By Jade Jones
Published March 1st, 2022
Bob Dylan. Kurt Cobain. 2-Pac, Linda Perry. NF. Billie Joe Armstrong. These and countless others have composed songs that have shaped entire generations, launched movements, and inspired thousands of musicians across the world. Words can be used in a wide range of ways, but lyrics are what makes music affect us, and bring out emotions that we cannot express on our own. The lyrics of a song tell a story, make statements, and display the thoughts of the artist, in hopes that they will connect them with the listener.
That being said, there are certain aspects of lyrics that determine their importance to the listener, and how they effectively broadcast the artist's message. What are these aspects? They include:
- Creativity
- Honesty
- Relatability
- Subject Matter
- 'Is It Catchy?'
- Environment/Worldly Events
- Personal Experiences/Trauma
These and other factors drive the message the artist wants to convey, and, in terms of market value, determine the success of that artist.
Creative and innovative lyrics draw attention to the music. Songs like 'All Along the Watchtower' (Bob Dylan), 'Beautiful', (Linda Perry), and 'Heart-Shaped Box' (Kurt Cobain), have stayed popular because the songs are unique and unlike anything previous to their existence. There's a reason they have stayed popular over time.
Honest, heart-felt song lyrics tend to grab hold pf the listener and inspire something in new them, or trudge up feelings they maybe wanted to bury. When bullied, misunderstood teens in the 2000s heard 'In the End' (by Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn and Rob Bourdon), they probably felt as if someone had finally cracked open the door and said 'are you okay?'. Putting your feelings on paper, 9 times out of 10, proves to make successful, beloved songs that people will play and replay for decades.
Adjacent to honesty, relatability is a key part in drawing an audience to a particular song. 'I'm Not Okay' (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance was an anthem for emo adolescents across the world. The aspect of being transparent and authentic to an audience is one that is crucial to writing a song that fans don't forget. Saying to that kid in the crowd "I'm just like you on the inside" is pivotal, and solidifies that artist or band in that person's mind; they then share that experience with others who feel the same way.
In terms of radio play, composers write songs that are designed to get stuck in your head; they may have goofy lyrics or be extremely repetitive. If you told me "My Name Is.." by Eminem or 'Nookie' by Limp Bizkit wasn't stuck in your head at some point, you may be lying. Songs being catchy is a classic lyrical tactic that has been used for decades; mainstream artists, or even those looking to garner streams and downloads may take a page from the playbooks of countless Pop writers and producers (not to diminish the craft, but it does happen).
A band's environment and events going on around them often inspire the words they put to paper. Subject matter can be pulled from a wide variety of places and occurrences. A Day to Remember's smash hit 'All Signs Point to Lauderdale' literally starts with "I hate this town | It's so washed up". To our knowledge, they weren't joking. On a more somber note, 'Zombie' by The Cranberries expressed the late Dolores O'Riordan and bandmate's feelings and anger towards the bombings in Ireland that resulted in the deaths of two young children. Using material resulting from war, loss, and other related feelings or events often produce meaningful lyrics that help fans deal with these things in their own lives.
As we all know, artists have used personal experiences and trauma to write numerous amazing songs. NWA and the late 2-Pac have cited the source of their music as being things that actually occurred to them, such as losing a friend in a gang fight, serving time, and life growing in, as Pac put it, "the Wild, Wild West". NF, who has dropped hits such as 'How Could You Leave Us?', 'Let You Down' and 'Paralyzed', has always maintained that his music reflects much of the traumatic childhood he endured. Depression, substance abuse and other traumatic and unfortunate events have inspired some of the greatest songs ever written. And while we synthesize with the artist's pain, we understand that without those experiences, these songs probably would not exist.
So where does that leave us? Hopefully, with a deeper appreciation for lyricists both famous and underground, legacy writers of generations past and the 'just getting started' hometown heroes looking to make a name for themselves. Passion, emotion, change, drive, humor, catharsis, and telling a story are all part of the enigma that is the lyricist.
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