We started with a brief 2-page close-reading of a set of lyrics
Did the close reading make a difference to how you originally understood the song?
Yeah, absolutely! I had not realized how much meaning and careful writing I was missing by listening mostly passively to many artists. When I sat down and slowly and deliberately did close readings of songs, I found all sorts of new pleasure in artists that I have been listening to for years. I found that many writers employed lots of poetic devices, recurring images, symbolism, intricate metaphors, double meanings, clever word play, recurring images, and poetic tropes. There were even some that seemed to be very conscious of form, using enjambment and following patters in meter. Some artists have particularly cryptic lyrics, like Alt J and even The National, and I had previously not bothered to dig through them. But I found it very rewarding to discover deeper-than-surface-level content in the lyrics, and I feel that I get more out of the songs this way. Though I'll admit, I often neglect to be so deliberate, as it is often hard to find the time and motivation to sit down and pour over song lyrics. At the same time, I found that some of my favorite artists have rather shallow lyrics that don't hold up well under a close reading. That's OK. Their music isn't worse, their lyrics just seek to accomplish something different than the lyrics of artists who write extremely consciously.
mk music gone?Yeah, absolutely! I had not realized how much meaning and careful writing I was missing by listening mostly passively to many artists.
The rhythm and musical effects distract us from the "meaning" of the words. I think thenewgreen would be interested in your comments given that he is a thoughtful songwriter. Meanwhile, every The New Green song previously available on hubski, seems to have been eaten: https://hubski.com/pub?id=130108
Very cool. I ought to give those songs a listen!
lil, thank you for the mention, I appreciate it. I've always been a fan of lyrics from an early age but mostly because I was writing songs. I've been in bands that played "originals" since I was 12 years old. I recall sitting around a small table, eating pizza with bandmates trying to collectively craft lyrics at 16. The words were MUCH different back then. Lot's of focus on rhyming and coolness. Later, I realized that the reason the words were so hard to come by was because I was thinking to much about the recipient of the words and wasn't focused on what I needed to say. Now, I allow the lyrics to just happen (at least when I can) and don't "try" so hard. There are times that I will sit down and craft lyrics deliberately but it rarely leads to something worthwhile imo. I once decided to write a song around a single word. You know... like "Yesterday" by the Beatles. I came up with Almost. -That's a song I "crafted." Then there are songs that just happen like Grow Up -much more earnest imo. But yeah, I really love lyrics.