Singers and Song Lyrics

[Phil Starr]

So we are playing at a rehearsal with my new(ish) band and running through the set including the Pink song Who Knew. What is special about this rehearsal is that we are picking up after a tragedy for one of the band members. Her childhood friend of over 20 years had died a few days before from drug abuse. If you know the song it's about a friend who died of drug abuse. I'd thought about pulling the song from the rehearsal but that also draws attention to it. Anyway we run through it, it's simple enough and we play it well so no need to linger. I'm on the edge of tears by the end and daren't look at the rest of the band. At the end of the rehearsal I talk to the singer about it and she says "I didn't know that was what the song was about" "Oh is that what the 'when we meet again lyric is about?" She knows every word but has never thought about the meaning.

 

Actually that is probably true about most singers I've played with, none of them are really bothered about lyrics. A couple of other examples Nutbush City Limits has the line "it's a WHITE community" singer has no idea it's about racism. To be fair that word is smeared in the radio edit. One of my favourite moments lyrically is in Feeling Good is when Nina Simone changed the original lyric from you know how feel to Freedom is mine, and I know how I feel changing the whole meaning of the song. Other singers just don't notice it, the whole civil rights movement dismissed. (OK maybe that's overstating things )

 

Now I get that I'm a bit of a nerd, but I really don't get that when the sung word is what you do you don't get to really listen to the words, they are surely about feelings/stories/pictures and so on. How can you take an audience with you if you have no idea what you are trying to say? Now I'm particularly interested in lyrics, I love a clever or telling phrase in a song often a big hit song resonates because of capturing a thought or feeling and I love the "power of cheap music and cheap perfume" . I'm amazed that the person delivering the killer line doesn't savour the power that this gives them.

 

So id this just me? Have you come across this?

[TheGreek]

Growing up my brother was a big fan of The Jam. 

He had no idea what the Man in the Corner Shop was about...even though he knew every word.

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

Now I get that I'm a bit of a nerd, but I really don't get that when the sung word is what you do you don't get to really listen to the words, they are surely about feelings/stories/pictures and so on.

 

Who knew is in our set, I never knew that was what it was about, who knew!

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

 

It's like an actor not knowing their character.

 

I never got people for whom the lyrics are not important, it would be like not thinking the dialog of a movie is important.

 

If a song got lyrics it's because it's an essential part of, or at least ought to be.

 

If it's really not important why even bother?

 

You don't add ingredients to food that is not important, if not for taste, then at least the overall experience, do you?

 

 

Edited May 24 by Baloney Balderdash

[Newfoundfreedom]

We've had a similar thread on here before and it absolutely amazed me how many people on this here forum couldn't care less about lyrics. 

 

For me it's the most important part of any song. 

 

Any idiot can make someone dance. 

 

To move them to tears. That takes talent. 

[BigRedX]

Unless they are written down I find most lyrics at least partially unintelligible, and of those that I can understand a lot are cringe-worthy.

[MichaelDean]

A lot of the time, I'm not necessarily concentrating on the lyrics. I'm listening to the whole song and enjoying the vocal stylings, not necesarily the content. Like it's another instrument. I find I have to properly concentrate on the lyrics to hear the words. And I don't necesarily notice any story being told unless I read them. That was what the song book in a CD was good for I suppose...

[Baloney Balderdash]

13 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

We've had a similar thread on here before and it absolutely amazed me how many people on this here forum couldn't care less about lyrics. 

 

For me it's the most important part of any song. 

 

Any idiot can make someone dance. 

 

To move them to tears. That takes talent. 

Music without lyrics can move you to tears too though.

 

However, just with vocalists, it does require that the musicians actually know what they are doing.

 

 

Edited May 24 by Baloney Balderdash

[BreadBin]

1 minute ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Music without lyrics can move you to tears too though.

 

However, just with vocalists, it does require that the musicians actually know what they are doing.

 

 

Agreed - Watermelon in Easter Hay for example. 

[Baloney Balderdash]

A lot of Top 40 songs can move me to tears too, not because they are great though, quite on the contrary, because I am mourning the death of music.

 

Edited May 24 by Baloney Balderdash

[Newfoundfreedom]

43 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

A lot of Top 40 songs can move me to tears too, not because they are great though, quite on the contrary, because I am mourning the death of music.

 

 

I don't think I've listened to any kind of charts since the unbeatable lyrical genius of 2 Unlimited. 

 

"No no. No no no no. No no no no. No no there's no limits."

 

It just doesn't get any better than that. 

[Baloney Balderdash]

45 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

I don't think I've listened to any kind of charts since the unbeatable lyrical genius of 2 Unlimited. 

 

"No no. No no no no. No no no no. No no there's no limits."

 

It just doesn't get any better than that. 

I'd argue Scatman John did.

 

Though admittedly I associate him with another form of scat.

 

But yes, absolutely very prophetic lyrics, there seems to be no limit for how much shit the music industry can pump out and make people pay for getting poured into their ears.

 

 

Reminds me of the Danish comic duo Tim Vladimir and Gordon Kennedy (which otherwise weren't very funny), who had a hit in Denmark with this typical 90's Eurodance song:

 

Edited May 24 by Baloney Balderdash

[Phil Starr]

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Who knew is in our set, I never knew that was what it was about, who knew!

 

Ah but you aren't the singer

 

[Crusoe]

30 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

I don't think I've listened to any kind of charts since the unbeatable lyrical genius of 2 Unlimited. 

 

"No no. No no no no. No no no no. No no there's no limits."

 

It just doesn't get any better than that. 

The thing is, the original version did have more lyrics. 2 unlimited were Dutch. They had to dumb it down for the UK market.

[Crusoe]

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

It's like an actor not knowing their character.

 

I never got people for whom the lyrics are not important, it would be like not thinking the dialog of a movie is important.

 

If a song got lyrics it's because it's an essential part of, or at least ought to be.

 

If it's really not important why even bother?

 

You don't add ingredients to food that is not important, if not for taste, then at least the overall experience, do you?

 

 

Not all lyrics have meaning, though. Kurt Cobain said that a lot of his lyrics didn't mean anything. He liked the way the words sounded. Lou Reed did the same thing with The Black Angel's Death Song.

[asingardenof]

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

We've had a similar thread on here before and it absolutely amazed me how many people on this here forum couldn't care less about lyrics. 

 

For me it's the most important part of any song. 

 

Any idiot can make someone dance. 

 

To move them to tears. That takes talent. 

This is one of the many things that bugs me about some of the song choices for talent shows like The Voice, where someone can be singing a heartrending song about loss and despair but have a big grin on their face as they sing it as a cheerful ditty. Or the breathy female vocalist covers of songs used on adverts or movie trailers. In all cases the performance is totally incongruous with the subject matter of the song indicating that the singer may have no clue what they're actually singing about.

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

Ah but you aren't the singer

 

I sing the choruses 

[Munurmunuh]

Another thread about how awful singers / guitarists / pianists / drummers are, hurrah

[Rayman]

I’m passionate about my lyrics. Despite being in a rock/metal band, our songs mean something, and I work hard on the words. Some of our songs are actually quite painful for me to sing, as a couple of exes feature in them. Our latest song is political and environmental and is a bit of a departure lyrically from our normal subjects.

 

I Despise mindless metal lyrics in particular, but any lyrics that have clearly been ‘written’ to fit the music, without any real effort to tell a story are c**p, in my opinion.

[BreadBin]

4 hours ago, Crusoe said:

Not all lyrics have meaning, though. Kurt Cobain said that a lot of his lyrics didn't mean anything. He liked the way the words sounded. Lou Reed did the same thing with The Black Angel's Death Song.

Mike Patton does this, Beck too.

[Phil Starr]

4 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

I sing the choruses 

Me too, though mainly just to add a bit of volume. What was the name of your band? I was going to look you up but I've lost the answer

[Woodinblack]

Rexes hollow - I actually sing to add the pitch - I do the high bits or solo the songs that are just higher than the singer does (such as feel it still, or our current learning, you should be dancing).  Or just add the harmonies.

Strangely, we do 'who knew' as it was a requested song at a wedding, and we enjoyed doing it (and it went down well).

 

[Mykesbass]

7 hours ago, asingardenof said:

This is one of the many things that bugs me about some of the song choices for talent shows like The Voice, where someone can be singing a heartrending song about loss and despair but have a big grin on their face as they sing it as a cheerful ditty. Or the breathy female vocalist covers of songs used on adverts or movie trailers. In all cases the performance is totally incongruous with the subject matter of the song indicating that the singer may have no clue what they're actually singing about.

The absolute abomination that was Alexandra Burke's version of Hallelujah. Oh the delicious irony of the line "but you don't really care for music do you".

[tauzero]

7 hours ago, asingardenof said:

This is one of the many things that bugs me about some of the song choices for talent shows like The Voice, where someone can be singing a heartrending song about loss and despair but have a big grin on their face as they sing it as a cheerful ditty. Or the breathy female vocalist covers of songs used on adverts or movie trailers. In all cases the performance is totally incongruous with the subject matter of the song indicating that the singer may have no clue what they're actually singing about.

 

The absolutely dreadful cover of "Hallelujah" by Alexandra Burke is a prime example.

 

Dammit. Beaten to it.

 

Edited May 24 by tauzero

[tauzero]

Mrs Zero had no idea that Sleeping Satellite referred to the Moon.