About Song Lyrics

The word lyric comes from the Greek word "lyrikos," which means "singing to the lyre." The word in contemporary use simply suggests adding words to the sound of the music. Lyrics often tell a story. They can be very literal or very abstract, but to a lot of music lovers, lyrics are just as important as the music itself.

History of

Since written history, song lyrics have accompanied musical performances. Traditionally, this music was performed on a lyre, which is where the word "lyric" derives from. The actual use of the word "lyric" to describe words sang or spoken in accompaniment to a song was first recorded in 1829. Now the plural form "lyrics" is used more often to convey all the words for an entire song.

Features

Song lyrics can be sung or spoken. Like poetry, song lyrics often rely on repetition and rhyme to develop a chorus and verses. Often, the lyrics of a song can be really abstract and hard to discern meaning from. This is such an issue, in fact, that there are websites that specialize in decoding the meaning of song lyrics to find the important meanings (see resources below). Song lyrics do not always have to be sung clearly, either. In fact, many bands have found success in their sometimes inaudible lyrical styles.

Function

Lyrics function to add an explicit purpose and meaning to a song. From the lyrics, the listener can gather words that they can analyze to examine the subject addressed, the people, places, and events named, the information presented, and interpret the meaning of the actual words in the song. While lyrics are not necessary for a song to have purpose, for many listeners they just make it easier for a main purpose to be understood.

Evolution

In more contemporary use, lyrics have undergone many changes. It is not uncommon for lyrics to be regarded just as highly, if not more so, than the music itself. Often, people will identify songs solely by their lyrics as opposed to their melody. So much so, in fact, that it is rare for instrumental songs, or songs without lyrics, to achieve popular hit status on mainstream radio stations or billboard charts.

Significance

Song lyrics are significant in conveying the meaning of a song. Many people blame lyrics for being so influential in the lives of their listeners that they can be potentially damaging. Labels placed on the front of record releases ("Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics") are an attempt to deter younger audiences from purchasing these albums. Lyrics have also been the subject of lawsuits brought by families of victims whom, they claim, were inspired by the lyrics in songs to commit acts that were a danger to themselves and others.