Miswanderlust
Ann 1The Meaning of Words in Song
December 10th 2006 04:01
The most straightforward way to extract meaning of words or lyrics in song is by looking at the background of the group or solo artist and their genre of music. Other than that, there are some wacky ways to draw from those genres, don’t you reckon?
I find that most of my favourite tunes are inspiring in some way, whether it be in relation to sound, but most of the time it is because of the lyrics. Yes, you guessed it folks I am the sing out loud person. I cannot help it. I just cannot seem to express my enjoyment to the full without doing it. I caught a girl laughing at me on the street because I was singing in the car. Lots of people do it, even those of you who really shouldn’t.
The Basics.
These are often found in the diaries of teenage girls or spraying out of the mouths of popstars on Television. Often romantic notions of love, life and identity are explored in repetitive ways as there is either little musical support (in which I mean diversity) or talent to make it special. But hey it seems to make lots of money, so whatever makes you happy.
The Complicated
My favourite lyricists, probably a direct result of the Best Gig I ever saw, are the Beastie Boys. If it all sounds like a foreign language to you, then listen a little closer or just take a look at the cover. Of course there is a lot of rhyming, but how they time and emphasize certain words or phrases makes their songs rather comical. For instance, in their track Triple trouble, “What the Helen of Troy is that?” and “I walk like a Jabba The Hutt… and little did they know their was a baby in her body.” They are really just talking about themselves, but the depth of their skills is vast indeed, as reinforced with the footnotes they have attached to the end of the song.
Perhaps this theory is shot, as one of my favourite tracks by Sigur Rios is sung largely in Icelandic (is that right?). My brain might somehow be on some higher plane of understanding or it is indeed the vital combination of sound and lyrics that form a favourite song.
Nonetheless, the complicated often include various musicians in one group that probably started playing in a garage somewhere in their angst filled years of adolescence.
The Veterans
Legends in music that still pump out tunes today have used words in song as a vehicle for something else, as they clearly don’t need any more money. U2 fight for human rights, The Rolling Stones fight for the fitness of Mick Jagger (I mean how else could he have run across the Telstra stadium?) and Bob Dylan probably just likes to annoy people with the complex tones of his voice box.
Are words in songs important to your enjoyment or distaste of them? Any songs that make your heart flip or flop? Can you think of any songs that provided a specific meaning for you?
My get happy song is Slide by The Goo Goo Dolls because it helps me forget about what is making me sad, even though the song is about sex. My reflective get sad song is Walk Away by Ben Harper as it is a liberating goodbye track that I feel I can identify with.
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