Barking Spiders Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 (edited) OK, we can all find examples of good lyrics but there are loads of songs with bollix about warriors,/demons/wizards/orcs/fairies/pixies/dragons or about finding inner strength/being strong, a fighter /survivor yada yada or they're about 'rockin' whatever that involves (does anyone here know?). Usually lyrics seem to be lots of cliches cobbled together. Listening to Planet Rock this morning, there were quite a few such songs to illustrate this like Black Vultures by Halestorm (fighter/survivor thing) Feels like the end of the world But it's only the beginning of it all Forget the things that you've heard Been a survivor since I began to crawl I'm falling down but I'm not out The devils at my door I don't give in, I don't give up I won't ever let it break me I'm on fire, I'm a fighter I'll forever be the last one standing Black vultures circling the sky Pick at the pieces Scavengers wait for me to die But I'm not defeated I'm on the edge of the war I'm holding on and hanging by a thread I am the eye of the storm And you haven't seen the last of me just yet I'm falling down but I'm not out I'm coming back for more I don't give in, I don't give up I won't ever let it break me I'm on fire, I'm a fighter I'll forever be the last one standing Black vultures circling the sky Pick at the pieces Scavengers wait for me to die But I'm not defeated etc etc And Ancient Warrior by Black Sabbath (surprisingly, but not with Ozzy) There's no end, there's no beginning To the old man's story Does he still remember me From lives gone by Oh I see his spirit rising Upon the back of time I've got nowhere to hide Will he keep a place for me He is the king of all kings The keeper of light He holds eternity's wings In his eyes an ocean's burning Swollen seas of tears Troubled mind the beating War drums in his ears No one ever hears his warning Am I the one he calls When they tell me they're afraid Some say I'll be put away He is the king of all kings The keeper of light He holds eternity's wings My blood will spill my blood My blood will spill my blood In the wisdom of the prophet's Never ending tale Open up the eyes Within your mind, he says Crowned in his ancient glory There's a king within us all Some will say it's all in vain That he doesn't have a name He is the king of all kings The keeper of light He holds eternity's wings. I mean ... ay caramba WTF are they about? Edited October 15, 2019 by Barking Spiders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Genuine question - what would you consider to be a good lyric? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitlin Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 21 minutes ago, Bassassin said: Genuine question - what would you consider to be a good lyric? Whatever fits the purpose? Sells a record, transmits an emotion, tells a joke, rhymes, adds irony? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burno70 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I think the Comic Strip presents series really nailed the silliness of metal lyrics with the Bad News episode. They went on to do an audio album which I had a copy of back in the day and the lyrics were hilarious - and funnily enouh, I've heard similar used genuinely on many occasions since. I can still remember some pearlers like: "Eat my brain - go insane" "Ride the rat, night mare man" "I'm a warrior the blood won't wash away I'm a warrior, I'll kill myself one day!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I can predict with some confidence that if you turned the dial to Radio 1, or Kiss FM, or similar, you'd find lyrics full of different subjects but a comparable level of inanity. Pop music is similarly guilty of pulling randomly assorted cliches out of a hat and crowbarring them into a rhyming schema, but then I've often thought Halestorm were basically just Taylor Swift with louder guitars. And anyway, what is a good lyric? I've a few favourite writers myself, but some people would probably balk at my choices. (Though I imagine we could all agree that Black Sabbath turned out some bloody silly examples in their time...) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz39 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Yes - listen to a lot of pop thesedays and once you get past the auto tune and naming themselves and all the other artists in the song and all the random sound effects and the lyrics that needed a team of 12 writers are just rubbish pap that most of their 12yr old audience could outdo in break time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 19 minutes ago, EliasMooseblaster said: I can predict with some confidence that if you turned the dial to Radio 1, or Kiss FM, or similar, you'd find lyrics full of different subjects but a comparable level of inanity. Pop music is similarly guilty of pulling randomly assorted cliches out of a hat and crowbarring them into a rhyming schema, but then I've often thought Halestorm were basically just Taylor Swift with louder guitars. And anyway, what is a good lyric? I've a few favourite writers myself, but some people would probably balk at my choices. (Though I imagine we could all agree that Black Sabbath turned out some bloody silly examples in their time...) Yellow Submarine anyone? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Lyrics, obviously, are a subjective topic, one man’s I wanna really, really, really Wanna zigazig ah, is the next man’s The piano has been drinking, My neck tie is asleep. Obviously if you want to appeal to the lowest common denominator (the chart/pop buying herd) then you need to use broad brush stroke cliches in order to illicit general emotional responses en masse so to speak, All I Ask by Adele as an example, most people have had similar experiences so it’s easy to trigger an emotional response using such lyrics. However, if you write a verse alluding to one of the minor rings of Saturn and a chorus about a Golem in the shape of an artist’s armature emerging from the sea in order to eat the horizon then expect puzzled faces and no sales, like I do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 My old bit-of-everything band used to do a metal number called "Loud and Proud" Which went: Heavy Metal music Loud and Proud! Mysterious Goblins Dressed in shrouds And it went downhill from there. Luckily that's been kicked out long ago, but we do one called "Turn to the Left" which has the immortal lyric: Armani, or salami? One fills yer belly the other takes yer mo-ney Still, PFunk lyrics are up there as some of the silliest and possibly deepest if you put on your Pseud's hat... Ha ah, ha ah, ha ah I am Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk I can't swim, I never could swim I never will swim Oh, put me down Let go my leg I told ya, will you shut up I told ya I can't swim, ha ho no Put me down, I hate water, ho (Hah, ah hah, ah hah, ahh) Will you shut up (Aqua boogie, baby) Never learned to swim (Underwater boogie baby) Can't catch the rhythm of the stroke (Aqua boogie, baby) Why should I hold my breath (Underwater boogie, baby) Feelin' that I might choke (Ha ah, ha ah, ha ah) (Aqua boogie, baby) Things ya blow through Because of things ya swim through (Underwater boogie, baby) Why hold your nose to spite your face (Ha ah, ha ah, ha ah) (Aqua boogie, baby) With the rhythm that makes you dance To what we have to live through (Underwater boogie, baby) You can dance underwater and not get wet, oh Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadooloop Etc (Parliament - Aqua Boogie) But who cares so long as it's funky! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 1 minute ago, Leonard Smalls said: And it went downhill from there. Which is some achievement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, Beedster said: Which is some achievement 😁 I won't even quote any of the cod reggae song we did in the very early days (we're talking '83-4 here!) called "Sex Feeling". Suffice it to say that at our last session (we do 1 a year!) somebody had found an old rehearsal tape of this classic. After only the first verse at least 2 of us wished we'd stopped off and bought some Tena Man pants! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 (edited) Lyrics you say? I've often wondered what all that pointless yodelling was between the guitar solos. Edited October 15, 2019 by leftybassman392 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 If you don't like those lyrics - (insert deity of choice) help you if you ever hear any modern RnB, gangsta rap, dance lyrics etc... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Firefly Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Unchain the night, cos tonight's the night, everything's gonna be alright, so lets fight the fight, Im a prisoner of love so put the blame on me, Im a victim of circumstance, but the night's on fire, in chains of love, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I think we should allow some special pleading here, in that lyrics are not intended to be read. They aren't poetry, they're words to accompany a tune 4 minutes ago, cetera said: If you don't like those lyrics - (insert deity of choice) help you if you ever hear any modern RnB, gangsta rap, dance lyrics etc... Exactly. There's a fairly strong opinion about the death of heavy metal that since it went all PC and largely stopped singing about abusing women and killing people, RnB and rap have massively increased in popularity amongst teenage boys because it hasn't had the same pressure to grow up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Some 'typical' metal lyrics are like fantasy films - provide a subject for a story but aren't reality. Not sure what excuse other genres have.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Lyrics went downhill from Rock Around the Clock onwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown_User Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I think metal music is mostly angsty, angry, stuff written by and for reasonably intelligent misfit nerdy types and/or people who may be going through a teenage identity crisis. People who think about existential stuff, possibly channelling this through heretical ideas about religions and the occult or escapism through fantasy novels/films. So certain buzzwords about Satan, mouldy old Babylonian (or wherever) gods, Dungeons and Dragons type creatures, being sad or angry and being able to pull through a phase of being sad and angry is all easily marketable stuff. As it's at least in the right ball park. If you believe anyone in the music industry could be so cynical. Before anyone gets upset at my stereotyping, I say this as misfit nerd with a mid-life identity crisis who has listened mostly to various types rock and metal music for the past twenty years. 😀 Like everything, if you filter out the dross there's some thoughtful and intelligent stuff. Also some stuff that's just plain old good daft fun. Speaking of which, @Leonard Smalls I loved the image of the heavy metal goblins in shrouds. If you felt up to reproducing the lyrics of "Sex Feeling" I imagine it would surely brighten up a tedious Tuesday afternoon! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Hatred turned to apathy led down this dark abyss goodnight farewell you pig from hell this world I shall not miss "Word Salad" by Annihilator. Very much tongue in cheek and excellent for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown_User Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 15 minutes ago, Monkey Steve said: Exactly. There's a fairly strong opinion about the death of heavy metal that since it went all PC and largely stopped singing about abusing women and killing people, RnB and rap have massively increased in popularity amongst teenage boys because it hasn't had the same pressure to grow up That's quite an interesting theory. She should still be made to smell the glove though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 20 minutes ago, Monkey Steve said: I think we should allow some special pleading here, in that lyrics are not intended to be read. They aren't poetry, they're words to accompany a tune I don't know what you mean... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Unknown_User said: If you felt up to reproducing the lyrics of "Sex Feeling" I've put the call out as I can't remember much apart from extremely over-ripe and suggestively-shaped cheese... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Take a listen to The Macc Lads, lyrical genius imo but after that any song sounds meaningful. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Twelve Foot Ninja have excellent, meaningful lyrics. Devin Townsend too 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJpullchord Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I quite like Mike Muir’s mutterings. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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