Lyrics?

[Dr3W21]

How much do you pay attention to the lyrics to songs? Do they ever/have they ever made an impact on you?

The answer to the first question would be a definite yes. Every time I get a new CD, I pretty much know most to all of the words within a week.
Have they made an impact on me? Well, not really, to be honest. I guess the things I do regularly aren't really similar to things that others do and write songs about.

I do, however, have to say that the music itself is more important to me than the lyrics... especially when I hate the meaning of a song (Tool's Stinkfist, for example).

Anyways, here's the place to discuss your opinions. Agree with me? Disagree entirely? Neither? Both?

 

[Ghosi]

I love poetry. Every song that is written is considered poetry, so I might listen to the song and analyze what it means. From that, I would create a visual of the scene, and my head would be filled with the thoughts and emotions expressed in that song. It can make an impacton me by making me relate it to situations, but other than that, I enjoy listening to music.

 

[SuperSilly]

When I listen to a song, I'm not really listening unless I'm trying to hear everything. Lyrics, different instruments, everything. Or, at least I'm try to hear everything.

There are songs that, despite the fact that I disliked the musical style I still listened to them because I loved the lyrics. There are also songs that I wouldn't listen to because of the lyrics. It goes both ways for me.

So, yes, I almost always listen to lyrics (if there are any lyrics) and they do make a difference for me. They add to the experience the song is trying to convey. To ignore them would be, in my eyes, to diminish the experience.

 

[butterbiscuit]

Lyrics to me are very important. A lot of times my liking of a song depends on the lyrics, sometimes it doesn't. (i.e., I don't want to listen to a song with beautiful music that swears through the whole thing.) It really depends on whether the song focuses more on the message in the words or the music itself.

 

[Hylian Knight]

I'm one of those if I like the music to the song I'll probably start to pay more attention to the lyrics next time I hear that song if I'm listening on CD I'll press repeat.
A few songs have had minor and major impacts on me 1 started to get me to pay more attention to my school and less on social and video games unfortunately I don't remember what the song was.

 

[green goron]

I don't like songs that I don't know the lyrics as much as songs where I do know the lyrics. They definitely have a big impact on my perspective of a song. Sometimes it takes me multiple listens to pick up something. I love music because every time I listen to a song(if I don't entirely know it) I get more into it and like it more. I listen to music every day.

 

[monkeefun]

Lyrics have a huge impact on me while I listen to music. I'm pretty good about memorizing them quickly, too, if the song somehow is meaningful to some aspect of my life. Every other part of the song is important, too - some songs have music that is just "meh," while other songs sound EPIC. Lyrics are usually the dealbreaker for me though.

 

[TheGreen]

Never, on the first time I listen to a song, do I hear the words. I might catch a phrase or two, and usually I comprehend a chorus (though I don't particularly like music that follows the chorus-verse pattern).

And never do lyrics make a song any worse for me; there is one exception to that: A song called "And Then She Bled," which, you might've guessed, is a death metal song, and for the first dozen times I listened to it, I couldn't really understand any of the lyrics. Much later I realized it was a 911 call. I only recognized it because I'd heard the news story a while back. A woman's pet monkey (chimp?) attacked and killed her, and the phone call is her friend screaming at the police and at the monkey (chimp?) and it suddenly made the song truly disturbing and hardly enjoyable. On subsequent listenings of the song I heard the call very well and could no longer ocus on the music like a usually do.

That being said, some lyrics are really good, and make songs better. Nearly all of the Them Crooked Vultures lyrics are simply amazing and poetic, and I also really like the lyrics in Ok Go songs.

I also really enjoy singing along with some really powerful vocalists. Emery is proabably the best example of what I'm talking about; the singers have supremely powerful vocals and it's really great to know what they're saying simply because of how they say it.

 

[Nicole]

Every (good) song is written for some reason. Common themes are love and hardships. My mind is a bit more morbid, so I tend to relate to more depressing songs, I suppose. The music I listen to really depends on my mood. This song, Shadow Of The Day, by Linkin Park, is one of my "bad day" songs. Talking To The Moon by Bruno Mars is one of those songs I listen to at night, when I'm thinking... about someone...

Just The Way You Are is a song that makes me feel better no matter what is going on, it's just such a beautiful song, and calms me down when I'm "in a mood." It also makes me think of... someone....

So, yeah, lyrics mean a lot in the songs I listen to. Check out those songs, and listen to the lyrics. They're pretty deep. I actually love to sing, I just don't sound that great.

 

[Exodus_]

If the lyrics in a song are understandable then I'll listen closer and try to understand the meaning of the song. Like in the song Sooner or Later by Breaking Benjamin, the lyrics are understandable. Though I still don't quite get the meaning to it. But say for intense a lot of the songs by the band Slayer are very hard to understand but easy to interpret because of the genre of the band.

 

[Dr3W21]

If the lyrics in a song are understandable then I'll listen closer and try to understand the meaning of the song. Like in the song Sooner or Later by Breaking Benjamin, the lyrics are understandable. Though I still don't quite get the meaning to it. But say for intense a lot of the songs by the band Slayer are very hard to understand but easy to interpret because of the genre of the band.

I personally have ever listened to the lyrics to Sooner or Later, but I know the lyrics to most of their other songs. They mostly make a lot of sense when you try to understand them. Take Diary of Jane for example... it's very literal. As far as most Breaking Benjamin songs go, their lyrics are very good. Try listening to "What Lies Beneath" and pay attention to the lyrics. Once again, I have no idea of the meaning, but they are very good.

I personally generally tend to try to enjoy the feel of the song. If I'm listening to a song like Forgotten (Linkin Park) or Lights Out (Breaking Benjamin), which rock out a little harder, I tend to rock out harder. When listening to a song like World so Cold (Three Days Grace) which is still a rock song but goes a little more toward a good feel rather than a hard rock, I just listen and enjoy.

 

[Blazestarre]

Lyrics are usually the second thing I listen to. Typically, the first time I hear a song, I pay more attention to the music. If I like the melody, then I'll pay more attention to the lyrics. They don't really change how I feel about a song, though. If the song sounds good, I like it, no matter what the lyrics are, especially in the dance and pop genres. Actually, the only genre I really ever care about the lyrics besides having the ability to sing along is musicals. Those lyrics take on a much different importance because they are trying to connect to each other and tell a cohesive story.

 

[DisappearingMist]

I don't pay attention to the lyrics on the first play through, and often don't for a few more. I oftentimes learn the words without thinking about what they mean. But, some lyrics mean a lot to me. Lifehouse's Everything is a great example.

Good thread!

 

[ケンジ]

I always listen well to the lyrics of the song.

So, yeah I do it. It gives me a view of what the composer was feeling or is feeling. Some songs like Queen's Princes of the Universe, are good. As for the tune, I consider it first before the lyrics, since I like a song with a catchy, addicting and witty tune.

 

[Aurelia]

Well, yeah. I alway's pay attention to the lyrics of a song. Most of them I can relate to. If you pay attention to a song, some of them can be very funny, like It Wasn't Me by Shaggy. Yes, it's a weird song, but the music video is halirious.

But, there is a song that I can relate to, Runaway Love by Ludacris. I used to have a friend, a best friend. Notice I used that "used to"? Yeah he passed away, then that's when my parent's didn't care much for me, so since I started to think that tey didn't love me anymore so I felt like I lost my place with them so numerous of times I ran away from them, but I still came back. Pointless, I know. And then when I heard that song I broke into tear's.

Some people can relate to some song's and other's don't. Few don't even pay attention to what the song mean's. Which I find to be awkward. Don't really know why, but it's just how most people are.