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Lyrics, how much do they really matter to your average listener


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So, here's a theory I'm working on. The idea that people truly listen closely to lyrics when listening to music seems far fetched in most cases, but the idea that they ignore lyrics completely also seems unlikely. I propose that when people, especially passively, listen to music, they don't think of the lyrics but for about two reasons. First, they'll think about the lyrics they're hearing if something strikes them as odd or unusual, whether it be explicit lyrics, or convoluted ones, or just plain silly ones. If something jumps out as surprisingly unusual, people will suddenly take notice, even though more subtle unusual lyrics often go unnoticed. Second, they will think about lyrics if they're singing along or replaying the song in their head, mainly out of necessity. I don't think people have the opening lines of Don't Stop Believing memorized because they think it's poetry. I think they have those words memorized because they're sung so memorably and when the catchiness of the tune has them replaying it in their head or singing it out loud, they kinda need to know the lyrics to an extent to do that.

 

But what do you guys think? How do you think people process lyrics when you're listening passively? What do you think perks people's ears up to lyrics and what causes them not to know the words to songs they've heard many times?

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Some of my favorites lyrics were from Jon Anderson in the glory days of YES, as he admittedly wrote them not so much for the literal meaning, but for the way the words sounded when strung together, and how they created more of an aural experience than a literal ,conscious thought ..

 

Music is to the ear what film is to the eye ... It's called "music" after all - which is what ??

 

Sound that creates an experience

 

Melody is very important to me - moreso than the actual meaning of the lyrics ... Being preached to is far down on the totem poll as far as what is important to me in music .... A great lyricist can plant seeds in your mind and allow you to create you own personal image ...

 

There are guitar players and piano players that will bring tears to my eyes without saying one thing in any verbal language

 

My point is that bending certain notes, creating certain vibrations with any instrument - the tone the communication of sound - non verbal voice voice included - can be as meaningful, if not more, than actual words ...

 

EP, I know that it was not you intention, and I;m not sayin' that you went here - but - it's a very slippery slope when someone talking music puts themselves in a position to gauge what "the average listener" or "the masses" or whatever like to hear ...

 

Some of the greatest, most connected songwriters IMHO are the ones who create great music that a lot of people bond with and relate to ...

 

Just because lyrics might seem simple doesn;t necessarily mean they are any less meaningful than something that might come across as highbrow or intellectual ....

 

 

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Edited by Lucas
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with me it really depends on the genre .. if I'm listening to prog rock or metal i really don't need to draw anything from the lyrics .. i just want the whole package to hit me all at once usually .. and then it really depends on the singer .. some of them i understand the words as they sing them but many of them i do not

 

if it's folk music i need the lyrics to hit me .. i love the acoustic guitar in that genre but i really depend on the lyrics to really enjoy the song

 

if its pop rock like Don't stop Believing i think i really do like the lyrics to hit me there too .. at least i like the chorus to stand out as something meaningful and usually just fun to me

 

funny thing happened to me recently .. I was at a dance competition with my two daughters and I was just watching some of the other dancers perform .... this one young girl comes out and dances a lyrical style dance to I Believe by Fantasia and about half way through the song I am emotional! I thought it was weird that I was but i really was ... she put so much into the dance ... the words to that song are cheesy but I knew they were about overcoming the odds and I guess that's what really hit me .. just thought I'd share that .. I guess in pop music I need the lyrics too ...

 

I listen for many different reasons .. some of those I need the lyrics and some I don't .. and I think I am probably a pretty average listener

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Very good lyrics can make a song better for me, but bad lyrics dont ruin a song for me, unless they are brutally bad

Bad lyrics ruin bands for me, looking at you Ratt, Def Leppard and Crötley Mü.

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Some of my favorites lyrics were from Jon Anderson in the glory days of YES, as he admittedly wrote them not so much for the literal meaning, but for the way the words sounded when strung together, and how they created more of an aural experience than a literal ,conscious thought ..

 

Music is to the ear what film is to the eye ... It's called "music" after all - which is what ??

 

Sound that creates an experience

 

Melody is very important to me - moreso than the actual meaning of the lyrics ... Being preached to is far down on the totem poll as far as what is important to me in music .... A great lyricist can plant seeds in your mind and allow you to create you own personal image ...

 

There are guitar players and piano players that will bring tears to my eyes without saying one thing in any verbal language

 

My point is that bending certain notes, creating certain vibrations with any instrument - the tone the communication of sound - non verbal voice voice included - can be as meaningful, if not more, than actual words ...

 

EP, I know that it was not you intention, and I;m not sayin' that you went here - but - it's a very slippery slope when someone talking music puts themselves in a position to gauge what "the average listener" or "the masses" or whatever like to hear ...

 

Some of the greatest, most connected songwriters IMHO are the ones who create great music that a lot of people bond with and relate to ...

 

Just because lyrics might seem simple doesn;t necessarily mean they are any less meaningful than something that might come across as highbrow or intellectual ....

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

Oh I was just trying to start a conversation about a thought I had, didn't mean to start calling people average listeners really. I agree that a lot of the impact of lyrics is sometimes just how they sound being sung, and other times they stand out for what they say, and sometimes it's a bit of both.

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I don't put much stock in lyrics. There are quite a few bands I like that have some really nonsensical lyrics. Yes and Dio to name but 2.

 

Dio is the master of nonsensical lyrics that people think have some kind of deeper meaning behind it when they don't. He certainly had a unique way of writing lyrics but most of it is vague nonsense. He delivered everything with such power vocally that he got fans to believe what he was saying had some huge message beneath the surface. Ronnie got us good. I still love Dio and always will.

Edited by J2112YYZ
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I don't put much stock in lyrics. There are quite a few bands I like that have some really nonsensical lyrics. Yes and Dio to name but 2.

 

Dio is the master of nonsensical lyrics that people think have some kind of deeper meaning behind it when they don't. He certainly had a unique way of writing lyrics but most of it is vague nonsense. He delivered everything with such power vocally that he got fans to believe what he was saying had some huge message beneath the surface. Ronnie got us good. I still love Dio and always will.

 

To be fair, Stand Up And Shout isn't nonsense and does have meaning.

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I don't put much stock in lyrics. There are quite a few bands I like that have some really nonsensical lyrics. Yes and Dio to name but 2.

 

Dio is the master of nonsensical lyrics that people think have some kind of deeper meaning behind it when they don't. He certainly had a unique way of writing lyrics but most of it is vague nonsense. He delivered everything with such power vocally that he got fans to believe what he was saying had some huge message beneath the surface. Ronnie got us good. I still love Dio and always will.

 

To be fair, Stand Up And Shout isn't nonsense and does have meaning.

 

Yes it does. He does have songs with meaning. I was talking about songs like Neon Knights, Sign Of The Southern Cross, Holy Diver, Sacred Heart, etc. Songs that paint great imagery with the lyrics but really don't mean anything. Dio has a ton of those.

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I don't put much stock in lyrics. There are quite a few bands I like that have some really nonsensical lyrics. Yes and Dio to name but 2.

 

Dio is the master of nonsensical lyrics that people think have some kind of deeper meaning behind it when they don't. He certainly had a unique way of writing lyrics but most of it is vague nonsense. He delivered everything with such power vocally that he got fans to believe what he was saying had some huge message beneath the surface. Ronnie got us good. I still love Dio and always will.

 

To be fair, Stand Up And Shout isn't nonsense and does have meaning.

 

Yes it does. He does have songs with meaning. I was talking about songs like Neon Knights, Sign Of The Southern Cross, Holy Diver, Sacred Heart, etc. Songs that paint great imagery with the lyrics but really don't mean anything. Dio has a ton of those.

 

I completely agree. RJD wrote amazing melodies, and a lot of his fans like to think his lyrics were full of really deep metaphors. I don't think so. In fact, when the Dio Years tracks came out, it was instantly clear to me Shadow of the Wind was drugs talking to a user. Later, I heard Ronnie talking about the song, and he suggested that the meaning of the song was so subtle that unless he told you what it was about you probably would never guess. So I don't Ronnie was quite as deep as one might think. One of my all time favorite singers though.

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I don't put much stock in lyrics. There are quite a few bands I like that have some really nonsensical lyrics. Yes and Dio to name but 2.

 

Dio is the master of nonsensical lyrics that people think have some kind of deeper meaning behind it when they don't. He certainly had a unique way of writing lyrics but most of it is vague nonsense. He delivered everything with such power vocally that he got fans to believe what he was saying had some huge message beneath the surface. Ronnie got us good. I still love Dio and always will.

Stuff like "The dark is the light that shines in the night", which I just made up, but sounds great if Ronnie is singing it over that marching metal beat. Lots of dragons, kings and queens... climbing, shining, searching and finding... Great imagery but mostly nonsensical in the end.

 

 

Then there's Die Young. :haz:

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Lyrics aren't a make or break with me...it's more about the music.

 

I can still enjoy a good song with bad lyrics. But I can't enjoy good lyrics with a bad or boring song.

 

At the end of the day, the lyrics are written to embellish the song. You aren't trying to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.

 

Lyrics without a song is just called a poem.

Edited by HemiBeers
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It's all about how the lyrics are delivered in the song. I'll use Whole Lotta Love by Zeppelin as an example. The lyrics themselves are pure shit. But the way Plant sings them and the music behind it make it sound good and much better than what they are. Bad lyrics can still sound good if arranged right with the song.
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I don't put much stock in lyrics. There are quite a few bands I like that have some really nonsensical lyrics. Yes and Dio to name but 2.

 

Dio is the master of nonsensical lyrics that people think have some kind of deeper meaning behind it when they don't. He certainly had a unique way of writing lyrics but most of it is vague nonsense. He delivered everything with such power vocally that he got fans to believe what he was saying had some huge message beneath the surface. Ronnie got us good. I still love Dio and always will.

Stuff like "The dark is the light that shines in the night", which I just made up, but sounds great if Ronnie is singing it over that marching metal beat. Lots of dragons, kings and queens... climbing, shining, searching and finding... Great imagery but mostly nonsensical in the end.

 

 

Then there's Die Young. :haz:

 

Don’t forget wheels and circles. Ronnie loved round sh*t.

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Don’t forget wheels and circles. Ronnie loved round sh*t.

 

You don't say?

 

"Circles and rings..." -- Neon Knights

 

"...life's a carousel." -- Heaven and Hell

 

"I'm a neverending wheel" -- Wishing Well

 

"Break the crystal ball" -- The Sign of tbe Southern Cross

 

"Break the circle..." -- The Mob Rules

 

"The wheel is thrown to the ground" -- The Mob Rules

 

"You've been running in a circle" --Slipping Away

 

"Round and round you go" -- Slipping Away

 

"No more running in a circle" -- Slipping Away

 

"I should be at the table round" -- Falling Off the Edge of the World

 

"Another day on the roundabout" -- TV Crimes

 

"You've been nailed to the wheel" -- Stand Up and Shout

 

"If your circle stays unbroken" -- Invisible

 

Oh god, there's like ten albums to go. I can't take it anymore.

 

 

I left out COUNTLESS references to the sun and moon, which are, y'know, round.

Edited by Chronos
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