Do You Pay Attention To the Lyrics in Songs?

[Spirit]

Another simple thread; do you pay attention to the lyrics in the songs you listen to?

I personally pay a lot of attention to the lyrics in songs but i know a shocking amount of people who will say no and state that the vocals are just nose that adds to the song itself and that they don't care what messages the lyrics in question are preaching or talking about.

So I'm wanting to know what your views are on how you listen to songs.

 

[CynicalSquid]

Most of the time I do, but if I can't understand them and I'm too lazy to look it up I just pay attention to the instruments.

 

[Linkasourous]

Wow exactly the same for me, Pancake

 

[Lord Vain]

Yes, if I am listening to a song and I like it then I will usually pay attention to the lyrics of it, also will often look up a lyric video of the song on YouTube to get a better idea at what words I'm getting out of the song--yeah, often enough I screw up the words if I try to make them out myself, heheh.

 

[Not Take Mirror]

I mostly pay attention to how a song sounds rather than it's lyrics. My hearing must not be good at times because sometimes I can't even tell for sure what the words are. When I do pay attention to the lyrics, I often find my attention drifting to the sound anyway, which is usually of more interest to me. As a result, my taste in music can be embarrassing because I often pay attention to sound at the expense of the message behind it. For example I like a song for it's catchy beat and then later I'm embarrassed to find out it's about promoting child molestation or whatever.

 

[TheRizardon]

I usually pay attention the the lyrics of the song if it's in english. If it's in a different language I just listen to the music.

 

[Dr3W21]

For me, it depends on who it is. With bands like Chevelle, the music isn't really all that intricately layered (just guitar, bass, vocals and drums) so I can listen to the vocals and music all at once the first time, without having to give multiple listens to really evaluate what I'm hearing. With bands like Radiohead, their music is mostly focused on atmosphere, so I listen for the feel and atmosphere the first time, then the music and instrumentation, and then eventually the lyrics. With stuff like The Mars Volta where 30% of it is in Spanglish (Spanish/English), I mostly pay attention to the intense awesomeness that is the music itself. With bands like Pink Floyd, I pay attention to the lyrics before the actual music, since most of their stuff is concept-based.

 

[PandaWithaKnife]

I view the vocals as another instrument and by doing so I tend to tune out the words being sung. I'd rather hear the individual sounds as just that, sounds. It's the technicality and interesting things in the music that I listen for generally. Layerings can be amazing.

 

[Castle]

ABSOLUTELY!! ^_^

I pay very close attention to the lyrics in songs and catch on to them very quick. One of my greatest strengths (okay, the greatest out of very few strengths) is my affinity for words. I have excellent reading comprehension and writing skills (I've been told as much, anyway) and I just delight in listening closely to words and finding the meaning in them.

The meanings of a songwriter's melodies are very important to talented writers, musicians and lyricists. All of my top-favorite singer/songwriters are the ones that put an emphasis on their lyrics. Rodger Hodgson of Supertramp, Don Henley of the Eagles, Patrick Monahan of Train. Lyrics appeal to me greatly in music. Words have meaning, and that is very special to me.

Songs such as Rodger Hodgson and Supertramp's Long Way Home touch me so deeply not just because of their impressive melodies, but because of the powerful meaning in their lyrics.

 

[BoxTar]

It depends for me. There are certain bands that make some great lyrics that need to be payed attention to in order to truly enjoy the whole song. Bands like Modest Mouse, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Cure, Radiohead, and even Porcupine Tree all have that aspect, for me, anyway. Then there are bands that have lyrics that I can't make much sense of, but I still truly enjoy the songs. Bands like The Mars Volta, My Bloody Valentine, and Sonic Youth are included in these (though Sonic Youth lyrics can go either way, JC and Eric's Trip are good examples). Overall, I love it when lyrics are either fun, interesting, well thought out or just plain crazy, but it doesn't make or break a song for me. That usually depends on the instruments/singer.

 

[Violet Link]

It simply depends. The lyrics of the songs are somewhat meaningful, you just have to try and look up the meanings in the words. They sometimes make me happy and hopeful.

 

[Hylian_Monolith]

ABSOLUTELY!! ^_^

I pay very close attention to the lyrics in songs and catch on to them very quick. One of my greatest strengths (okay, the greatest out of very few strengths) is my affinity for words. I have excellent reading comprehension and writing skills (I've been told as much, anyway) and I just delight in listening closely to words and finding the meaning in them.

The meanings of a songwriter's melodies are very important to talented writers, musicians and lyricists. All of my top-favorite singer/songwriters are the ones that put an emphasis on their lyrics. Rodger Hodgson of Supertramp, Don Henley of the Eagles, Patrick Monahan of Train. Lyrics appeal to me greatly in music. Words have meaning, and that is very special to me.

Songs such as Rodger Hodgson and Supertramp's Long Way Home touch me so deeply not just because of their impressive melodies, but because of the powerful meaning in their lyrics.

This. I love a song with skill and love pured into the instrumentals, but in a modern society of communication through speech instead of emotion, lyrics are more important than ever. I'll spend hours deciphering the lyrics of one of my favorite melodies and figuring out how it could apply to me, and perfecting the lyrics of my own songs.

Themes are also crucial. I don't want to hear pathetic tune about breaking up, first love, and drugs, one after another. I rarely write direct love songs, my favorites begin about questioning mortality as a result of loving a god(Apollo), falling for a guy after loving an imaginary friend for years, and total deja-vuu from seeing a really hot girl in a drunken stupor at a party, not drunk, and realizing that she actually is as hot and good a person as she was then.

I'm also an actress, trained by professionals and following in their footsteps. Enunciation and proper vocal support is important to me, and nobody enunciates these days. it irks me when I listen to a song and I can't tell what a few words are. As a singer, I make one of my top priorities enunciation. And vocal support just applies to not needing to dub and destroy a person's voice to make their words incomprehensible and their voice a tad less nasal and pathetic.

I'm picky about songs.... but those artists who write worthwhile songs are out there.

 

[DarkLordMenchi]

Normally i do listen unless its Jpop/Jrock then im kinda screwed although occasionally i get lost in the music like with Iron Maidens epic guitar riffs

 

[Justac00lguy]

I think lyrics in songs are very important...

It obviously depends on the genre and because I like Hip-Hop/RnB lyrics are especially important, of course people see rap and ultimately think guns, drugs Ect. This is just a stereotypical image in my opinion because some rappers for example Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino have really clever lyrics as well as metaphore use.

There are some clever lyricist artists out there at the moment but my favorite would of course be Frank Ocean! He has such a versatile style and covers many genre's, he has an amazing voice and is song writing plus lyrics are just amazing. You cannot help but pay attention to every word every metaphor in his songs and trying to uncover the meaning of his songs is also another thing that I like to do! These imo are some great examples of Franks clever song writing....Enjoy

YouTube
Frank Ocean " Bad Religion" Live On Jimmy Fallon 7/09/12 - YouTube
Frank Ocean - Blue Whale - YouTube
Frank Ocean- Pyrite (Fools Gold) w/ lyrics - YouTube

 

[baronvonbehr]

I mostly pay attention to the song. I also know a lot of people that don't even care about it. Even some who don't care about the music itself, i just has to be something with a lot of pulsing rhythms. For me that's odd. I usually try to hear every single little detail in the music, and it's also one of the main parts of the Zelda series, that got me interested in it. Sometimes I even make my own lyrics for the soundtrack in the series, it could be fun to share these at some point