Your comment about the Beatles and lyrics caught my attention.
For many, many years I paid almost no attention to lyrics. I often wonder if the Beatles had something to do with it. I was a child when the British invasion hit. Beatles everywhere. Every hour you could be guaranteed two or three Beatles songs on the AM radio stations looping through the same top 40 songs of the week every couple of hours. I was at an age when I was becoming musically aware,.... imprinted with the music of the day that follows me still. But it wasn't the lyrics. It was the melodies, the harmonies, the rhythym and, most of all, the beat. There's something primeval and visceral about the beat. Lyrics were not necessary to the enjoyment of the music. And, quite frankly, there wasn't a lot of deep meaning or philosophical insight in "She Loves You" or "I Want to Hold Your Hand" anyway. This only reinforced my developing musical sense that lyrics weren't important.
Years later, sitting around college dorm rooms having late night talks with my friends about anything and everything, I mentioned this. I had some friends who were into Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and they talked about the stories, the philosophy, the meaning of the lyrics. "But it doesn't have that beat that makes you want to get up and dance", I would say. "If I want deep meaning, I'll read a book". "I don't listen to music for words. Good music doesn't need words any more than Macbeth or King Lear needs to be made into a musical!"
Well, I have to admit. Over time, I did start to listen to lyrics a bit, and read the lyrics in the liner notes. I do come across the occasional line or turn of the phrase that is quite poetic. However, I don't go out of my way. It's still the music that moves me. And the lyrics of "She Loves You" still haven't changed as I listen to it.
For many, many years I paid almost no attention to lyrics. I often wonder if the Beatles had something to do with it. I was a child when the British invasion hit. Beatles everywhere. Every hour you could be guaranteed two or three Beatles songs on the AM radio stations looping through the same top 40 songs of the week every couple of hours. I was at an age when I was becoming musically aware,.... imprinted with the music of the day that follows me still. But it wasn't the lyrics. It was the melodies, the harmonies, the rhythym and, most of all, the beat. There's something primeval and visceral about the beat. Lyrics were not necessary to the enjoyment of the music. And, quite frankly, there wasn't a lot of deep meaning or philosophical insight in "She Loves You" or "I Want to Hold Your Hand" anyway. This only reinforced my developing musical sense that lyrics weren't important.
Years later, sitting around college dorm rooms having late night talks with my friends about anything and everything, I mentioned this. I had some friends who were into Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and they talked about the stories, the philosophy, the meaning of the lyrics. "But it doesn't have that beat that makes you want to get up and dance", I would say. "If I want deep meaning, I'll read a book". "I don't listen to music for words. Good music doesn't need words any more than Macbeth or King Lear needs to be made into a musical!"
Well, I have to admit. Over time, I did start to listen to lyrics a bit, and read the lyrics in the liner notes. I do come across the occasional line or turn of the phrase that is quite poetic. However, I don't go out of my way. It's still the music that moves me. And the lyrics of "She Loves You" still haven't changed as I listen to it.