What do lyrics mean to you?

I can prove to you that lyrics are not important to "most people".
"Every Breadth You Take" by The Police is one of the most popular wedding songs in all of the English speaking countries in the world.
Sting has gone on record saying people come up to him constantly thanking him for their wedding song.
All that proves is folks dont interpret the words the same. It proves nothing about their importance.
 
I do like the Eurodance approach to lyrics. Simple and repetitive. I am also getting to vocable type of singing. Singing without works OOHs and ahs.

These days hip hop reminds me more of a short movie script than music.

Seems like these days music either has to be nearly devoid of emotion, something that can be played on the loudspeaker at Borders, or complete trash.

I mean for people who are supposedly good with words, rappers don't seem to explain themselves very well.
 
I have a medium-sized collection of albums in the (poorly-named) “world music” genre, and they’re in Arabic, Urdu, ancient Chinese dialects, French, Cree, and many other languages. If I was a lyrics keener, it seems likely that I would never have heard shedloads of great music.
Similarly, I’ve listened to a lot of music that I does not have English lyrics. I only understand English. I’ve also listened to a lot of music with English lyrics that I can’t decipher anyway. I also listen to plenty of music that is just instrumental, and the wholesale lack of lyrics hasn’t seemed to be an issue.

I’m not discounting any significance of actual lyrics; but tone, rhythm, and melody are of more importance to me.

As far as songwriting goes, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation where the lyrics came first. There may have been some ideas written down on a page, but those generally get developed after the song has been more fully formed.

As a listener, I tend to largely gloss over lyrics, with a few phrases maybe making an imprint. By and large, it’s incredibly rare that I find something that has lyrics that really resonate with me accompanied by music I actually want to listen to.
 
Where do they sit in the importance factor of a well written song? For me personally, they sit dead last in importance. I dont pay much attention to the "meaning" or "story" a lyricist is trying to tell, but they seem to get a good majority of credit when it comes to the rights. The lyrics definitely dont make me bob my head, or "shake a tail feather" so to speak. I never find myself saying "what a story". Its always "what a sweet riff" "this melody is great" "bass player and drummer are groovin" "man that vocalist can sing", "harmonies are great".
Never cared. Never paid any attention. Even if I did, I rarely knew WTH they were talking about. Looking back, I'm often embarrassed at what they *were* saying (KISS) or horrified (ELP- anti-Christian).I was always about the beat. Left the lyrics to the poets. Now, playing at my church, the lyrics are the main point.
 
To be honest i never really listen to lyrics, but to the song in a whole. I have a few favorite songs and i really don't know most of the lyrics! I think i listen more to the melodies and the flow of a song than what the singer is trying to convey. Sometimes i read the lyrics of a song and thought 'oh this song is about this subject'. Maybe it's because I'm not a singer and don't have an attachment to vocal parts being a drummer. I mean, that I'm more attuned to drums and guitars since those are close to me (compare it to when someone is speaking in your native language while you're in a foreign country; you immediately pick that up, at least i do)
 
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Listen to lyrics for me, within a musical/band context, means a lot and is important.

I always listen to the singer and how they deliver them, to know if I am speeding or dragging to allow me to make any necessary adjustments - tempo wise.

Or in the original music scene I’ll listen to the phrasing of the lyrics to see if I can riff off them, in choice places where that fits.

In a purely listening context they are important. But I say I’d listen to a song in full (as I’m sometimes too focused on the drums, other instruments…etc)

I’d love to be able to listen to a song the same way a casual listener does and actually listen to the ‘story of the song’ but my brain has been conditioned from decades of being a musician!
 
I definitely couldve been a bit clearer about my opinion. As a player, writer, and the little session work I do, I write along with the melody, and lyrics as well. One can hear that in our music. As a listener though, I dont pay any attention to the lyrics. I honestly could care less what they're saying, or what words are used to portray the "story".
 
I would like to add that, even though I learn lyrics and love to sing along, the music has to draw me in first. If the music doesnt do it for me, I wont stick around long enough to learn the lyrics. They might be Shakespearean in content, but I didn't get that far.
 
Lyrics are becoming more and more important to me

As a child, I got put off by too many cynical by the book love songs from the charts. As a young man, I mostly listened to music with no words or the occasional vocal hook

These days, I see lyrics as an important part of a song as they give it defined meaning allowing a song to have a message

Regarding performance:
Playing in an instrumental band is good
Playing good songs with a good singer is great
Playing good songs with a good singer who penned the words is amazing
 
Never cared. Never paid any attention. Even if I did, I rarely knew WTH they were talking about. Looking back, I'm often embarrassed at what they *were* saying (KISS) or horrified (ELP- anti-Christian).I was always about the beat. Left the lyrics to the poets. Now, playing at my church, the lyrics are the main point.
You don’t like 70 year old guys singing about 16 year old girls? ;)
 
I love me a good poetic or well thought out lyric (Pal Waaktaar-Savoy, Fish, Stingo, and David Coverdale (when he’s trying) are my favourites) and I like a fun lyric that doesn’t take itself too seriously (David Coverdale’s brilliant at that even though he goes a little too far ‘below the belt’ at times! :ROFLMAO: )…tbh I can forgive a dodgy lyric if the vocals, musicianship and tune are really good…but lyrics are generally the choc chips in the cookie…a great lyric can elevate a tune to greatness IMO!:unsure::D(y)
 
Sigur ros is a testament to that. Half of their lyrics are made up and the rest are in icelandic and its some of the most emotional music I've ever heard.

Same here. And the Cocteau Twins. And early R.E.M.
Lyrics are piffle! Can't imagine imagine 'kind of blue' being improved by 'I love you' 'you love me' vocalisations.
Challenge accepted:
 
Depends on the style, genre. I like instrumental music, soundtracks, too, without words. But if it is a part of a song, tells a story or describes a scene or feeling, then it can be very important. Even then it's different in each case. If it's e.g. Pink Floyd or NIN, I care more than if it's a pop song or some growling about a bloody axe. What I don't like is reading explanations of what the artist is trying to say. If a song touches me because it resonates with my feelings and experiences, I don't want to find out they wrote it about the neighbor's dog jumping over the fence.

This question is kinda like asking "do you care about cinnamon or onions in food?" - are we talking about a french toast or a hamburger?
 
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