And it came to me that maybe I do. I have a certain expectation of cohesion in subject matter. I don't take cognitive dissonance in others or myself well (I have moments of struggling with my conscience)

I'm curious about what you think.

[pboaz]

Some of the greatest songs ever written have terrible lyrics, when you read them on the page

e.g. "The movement you need is on your shoulder" -- WTF!?!?

But in pop often the delivery and sound of the word is what counts and a more 'meaningful' lyric wouldn't necessarily be better.

Then of course some other of the greatest songs ever written have incredible lyrics.

But personally I don't really 'get going' on a tune until I work out what it's about, what the lyrical point of view is, who's 'talking'. Typically things will start as one line of lyric or a guitar riff, a couple of chords, but for it to really turn into something I need the lyrical voice to be there, then I let that voice take the driving seat in developing the song.

This is just a long-winded way of saying "it depends"; you should take them as seriously as you want to.

[john]

It very much depends very much on genre where the balance of emphasis lies in terms of what is typical for each genre regarding the feel and the nature of the song. For example some genres are dominated by depth of lyrical meaning or the story of the lyrics, while others still are predominantly rhythmically or melodically dominated. But all components of the song have to work well together to create that whole working song, no matter the complexity of the piece.

The style of lyrics, their content an language may vary, but they need to be appropriate... just like the music. Even if the lyrics themselves turn out to be vocal sounds to add shape and rhythm and heighten emotional response (be-bop-alulla). Some genres require certain language and colloquialisms, or a depth of meaning. Above all, simple or complex, they have to work within the context of song and genre.

How seriously you take the lyrics? I guess it should be as seriously as you take the music itself. As seriously as you take songwriting. Afterall, songwriting is a craft that songwriters take seriously because they want the song as a whole to be as good as it possibly can be. If the writer has pride in their work, they care how listeners think and feel in response to the song and no matter what else they want it to shine as a complete piece fulfillng whatever role they have planned for it.

How seriously you take writing depends also on ambition and your work ethic. Some writers are careless by nature or even treat their listeners with contempt believing all that matters is that they get to express whatever they want without caring about the listeners opinions, or they are lazy and contemptious, or arrogant.

So it literally comes down to the individual, their motivation regarding songwriting, the respect they have for their audience and themselves as a songwriter... and perhaps the importance of what they are communicating.

Of course, self respect comes into it too. If our songs are important to us, then we approach them seriously no matter the genre, no matter the complexity or the emotion of the piece, no matter the song component. Every part of the song fills a role in making the whole.

In other words don't equate the dominance or balance of elements to feel, or possible success of a song with how seriously you should approach any element of a song. If you care about the quality of your songs then you take it all seriously. Every song represents you and what you stand for or perceive or believe to your audience and the rest of the world. This is true for all levels of song writers, professional or not. If you care about your reputation, then you care about what you produce. Simple as that.

Can easy to write songs be successful? Sure. Can songs with crap lyrics be successful? Sure... but in the long term generally less so than songs with better more thought out lyrics. A draft lyric can take moments or months to write, the important thing is.... do they truly work and work well? Do they contribute positively to the song? Are you willing to accept "close enough"?

Just dont kid yourself that lyrics are unimportant. They fulfill a huge role.

Dont kid yourself that quality should be forsaken for speed of writing or to increase the number of songs in your portfolio. I say that because it is something I have seen many writers mistakenly do.

Listeners expect songs of a quality, and they can label artists and writers very quickly. Perception and expectation await your songs and first impressions are hugely important to listeners. They can dismiss your song quickly labelling you everything from "turn it up" to "turn it down/off". They can see you as an amateur or a pro, and as most are likely independents, they start off with an expectation of lower quality. Be the one that bucks the trend... deliver only the good stuff.

Writing a hit is pretty well down to the scale of the marketing, and having a song that fulfills the hype. So, knowing that listeners will get to know your lyrics, and good appropriate lyrics are a prerequisite for longevity and depth of success... why would I not want my lyrics to help rather than hinder the song and it's hopefully successful promotion campaign? Why take the risk? It would be a bit like forgetting to put petrol in your car and hoping you can go the required distance. Why make it an issue? Just fill the tank and at least remove that from the possible reasons for not getting there! Easy

[TapperMike]

I enjoyed reading John's response. He could always copy and paste it into his own blog.

I don't blog that much these days but I love giving long responses in forum posts. So he might be on to something. Give a direct answer to someone's specific question and use that as either your blog post or the outline of a later blog post.

[john]

.....earlier statement by me..........

Thank you John.....I rest my case LOL

Tom

Yeah, but then I didn't take part in the debate, it was definitely overdue me sticking my oar in...

[SergeOfArniVillage]

Ravel's "Bolero" contains, when you simply hum it without the accompanying harmonies, one of the worst melodic lines I have ever heard, sounding banal, contrived, and all those other words referring to something negatively. Yet when you actually play it with the music ... you get something remarkably less awful. (I happen to think it has a certain charm, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.)

I suppose with lyrics, it's similar. I think it was Voltaire who said "Song lyrics are words too stupid to be said", or something to that effect, but when you put them to music, Ah!, now it becomes involving and artistically meaningful.

Or, of course, the lyrics can be forever terrible no matter how you slice them.

My humps, my lumps, my bumps.

[nickamandote]

lyrics are important and I've started to pay more attention to them - it's the message of the song after all, but it is also very important to have a good melody, lyrics and melody need to fulfill each other. poor lyrics can destroy a good melody and vice-versa

Edited August 19, 2012 by nickamandote

[The Methodical Songwriter]

I think the importance of lyrics are different for everyone. I don't hold too much emotion to lyrics as I do melody. My wife on the other hand can hear a song that does not draw a melodic response, but the lyrics are meaningful, and she will love the song. Like John said, it depends on the genre. Also, a set of lyrics that seem very silly to one person may be very meaningful to another person. It is tough to draw the line between what is a good, meaningful lyric and what is not.

[Janeva]

An interesting question........! I have to agree with what John has said regarding the genre. Personally, I prefer deep and meaningful lyrics - but this hasn't always been the case!

I remember owning a small collection of singles as a small child - typical singalong stuff kids love - 'Yummy Yummy Yummy' (I've got love in my tummy ) by Ohio Express, 'Sugar Sugar' by The Archies. Then I really started listening to the words of songs and spent my pocket money on such gems as 'Meet Me On The Corner' by Lindisfarne and 'Streets Of London' by Ralph McTell - I remember we had a whole school assembly dedicated to that particular song. I was reminded of this recently when I actually heard 'Sugar Sugar' playing on the local radio - after 43 years that's got to be a success!

I am always fascinated by the late Andrew Gold's 'Lonely Boy' and how a song with such an upbeat melody can reduce me to tears every time I hear it. If I wasn't a native English speaker I wouldn't even know it was a sad song. Reading the lyrics to that song, I doubt many people would have used such an upbeat melody - but it works so well.

I must admit that I would probably struggle to write down all the lyrics to some of the more recent songs I claim to like - probably because these days I struggle to read the print on CD covers. To sum up I would say, whilst melody is probably most the important to me - I do love a good story and if I can hear it, feel it or even see it I now consider that a bonus.

[Wil]

Sort of like Pboaz said, some really great tracks sound absolutely ridiculous outside of the context of the music. What I feel makes a great piece of music are lyrics that fit well with the music behind it. If the instrumental portion of the song doesn't really go together with the lyrics, then they stand out as really strange and pretty crappy. However, when the lyrics really FIT the music, the cohesion between the two really makes for an overall better song. For instance, it's usually better to write happy music to accompany happy lyrics, or sad music to sad lyrics. Not to say that happy lyrics CAN'T fit to sad music, sometimes it just works, there's really no exact science to it.

[realfanback]

Lyrics are very important in music, they should never be ignored

[glissongs]

To me, it depends. "Story" songs MUST have great lyrics...they have to draw the listener in. If they have a great melody, even better. The great singer/songwriters (James Taylor/ Jackson Browne/ Dan Fogelberg/ etc) usually did both. Newer songs like "The House That Built Me" or "Highway 20 Ride" have great. emotional lyrics AND good melodies, which is why they are huge hits.

But Maroon 5's "Payphone" is a GIANT hit with mediocre lyrics...but tremendous melody. No one cares too much how great those lyrics are 'cos you're just bopping in your seat listening to it.

[Rudi]

Lyrics are usually the last thing I listen to upon hearing a new song.

 

I get around to it eventually.

 

I agree they are, or should be important. It's just for years I never bothered with words. As a child, most of the time I couldnt understand the words to songs. By that I mean that the words were indistict, and might've been almost anything.

 

As a matter of fact, this topic and recent posts on the Lyrics Critique area have prompted me to write a song.

 

It will be called

 

'It Doesn't Matter What I Sing'.

[bakerusc]

I think the importance of lyrics are different for everyone. I don't hold too much emotion to lyrics as I do melody. My wife on the other hand can hear a song that does not draw a melodic response, but the lyrics are meaningful, and she will love the song. Like John said, it depends on the genre. Also, a set of lyrics that seem very silly to one person may be very meaningful to another person. It is tough to draw the line between what is a good, meaningful lyric and what is not.

 

I'm the same way. I listen to the melody and beat etc. While my wife can like a song just for the lyrics.

 

My background is more pop/rock where the lyrics don't matter as much. I've been working on some songs for country where it's more important to tell a story or have some type of interesting perspective or twist. It can be very challenging to write for country.