How important are lyrics to you?

[Mamma Cat]

I'd say this case is specific to us singers. How important is what you're singing to you? Are lyrics just something to fill the melody, something catchy to get people to listen to it? Do you even pay special attention to them, do they need to be intelligent and make absolute sense, or is sounding good pretty much enough for you? Do you have to be able to relate to the stuff you're singing? This mostly goes for original songs, covers have usually passed some sort of audience elimination process, so the bad stuff gets filtered out.

 

I always go by the logic that I am the singer and I need to stand in front of people and be convincing, I have to look those people in the eye and they have to buy what I am saying. Somehow, the singer holds some responsibility for what is being sung, even if someone else wrote the lyrics.

Now, I can deal with lyrics being catchy, sounding nice and not really meaning anything in particular. Lyrics like "you spin me right round baby right round" It entertains people, and that's ok, that's what this type of music calls for.

 

On the other hand, I used to sing in a band whose bassist wrote erotic poetry and passed it all onto lyrics. Now, it was kinda hard to relate to the erotic dreams of a 40 year-old man (who, on one hand, felt like his life was over, and on the other, was a perpetual child who had trouble dealing with some facts of life), and on top of that, some of his constructions were...well, bizarre, to put it mildly Sometimes I would suggest a change in lyrics, to make it more accessible for wider audiences (and for me ), but I got turned down every time. Once someone from the audience remarked that I sounded like I was ashamed to sing certain parts. I tried to put more effort into making it sound believable, but it was no go. Needless to say, the band is now no more.

[Adrienne Osborn]

Good question!

 

I think in large part the genre affects how important the lyrics are. Country lyrics are way more important than pop lyrics, for example.

 

I don't sing country but personally the lyrics are still really important to me. Like you pointed out, you as a singer have to be convincing, even if no one can even understand what exactly you're saying or what the lyrics mean! Human communication is way more about "how you look" and "how you sound" than about what exactly you say, so you have to look and sound like you believe in the lyrics.

[Williamz]

I think the music and the singer's ability to bring life to even stale lyrics are far more important than good lyrics. If you have a good song and a great singer, I personally won't see a huge difference if the lyrics are on the corny side or not. Of course I prefer good lyrics but as I said for me they come later in importance than many other aspects in a musical experience.

[JohnBenussi]

As the singer you must be comfortable in your own skin to sing your material.

If it is not your material, I feel since you are the singer, you should have final say what goes, and what doesn't into the finalization of an agreed track your band decides to play...

 

Some people can sing anything, no matter what it is, but I like the people more, that have a connection with what they are singing...

 

My problem is I cannot come up with awesome melodies to sing, or I have issues with the "way* a certain part needs to be sung.

 

I write nice lyrics, but..... the melody? Nicht zer gut!

[grace_slick]

Nicht sehr gut (not very good) or nicht so gut (not so good). *learnt German for a while* lol

 

I find I can write alright melodies sometimes, but the lyrics? I AM LOST, MAN!! We should team up.

[SevenString]

Lyrics are very important to me.

 

 

Paradoxically, I am into old-sckool metal, where I often have to blank out the lyrics I'm hearing to avoid cringing. Old Scorpions is particularly painful in the lyrics dept.

[JohnBenussi]

 

Nicht sehr gut (not very good) or nicht so gut (not so good). *learnt German for a while* lol I find I can write alright melodies sometimes, but the lyrics? I AM LOST, MAN!! We should team up.

 

 

Correcting my horrible Deutsche? haha!

 

What are you waiting for?

Fly your pretty self down to California!

I'll pay half!

[grace_slick]

Yes indeed. Ich spreche nur ein bischien Deutsche, aber ich bin ok. *hoping nobody now comes in and corrects MY horrible German!*

[Saxy]

To me, singing or any other instrument is about putting your whole soul into it. If your soul comes out in words, then you write those words, but when it comes out in rythm or in motion, then you put that in. So are lyrics important? It all depends on what you think, but the soul can express itself in all kinds of ways, whether that is through words or not.

 

A lot of times, I only pay attention to the melody the words are singing, rather than the words themself. However, I have also listened to exactly what the song was saying. It's how the melody matches the word that decides what makes it good or not, there is no way you can say one is more important than the other. There are songs with only vocalizing harmonies and there are songs with hardly any rythm at all behind the words, so yes one can exist without the other, but the voice itself is an instrument, an important one I might add.

 

Overall, I'd say yes, lyrics are important, but not as important as what your soul is telling you to give to a song. Follow what you think is good, don't let yourself only have one way of thinking. Melodies speak, words speak, body language speaks; it all just depends on what you wanna speak about

[Adrienne Osborn]

Overall, I'd say yes, lyrics are important, but not as important as what your soul is telling you to give to a song. Follow what you think is good, don't let yourself only have one way of thinking. Melodies speak, words speak, body language speaks; it all just depends on what you wanna speak about

 

Well put!

[mortatort]

I certainly appreciate good lyrics but don't feel it's always necessary to have incredibly solid ones. I'm mostly a spectator when it comes to singing but I'd say that part of the success of being a good singer is being able to sell what you're singing to the audience, similar to acting I suppose, and be convincing. Sometimes that will come from genuinely identifying with and feeling the song, and sometimes it could come from repetition.

 

I think overall it's more important for the vocals to play into a song, just as the other instruments should, and not clash or be distracting from the core feeling/mood of a piece.

[firestone]

There are songs with only vocalizing harmonies and there are songs with hardly any rythm at all behind the words, so yes one can exist without the other, but the voice itself is an instrument, an important one I might add.

[rockerdiva]

Lyrics are really important to me. While singing, or while listening to someone else perform. I value the meaning and/or story. I like to feel that the singer is expressing something.

 

If I don't think I understand what a song was intended by the writer to mean, I'll generally make up my own interpretation.

 

There are a few songs I sing that I don't quite get. That's ok. Sometimes the words are just poetic or interesting. I can do that. Harder to memorize sometimes ...

 

I dislike singing songs with stupid lyurics. I guess that's why I don't want to do that Four Non Blondes song. I just don't get it. I don't like the sound of the melody or the required singing style for it either. No offense, I know a lot of people cover it. I certainly have gotten requests for it from time to time. I'm sure it would please some audiences. Just haven't been able to make myself learn that one ... (I'd rather do Mustang Sally any day... truth ...)

[SevenString]

Lyrics are really important to me. While singing, or while listening to someone else perform. I value the meaning and/or story. I like to feel that the singer is expressing something. If I don't think I understand what a song was intended by the writer to mean, I'll generally make up my own interpretation. There are a few songs I sing that I don't quite get. That's ok. Sometimes the words are just poetic or interesting. I can do that. Harder to memorize sometimes ... I dislike singing songs with stupid lyurics. I guess that's why I don't want to do that Four Non Blondes song. I just don't get it. I don't like the sound of the melody or the required singing style for it either. No offense, I know a lot of people cover it. I certainly have gotten requests for it from time to time. I'm sure it would please some audiences. Just haven't been able to make myself learn that one ... (I'd rather do Mustang Sally any day... truth ...)

 

Hey. What's goin' on?

[NeverTheMachine]

If it was up to me I wouldn't really care much. I am all about the melody and try to find words to fit the melody, syllables, mood, etc. However, we all have to realize that lyrics are important to the listener. Especially casual listeners who are not musicians themselves will be more into lyrics. So it's important to me, because those people make up about 80% of total listeners.

 

As far as words. I try to keep it simple. Less words per phrase the better IMO. If others write for me, I'd have to change whatever words I cannot see myself saying in real life. That's important to me. And I don't like cliches. I try to stay away from statements as well, but sometimes they just come out.

[Cazual]

I always go by the logic that I am the singer and I need to stand in front of people and be convincing, I have to look those people in the eye and they have to buy what I am saying. Somehow, the singer holds some responsibility for what is being sung, even if someone else wrote the lyrics.

 

+1

 

The difference between somebody who can simply sing - i.e. who has a reasonable voice - and a genuinely good singer is how well they can bring a song to life with their interpretation of the mood and lyrics. Some singers can breathe life into the most mundane lyrics, while others can reduce a classic to just a string of noises...

 

I believe that a singer has a number of different responsibilities when it comes to 'selling' a song. There's the need to get across the mood and story of the song - which can be varied quite considerably from performer to performer. Some artists can make almost anything sound romantic, for instance. Or smutty, cool, meaningful, etc, etc.

 

The singer's job is also to "sell" a favourable impression of the band. The audience should come away with some idea of the band's style, and a feeling they'd like to hear more. The singer has a big role in that.

 

Another big opportunity for the singer is simply selling themself. The audience should be left feeling they have some sort of handle on the singer's character and their particular talent for interpretation. Unfortunately all too many singers seem to think this is their only task. I expect most of us can think of somebody they've seen who only saw a song as an opportunity for them to prance about in the spotlight showing off, and whatever content the song had was largely ignored.

 

Chris

[rupa27]

Lyrics are as important as the melody, I think. I myself prefer positive, constructive and encouraging lyrics. I won't even bother to sing songs with negative lyrics such swearing, insulting, etc.

The lyrics have effect both on us, singers and our audiences. So I always try my best to make a good lyric that supportive and encouraging...something like You Rise Me Up, You are not Alone, Because You Love Me, etc....that's what I think

[DevilRaysFan]

Im a bass player/lead vocalist that has always been into the 'musical' side of things as opposed to the vocal side of things

 

With that said, I do like and appreciate good lyrics, but I dont really care about lyrical content or style of what I sing as long as they arent mind-numbingly stupid

 

for example: I said this in another thread - I would never cover Nickelback's "Figured You Out" ....."I Like Your Pants Around Your Feet " .....Jackass...................

[Mamma Cat]

I won't even bother to sing songs with negative lyrics such swearing, insulting, etc.

 

Yeah, I have a problem with that too. Not with negative lyrics, because we all get a little down sometimes or we find ourselves in difficult situations and it's only natural that you can express it through words and music.

But swearing or using offensive terms is kinda... out of character for me. I'm a lady I like to express those things in more sophisticated ways

[Adrienne Osborn]

 

The difference between somebody who can simply sing - i.e. who has a reasonable voice - and a genuinely good singer is how well they can bring a song to life with their interpretation of the mood and lyrics. Some singers can breathe life into the most mundane lyrics, while others can reduce a classic to just a string of noises...

 

 

+1, Chris!!

 

I saw a band called Filthy Children in Denver last night. Awesome band, awesome singer. Jenny has a great voice, but more importantly, she made me "hear" the meaning of songs I'd stopped hearing. They did "Use Me", and it was the best live performance of it I've ever seen, because she really expressed the lyrics, and so naturally too. It actually made me hear the lyrics differently... or hear them again as if for the first time. Pretty cool!!

 

BTW if you are in Colorado and have a chance to check them out, they'll be around various parts of Colorado for the next few months. 7-piece funk band, 3 pieces of which are horns.

[MikeyParent]

For me it depends on the music - though no matter what it never hurts if the lyrics are poignant or clever.

 

Great lyricists are scarce these days. I really really like Fish from Marillion - some of their early stuff (when Fish was still the songwriter) was poetry set to music. Beautiful stuff.

 

Jigsaw (1st verse):

 

We are jigsaw pieces aligned on the perimeter edge

Interlocked through a missing piece

We are renaissance children becalmed beneath the Bridge of Sighs

Forever throwing firebrands at the stonework

We are Siamese children related by the heart

Bleeding from the surgery of initial confrontation

Holding the word scalpels on trembling lips

Stand straight, look me in the eye and say goodbye

Stand straight, we've drifted past the point of reasons why

Yesterday starts tomorrow, tomorrow starts today

And the problem always seems to be we're picking up the pieces on the ricochet

 

Blue Angel

 

The sky was Bible black in lyon

When I met the magdalene

She was paralyzed in a streetlight

She refused to give her name

 

And a ring of violet bruises

They were pinned upon her arm

Two hundred francs for sanctuary and she led me by the hand

To a room of dancing shadows

Where all the heartache disappears

And from glowing tongues of candles I heard her whisper in my ear

jentend ton coeur, jentend ton coeur

I can hear your heart, I can hear your heart, I can hear your heart

Hear your heart. I hear your heart