A song is more than just a melody. It’s more than a series of notes strung together to create a piece of art. It’s more than a voice or a beat. Songs can become way more when paired with the proper lyrics. Not all songs need words or a voice but I find my favorite part of the music I listen to most often is the lyrics and the meanings, feelings, and the ability to relate to them. When I first listen to a new song, I immediately look up the lyrics so that I can sing along as well as understand the story behind all the carefully selected instruments and beautiful harmonies. Whether it’s a love song, a song of pain and healing or one created to empower those that believe in the message, lyrics can tie a song together.
As an avid fan of writing styles that use complex vocabularies and descriptive images, I find myself falling for songs whose lyrics paint a vivid picture in my mind. Lyrics like that are like poetry set to music, each word chosen to emphasize the biggest themes and bring out ideas and feelings that other songs may ignore in order to create something catchy or fun. Lyrics that have a poetic feel to me tend to be more sad in terms of theme, but they have a way of making the lower moments in life, seem a little more beautiful and a little more manageable.
But then there are days where simplicity becomes key. Lyrics that are obvious and to the point and don’t require a much deconstructing and analysis to understand what the story is. Those kind of songs seem, to me, to be more on the happier side. A lot of love songs I enjoy fall into this category because everyone who’s experienced it only needs to hear the basics of the concept to understand and at times be brought back to specific times in our lives. Also, songs with simple lyrics are often songs made to remind people of the most obvious things because despite being common knowledge, we tend to forget about the ideas as we rush through our lives. These songs are usually about self caring and reminding us that we’re beautiful and to stay true to ourselves and there’s no need for complex theories or images to remind us that. Simple lyrics that give us something to believe in are all that’s needed.
Lyrics have a way of making us feel specific things, bring us back to important moments in our live and give us something to believe in. Although not always needed, they do add an important element to music.
Mental Anonymity 