do you pay attention to a song's lyrics?

[darkstar_legend]

99% of the songs i listen to, i don't know their lyrics.

is there anyone else like that?

i dunno how but if i know what the lyrics are, it takes something away from the song. it's like the song changes and becomes something else, something foreign.

maybe my minds works differently. i don't get it how people can relate to lyrics - how words in itself can have so much meaning. for me, it's more about the sounds. i can listen to a song one day and it can mean one thing and another day, it can mean something else. but if i know the lyrics, a song can only mean one thing and that doesn't do it for me. i think it's like looking at an ink blot on paper and seeing whatever you want to see whereas if i know the lyrics, it'd be like someone saying the ink blot is a boat. it changes everything.

how do i explain it? the songs are just a medium for me to reach that particular...thing. like drugs.

[Gordon Comstock]

i listen to the lyrics. like in that papa roach song "i just wanna be loved" like the melody is ok i guess but with lyrics like "takin it back to a hardcore level" i cant take them seriously!

[KBear]

I know what you mean about how a song changes. When I first hear a song that I love of course I try to sing it. When I can't make out some of the words I'll just say what I think is said and it won't really make sense. It might be like this for months before I actually buy the album and read the lyrics and know what's actually said. And then yeah, the song sort of changes. It's almost like the song isn't new anymore. When I didn't know the lyrics there was still something to learn.

But I do pay attention to lyrics. Bad lyrics can truly ruin a song and great lyrics can elevate one. Just because you know the lyrics doesn't mean there isn't room for interpretation. In fact, there almost always is.

Honestly, getting into the lyrics is one of the best parts of listening to a song. It's hard to describe, but I think Axl was at his best on Don't Damn Me and Breakdown. It's not just what he says, but how he wraps that into the music, the way his verses are structured and the vocal melodies. If you know what I mean. Because that sort of thing can really add weight to the words - and then it all ties back into the music. Leonard Cohen is simply amazing at this and if you ignore the lyrics then you are missing out on so much.

[Axlin08]

Yes

If you're just putting words together to rhyme or create a melody.... you'll lose me quick as a listener. Songs are like poetry, and they have to flow.

"Takin it back to a hardcore level"....

[Guest banaszkiewicz]

i use to just know listen to the range that the singer would pull off

but then i started reading lyrics to certain songs

and noticed that its that much better

so from there on, i try to listen to all the lyrics that are sung

unfortunatly, some song lyrics actually bring the song quality down, albeit rare

[GivenToFly]

But I do pay attention to lyrics. Bad lyrics can truly ruin a song and great lyrics can elevate one. Just because you know the lyrics doesn't mean there isn't room for interpretation. In fact, there almost always is.

True. Finding a compromise between what the song means to you and what you know the artist probably meant is always a challenge but also very rewarding.

[Kaleigh]

Honestly, getting into the lyrics is one of the best parts of listening to a song. It's hard to describe, but I think Axl was at his best on Don't Damn Me and Breakdown. It's not just what he says, but how he wraps that into the music, the way his verses are structured and the vocal melodies. If you know what I mean. Because that sort of thing can really add weight to the words - and then it all ties back into the music. Leonard Cohen is simply amazing at this and if you ignore the lyrics then you are missing out on so much.

Totally agreed, especially with Don't Damn Me and Breakdown. Those songs will never get old to me because of those reasons you've just stated, and the Leonard love goes without saying.

I'm all about lyrics! I wouldn't love my favorite songs if they had shitty lyrics, but I see where you're (OP) coming from because my dad is very much like that. I dunno, I've always been drawn to the words more than the sound, but if the sound corresponds well, it makes it even better.

[ffrankwhite]

lyrics for me have never been able to do a great deal more than compliment music...nothing more. not to say they're useless, just below in the pecking order...FAR below music.

[kevdo242]

Depends who I'm listening to and what mood I'm in.

[The Sandman]

Yeah, of course - for me, they can make or break a song.

[AxlsAngel]

Yes, most of the time I know the lyrics to the songs I listen to frequently. I don't always know ALL the lyrics to the songs cuz some words are difficult to make out.

[arnold layne]

The lyrics add a lot to the song. It's not just all background noise.

[Shuffle]

Most of the time...but not always. There are some artists I always listen to the lyrics (Dylan, Springsteen, The Hold Steady among others) and some I very seldom give a fuck about the lyrics - I just like the way the music sounds...

[Chris Axl]

Lyrics are the most important in a song, for me.

Only the lyrics can make a song go from kickass, to mindblowing.

That, or a reeeally good guitar solo..

[Zint]

lyrics for me have never been able to do a great deal more than compliment music...nothing more. not to say they're useless, just below in the pecking order...FAR below music.

I dunno ffrank...I think they can be pretty damn important.

Replace "Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming, we're finally on our own" with "Ritz crackers and peanut butter,taste nifty with some milk"...kinda defuses the power of the music doesn't it?

What's Imagine without the lyrics??

I also think it goes part and parcel with your lament that your generation doesn't have a voice of its own,ya know...it's own musical identity.

Could it be that no one is saying anything anymore?

...umber-ella ella ella ay ay ay ay ay ay ay

Edited July 8, 2008 by zint61

[Serg]

the first time i listen to a song i listen to the music, the 2nd time i listen to both the music and lyrics.

then if i like the song alot i listen to different instruments when i listen to it.

[Is0tope]

Lyrics are the most important in a song, for me.

Only the lyrics can make a song go from kickass, to mindblowing.

That, or a reeeally good guitar solo..

same here, except for the solo part.

[DirtyDeeds]

lyrics for me have never been able to do a great deal more than compliment music...nothing more. not to say they're useless, just below in the pecking order...FAR below music.

I kinda agre with Franky, unless of course we're talking about Weird Al or something. And I'm sure this is the #1 reason why I think all rap/hip hop blows.

However, the lyrics have no actual meaning to me. For instance Back in Black and Appetite have very average sort of lyrics, sometimes even kind of dumb, but those albums are killer start to finish because of the music. I don't ignore the lyrics... I always try to memorize them and sing along, but they won't mean anything to me. I just like to sing along. Once in a blue moon, though, they are so dumb they ruin the song. Take for instance Buckcherry's "Crazy Bitch." Kick ass tune, but the lyrics are so stupid that it's ruined for me. And of course the infamous, "Somebody raped my tapeworm abortion, come on motherfuckers and deliver the cow." I don't really like that song much anyway, so no biggie, but they do ruin it still. But I don't "relate" to lyrics. I can recognize good ones and bad ones but they don't stick out to me in either direction except in EXTREME cases.

I don't listen to music because I can relate. Honestly, I can't relate to drinking, drug use, fighting, or promiscuous sex. Hell, right now I can't relate to sex at all because it's been so long (but that's another story ). And just about any other song subject s foreign to me to, but I'll still sing the lyrics loudly as I drive down the road with the windows down.

[FunkyMonk]

Depends on the song/band. But most of the time I listen to the lyrics and try to work them out and learn them, I love when you can sing along to every word on an album, it really makes it something special.

The last verse in Coma is a great example of why to listen to lyrics.