Are Song Lyrics Poetry? And Can Any Poetry Become Song Lyrics?
In this post, we’ll explore whether song lyrics are poetry, should song lyrics be poetry, and what makes songs feel poetic.
To Feel Poetic, Song Lyrics Don’t Have To Be Poetic
Songs have the benefit of being performed by great vocalists and musicians. They can often elevate how the song feels to the listener without containing great poetry in song lyrics.
The emotional lift we most often get from music is from a line that’s emphasized by the vocalist and reinforced by musical production.
When listening to great music, we often find ourselves thinking “what a great line,” but often when we read that same line without the benefit of the music, most of the powerful song lyrics tend to read like mediocre poetry.
Ultimately, there is an extremely small percentage of all song lyrics which can also be objectively deemed as very good poetry.
Examples Of Songs With Poetic Lyrics
When you listen to Bob Dylan’s or Leonard Cohen’s music, there isn’t much musical production, and they are not the best of vocalists. But they are regarded as the best poets who are also singer-songwriters.
Examples of their songs with tremendous poetry are Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan. Here is a blog post where I go into detail and dissect each line of what I believe to be Bob Dylan’s most poetic song, Mr. Tambourine Man.
Personally, the poetic music of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan has inspired me in a profound way. Here is a song I wrote that’s a tribute to artists, poets and musicians who inspire us, and make our lives better. That song is aptly named “Guardians of Souls” because that is exactly who poets are.
You can listen to the song here:
How Poetic Are Most Of The Song Lyrics Today?
Today, there is extremely little emphasis on having song lyrics actually be or even feel poetic. Today, there is a much greater emphasis on the “catchiness” of a song.
If you listen to today’s songs, many of the song lyrics are simply literally phrased stream of consciousness. Many of the song lyrics today feel like they took ten minutes to write by a sixth grader. The listeners simply stop demanding quality poetic lyrics because for so many years they have not gotten that out of music.
Today’s lyrics tend to brag, put other people down, and often find the lowest common denominator in humanity. Instead, lyrics should be interesting in a stimulating way. They should inspire and enlighten.
Best Song Lyrics To Highlight How Potent Song Lyrics Can Be
I recently wrote a blog post with a collection of songs from the last few decades that have some of the best song lyrics. Here is a link to that post, and another post with songs that have deep and meaningful lyrics.
