Do Lyrics Even Matter?

[nukeitout]

I think the question is too vauge. I think the real question here is this:

How will my lyrics affect the overall success and appeal of my music with the general consumer public?

If you ask a different question, you're just going to get a bunch of individual opinoins, which can be interesting but mostly useless.

To be successful I think (here comes another opinion, but I'm answering a more specific question) you need to study the type of music you like to play and judge what make the current popular music of the same type popular. Then add your own zest (it's hard not to ) and work hard. All this talk about meanings and imagery and crap is ok, but you're talking about appealing to individual people, not the average joe, who eats at McDonalds and wishes he could only afford one of those spiffy new cell phones with a bluetooth headset so he could fully express himself.

Oops, a little too much opinion came out I think.

Tchus.

 

[warcloud3]

Seems to me, a good song is a good song, whether the lyrics or melody or the arrangement appeals to you. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to music, thats why there are so many different genre'.

I have always though you should write lyrics that people can interpret into their own experiences. Like heartbreaks, love, or whatever. Seems those kind of songs are the big hits. Problem is, they are very hard to write, at least for me.

I usually try to see the story or what im trying to write about in my head and then write about it. But other times the lyrics come as fast as i can write them down.

Hey Jack Russell,
I think the lyrics are fine, i would like to hear what they sound like with the music, that would make it easier to determine. Keep on writing!

 

[shedshrine]

Hmm. …some random stuff that comes to mind.

I remember watching the concert vid for U2’s Zooropa tour, the Australian dvd set. They were doing “where the streets have no name”. At one point during the chorus, Bono smiles and shrugs his shoulders, basically saying “hey, I don’t know what it means either”.

Maybe on that same dvd some behind the scenes studio footage, bono is trying out some ideas, lyric sheet in hand, over playback of a song in progress, and says to Larry Mullen, “so, how was that?” Larry says, “sounded great, Bon, but what does it mean?”.


I don’t always know what Bono is singing, but he wrangles every bit of emotion out of everything he sings. it works for this listener.

I love the song “Hey Bulldog” by the Beatles. I read that John said the lyrics were just complete nonsense. But hey, they sound like they’re having a great time. (There’s a vid clip on utube that verifies this

Arcade Fire’s singer sounds so world weary, you hear whatever he says in that context.

TapeOp article talking with Tchad Blake, working with Susanne Vega. On “Ten Objects of Desire”. Susanne, “Hey guys, I can come up with better lyrics on this one if you give me a few more minutes!” Froom/Blake “No, man, we’ve got this great sound going, great momentum, get in there and give us what you got” Like that album a lot.

 

[NTK88]

Not at all, just take System Of A Down for example.
Even if you dont like them, their meaningless lyrics have won millions of fans

 

[Polska_77]

I like when lyrics mean something as long as they don't have to do with anarchy and all that hippe-college-leftist shit.
I like patriotic songs, but also songs about Beer, chicks and having a good time will do most of the time.

 

[32-20-Blues]

I like patriotic songs, but also songs about Beer, chicks and having a good time will do most of the time.

Do you know any patriotic Polish songs?

Jeszcze Polska ne zginela
Polki my zyjemy.
Co nam obca przemoc wsiela...

That's all I know, sorry. And my spelling is probably really bad...

 

[Gorty]

These death metal growlers,..........hmmmmmmmmm.......their lyrics don't matter because you can't understand them anyways.

Rap lyrics, now they matter!

 

[Polska_77]

Do you know any patriotic Polish songs?

Jeszcze Polska ne zginela
Polki my zyjemy.
Co nam obca przemoc wsiela...

That's all I know, sorry. And my spelling is probably really bad...

Spelling Is actuallly pretty good.

Sure I know plenty patriotic songs!

 

[glynb]

Lyrics matter, otherwise every song would simply have 'lah lah lah' as the lyric, the fact that they don't all go 'lah lah lah' demonstrates that lyrics matter!

How much they matter, depends on the listener and the genre, surely?

It's like saying do guitar solos matter, if it's Blues yes, if it's hip hop no.

There's no 'Sometimes' option in the Poll so I can't vote!

 

[Todzilla]

I can't believe this topic is being discussed.

How 'bout:

Does rhythm really matter?

Who gives a damn about harmony?

Melody - what's up with that?

 

[bernisava]

Are lyrics necessary

Being a lyricist I think they are necessary, but only if people can relate to them. I know that the music can be just as driving as lyrics. I used to love the band Heart and loved their lyrics, but when I listen to them now, they don't make any sense and I wonder why I liked them. I think I really liked the music more.

 

[the cool one]

I tend to lean in the "lyrics don't matter" direction. There's either so many songs I've liked with words I can't even decipher, or there are songs I've thought I've deciphered and come to find out I really had no clue as to what the spoken words were, or about. Then there are the songs that I've given my own interpretation to. I like a lot of instrumentals. I also think I would have still liked songs just as much, even with different lyrics. My 2 cents.

 

[Flangerhans]

Without lyrics, I'd have no way of knowing how pretentious some of my favorite bands are. I'd never be able to know how poorly William Blake and Samuel Coleridge could be paraphrased if it wasn't for the Doors and Iron Maiden.

 

[sauce]

I think it's more of the "flow" of the lyrics and the way they are presented rather than the meaning of the words.....Soul Coughing is a Prime example.......There are meaning in some of the songs and others are just words strung together well.

 

[Whatmysay]

How many of us (musos and non-musos) remember a musical phrase without lyrics accompanying it? Short of the open bars of Beethoven’s 5th – not many. It is a right side left side brain thing – the words go in the left and the music goes in the right and that’s why they stick. You’ve got to have a fairly evolved right side to just remember lots of musical phrases (classic musicians and lead guitarists) and most of us don’t.
So from a neuroscience point of view, for the average listen words matter more, however they will matter less if not accompanied by the right musical phrase – so music matters just as much. It is not a ‘chicken and egg thing’ words come first but are intrinsically linked to the music.
From the writers point of view it just depends which side of your brain dominates when you write songs and that is determined both by genetics and environment – the good thing is you can change your preferred way of working if you practice writing against your preference – mix it up see what happens!

 

[Gorty]

Chicks listen to the lyrics.

 

[Freudian Slip]

depends on the type of music and song. To some they never matter though. It's different for everyone. Lyrics can make me hate a song I usually decide I like a song before I know all that it says.


F.S.

 

[Gorty]

The music is what matters to me!
I aren't going to like a song because the lyrics are great but the music sucks.

 

[stevey j]

depends on the type of music and song. To some they never matter though. It's different for everyone. Lyrics can make me hate a song I usually decide I like a song before I know all that it says.


F.S.

i agree. some songs (love songs, ballads, rap, country) lyrics/emotion/and vocals mean everything in.. others (hard rock, metal, experimental, pop, some rap) lyrics don't serve as anything besides something catchy to get stuck in your head at most. heck some of my favorite metal or hard rock songs that i've listened to probably a thousand times i still probably couldn't tell you the lyrics to . where as pop songs/ some rap songs have lyrics that are catchy , but the hell if i know what any of them actually mean. chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side? my lovely lady humps? snap ya fingas? even early beatles songs.

then there are other bands like at the drive in that just use as many weird big lyrics as possible . is there any meaning to them? i don't know, but it's unique. same with obla di obla da by the beatles and things like that.

 

[stevey j]

oops i meant i am the walrus. where the unique meaningless lyrics actually are part of what make the song really good. then there are bands like fantomas that don't even use real lyrics, the vocalist (mike patton) just makes a bunch of noises and screams and speaks in gibberish, and i love it.