Literature in Music?

No shit Victor. Thanks for the lesson, very interesting. 👆

Anyone else?

Contrasting affirmations:

I woke the same as any other day
Except a voice was in my head
It said seize the day, pull the trigger
Drop the blade, and watch the rolling heads

- 'The Day I Tried To Live' by Soundgarden.

The whole song is littered with surprising comparisons and reversals of common phrases.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
I'm reading 'Catch A Fire' at the moment. I've always loved Bob, but from reading his biography I've gained a greater insight into his lyrics.

Here are a couple of sets of great verses:

From Get Up, Stand Up:

Most people think,
Great God will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights.

I admire the ethos of these lyrics. It is a concept that everyone should embrace. The simplicity of the words, does not detract from the powerful call of them as a collective. I think it shows that lyrics don't need to be euphuistic or deal with extraordinary concepts to be considered 'intelligent' or 'great literature'.

Then we have these verses from Redemption Song:

Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the 'and of the Almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? Ooh!
Some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfil de book.

Redemption Song is a heart-breaking story of the slave trade and then ultimately Bob's cry for the people to free themselves. If you read the lyrics, the images are alive and clear. Surely, this is a sign of it being a work of great literature.

I liked "9 Months". That one is a classic

So as not to start a new thread- do people generally gravitate towards lyrical content, or musical content?

I generally don't care what the lyrics of a song are, unless they're truly bad.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
So as not to start a new thread- do people generally gravitate towards lyrical content, or musical content?

I generally don't care what the lyrics of a song are, unless they're truly bad.

As Gus Dudgeon once said, "there is no such thing as a hit lyric. There are hit melodoies."

I, personally, feel that lyrics are important. But, I will admit that I am inclined to give a little lyrical leeway to certain artists, like David Bowie.

Funny me.......I was in orchestra so always listened to the music of bands....more than the lyrics unless they stuck out....

The music is what would encapsulate me first.

Originally posted by Capt_Fantastic
As Gus Dudgeon once said, "there is no such thing as a hit lyric. There are hit melodoies."

I, personally, feel that lyrics are important. But, I will admit that I am inclined to give a little lyrical leeway to certain artists, like David Bowie.

I think lyrics can add another element to a song, but I think in many ways that often makes up for a musical shortcoming.

Musical always, for me. If I know that a lyricist is renowned I'll keep an ear out for what they're saying but it never really ends up being competition for the music.

-AC

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
I think lyrics can add another element to a song, but I think in many ways that often makes up for a musical shortcoming.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
I think lyrics can add another element to a song, but I think in many ways that often makes up for a musical shortcoming.

Are you saying David Bowie suffers from a musical shortcoming?

Originally posted by Capt_Fantastic
Are you saying David Bowie suffers from a musical shortcoming?

What an odd extrapolation.

Originally posted by debbiejo
Yes, lyrics really make the song....I wish I payed more attention to the lyrics in the past, cause they really do make it worth the feeling and more living to what is being meant.

You overshot the point by such a hefty distance that I'm not even sure I could show you how.

-AC

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
You overshot the point by such a hefty distance that I'm not even sure I could show you how.

-AC

Because you posted the opposite of what his point was, yet agreed with his post.

-AC

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
What an odd extrapolation.

Well, perhaps you are less familiar with David Bowies own opinion of a lot of his lyrics. He, himself, has said that he doesn't write the best lyrics. He's been quoted as saying that there are times that he picks the wrods to his songs out of a hat. However, he is a musical genious. So, I give him a bit more leeway when his songs don't make sense, lyrically.

Haha, everyone is misunderstanding the point somehow.

This is funny.

-AC

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
Because you posted the opposite of what his point was, yet agreed with his post.

-AC

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
but I think in many ways that often makes up for a musical shortcoming.

I was under the impression that this was the point. How am I not understanding?

Originally posted by Capt_Fantastic
Well, perhaps you are less familiar with David Bowies own opinion of a lot of his lyrics. He, himself, has said that he doesn't write the best lyrics. He's been quoted as saying that there are times that he picks the wrods to his songs out of a hat. However, he is a musical genious. So, I give him a bit more leeway when his songs don't make sense, lyrically.

That's the point I was making; I wasn't referring to Bowie.

What I implied was that if there is a huge focus on the lyrics, often there is a deficit in the musical content.