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How many people really listen or care about lyrics?


PaulWarning

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I love writing lyrics and I'm not bad at it. I was given the job out of neccessity and now it's one of my favourite band related things. As to listening to lyrics I love a great line or even an inane lyric if it fits the feel of the song. They are probably always more important to the people that write them than to the listeners which is hard for an ego to accept I'm sure...   

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1 hour ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Many people don't listen to lyrics - for when example brides request 'band of gold' to be played at their wedding reception

 

47 minutes ago, TrevorR said:

Or have “Easy” by The Commodores as their first dance...

 

Or 'Every Breath You Take'. Or 'It should have been me'. Or 'Ho Hey'. Or any number of other weird choices. Probably a thread in its own right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Teebs said:

I think that some people do try to work out what the lyrics mean, and others are just happy for the words to fit the tune.

BJ and Cameron probably just said that they liked these bands 'cos they thought it'd make them sound cool, rather missing the socialist message behind the words.

This. A bit like Born in the USS being used by an American president as a election song. Shows how stupid our leaders are.

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15 hours ago, KevB said:

A great lyric can make a song, a lousy one can ruin it. I listen to way more songs than instrumentals so they obviously must have an influence on me.

I can't stand instrumentals. They do nothing for me at all. I even quickly get bored with a song if the into is too long. Probably why, although rock is my favourite musical genre, I was never really a fan of prog. 

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15 hours ago, stuckinthepod said:

What are good lyrics? Everyone will have a different view. Witty, rhyming, poetic, evocative, tied in well with melody??

I love poetic lyrics.... I also love Black Sabbath who managed to rhyme "masses" with ... "masses"

what about this beaut from Marillion

By the way didn't I break your heart?
Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart
So sorry, I never meant to break your heart
But you broke mine

 

I like a good lyric ..if it's well sung. Paul Weller and Joe Strummer, fr'instance, wrote some strong lyrics but went and ruined it all (for me) with awful vocals

Edited by Barking Spiders
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5 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I can't stand instrumentals. They do nothing for me at all. I even quickly get bored with a song if the into is too long. Probably why, although rock is my favourite musical genre, I was never really a fan of prog. 

Ha. Then imagine the look on the face of this very young female attendant in the record shop back in '69 or thereabouts, when this nerdy looking 12-year-old me, after having listened to one side of Yes' eponymous album answered her question: "Did you like that record?" with a disappointed: "Nah. They sing too much..."

Edited by BassTractor
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Can't be doing with trite, statin'-the-bleedin'-obvious lyrics, or with endless "ooh baby" nonsense...

But a clever lyric is a thing of joy; by clever I mean interesting word-play, or a previously unthought-of analogy, or a new and interesting point of view.

But, no matter how clever, they need the music more than the music needs the lyric. If it's all about the lyric it's just poetry (good or bad!) with a musical accompaniment. Though good poetry with good music is most excellent!

😎

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there's a lot to be said for  "It's not what you sing it's the way you sing it" some awful lyrics sound ok when sung the right way, in other words with the right melody, I'm sure those Marillion one quoted by @Barking Spiders earlier are great in the context of the song but on there own, not knowing the song, they look nothing special to me

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Although never been particularly hung up on lyrics, I’ve always appreciated songwriters who connect with me on whatever level. Step forward Chuck Berry, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Davies, and Carole King amongst many others. Doesn’t always have to be clever, just ‘right’ if you get my drift. Couple them with a killer tune and it’s job done.

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I love lyrics. I don't need them to be clever, just natural. The less self-conscious the better.

Dylan's the master, obviously (IME). I can listen to songs like Highlands and Tempest, which are just 10+ minutes of story over a simple track, without getting bored.

Predictable coming from me, but I think Knopfler is one of the most overlooked lyricists of the last few decades. His stuff is perfection.

And Warren Zevon. He wins with this couplet:

'And if California slides into the ocean /
Like the mystics and statistics say it will /
I predict this motel will be standing until I pay my bill'

Genius.

Having said that, I love Rush and Yes, but their lyrics suck. Based on the words alone, I wouldn't have gone near 'em.

Edited by wateroftyne
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On the subject of clever lyrics, you could do worse than listen to the work of Fountains of Wayne.

Most people will know them for this:

but their back catalogue is a goldmine of catchy riffs and witty lyrics that tell stories. On one level it sounds exactly like what it is - fairly lightweight guitar pop - but don't be put off by that.

Here's a couple of examples to whet your appetite:

 

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I do listen to lyrics on some songs and seem to ignore others.  I like a story like Sting's I Hung my Head.  Or a catchy chorus, but I love Weather Report, which is all instrumental so that puts me on the fence.

I prefer vocals as part of a band arrangement.  I find a solo vocalist accompanied by a band rather annoying.

Peace

Davo

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To me it depends on a whole range of things but there's very few songs where the lyrics are consistently good all the way through and some are better without the lyrics - Cavatina, Highland Cathedral, beautiful music before some tw@t tries to put lyrics to them. Others lyrics obviously the result of smoking something illegal and I'm putting the disjointed lyrics of 'Ride On' down to a bad batch of poteen, Bowie just jotted down odd lyrics then stuck them together. For some it seems to be a case of seeing how many song cliches they fit in one after the other

Lyrics can help to set the song/mood 'I was lying in a burned out basement with the full moon in my eyes....' , 'Left a good job in the city...' , 'Sittin in the mornin sun, I'll be sittin when the evenin' comes.......',  ' Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell....'. Personally I lean towards ballady type songs that tell a story.

So yeah I listen to lyrics but I'd rather they just played the music than have to put up with the warbler spouting a load of blx. Just STFU!

Edited by dave moffat
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When it's a folk song sung unaccompanied, you don't really have a lot else to listen to. How about this for poetry as music, by Sy Kahn:

My hands are as cracked as an August field that's burned in the sun for a hundred years

With furrows so deep you could hide yourself, but I ain't chopping cotton no more this year

I'll sit on the porch with my eagle eye, watch for a change of wind

The rows are as straight as a shotgun barrel, long as a bullet can spin.

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I came here to say that if you write good lyrics the people who aren't bothered won't mind, but if you write bad lyrics, the people who appreciate good lyrics aren't catered for....

...all that said, if Boris Johnson likes The Clash and The Stones, I'm leaving this thread now slightly stunned as I have the same taste in bands! If I find out he also has a Ziggy Stardust tattoo, I'll be most upset! 

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