Music & Lyrics

For the sake of clarity for what is to ensue, I shall define a "song" as composition for voices performed by singing and accompanied by instrumental music. Eg : Yellow by Coldplay, High by James Blunt, etc etc (you get the idea!)

The next best thing to love - an iPod.

Have you ever wondered what is more important in a song - whether it is the music (the tune, the feel or to put it more dramatically, the soul of the song) or the lyrics (the literary marvels)? The answer has always seemed obvious to me. Its a no-brainer really. It is the music that matters the most. You dont love a song just because it has brilliant lyrics that employ superb literary tools or has incredible rhyme schemes. You fall in love with a song for its music. The first time you hear a song, be it in a store, a TV show or in a friend's iPod, what registers first is not the lyrics, its the music that captures your mind.

The mood of the song is captured by the tune of the song than the actual words. Or that is how I have always felt. The music hits me first, and then if I happen to like the song, I start listening to the lyrics. If people were to argue that a song is only enjoyable if the lyrics are good, that would be very sad. It would cripple the very idea of music transcending boundaries - be it physical or metaphorical.

Nothing stops an illiterate person from enjoying a song as much as the next person. Sure, the person who understands the lyrics may feel an extra sense of gratification towards the song. But thats just a silly notion. After all, no one can quantify how someone is affected by a song. Occasionally, I do enjoy hindi/tamil songs albeit without understanding a word of the lyrics. Sophistication imbibed by grasping the lyrics, in that sense is not necessary to be a song lover.

One could argue that I am missing out on the entirety of the song by not knowing the lyrics. Is that not as futile as saying that one has to be an art connoisseur to fully appreciate the smile of Mona Lisa? Songs are to be appreciated by the heart, not to be analysed by the brain. A romanticised notion as that might be I am inclined to think that it is not completely without sense.

Am not contesting the fact that both music and lyrics do matter in a song. At the end of all the discussion, it still is a very subjective proposition. If someone truly feels that lyrics matter more, I cant do anything about it. To each one's own. Ciao!