Sometimes I want a hamburger. Other times a hot dog does the trick.

This guys knows what's up.


Sometimes I'm in the mood for a story and other times I could care less. I tend to focus on the make up of the song more than the lyrics/story anyways.

Best

Tik tok is seriously a banger with high quality lyrics, I'm surprised she isn't popular yet.

I'm a fan of folk and really like ballads that tell a story. But a story isn't a requirement.

There are songs that express themes, but don't tell a story. This Train Is Bound for Glory is an example. The words are important, but they don't tell a tale. They draw a series of images that express the theme of the song. A lot of gospel music uses lyrics this way.

Worried Man Blues is another of my favorites that isn't a ballad, but does express a theme. Similarly, Johnny B. Goode.

There are good songs that use random lyrics almost like scat. Siberian Khatru (Yes) is an example of that use of lyrics. (I find that many songwriters try use this technique to be artistic and deep, but fail.)

How important are lyrics to me, I'll say 10 out of a possible 17.

Haha?

It just depends. I enjoy a good story told in a song—Nick Cave, The Decemberists, and Harry Nilsson come to mind—but I'm also fine with lyrics that are simply evocative, lyrics I don't understand, or no lyrics at all. I would say most music I listen to has no lyrics, has lyrics in a language I don't understand, or has lyrics that are next to impossible to understand because of the vocal style.

The bolded is so me when it comes to the large amount of reggaeton I listen to. :laughing: I can pick out a few words here and there but most of the time I'm not sure what they are saying completely.

Everything is relative. On one hand, elaborate lyrics make you appreciate "the how". That is, how the idea or the story is expressed. On the other hand, lyrics that are simply evocative allow space for your imagination. Both things are interesting, if at least there is an idea behind them:




Sometimes, songwriters themselves want us to pay attention to the lyrics.... sometimes not. See shoegazing, for instance. Obviously, lyrics are not the most important thing here. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that a shoegaze song doesn't have a certain message.

As for non-English songs, sometimes you only need to understand the title or a few lines to "get the message". For instance, listen to the following song. All you need to know is what chorus says: "take me high, take me higher". I won't translate the rest of the lyrics (for the moment). First, because they're not that important. Second, because I'm too lazy. But it doesn't matter, you will surely "grasp the feeling":



Band Odio París (which means "I hate Paris", :laughing:): Geometría coaxial ("Coaxial Geometry", 2016).