Music: Melody comes first before the lyrics

[Bohemianne]

...that's as far as I am concerned. If I want the high-falutin' words, I'll just read poetry and forget listening. But when it comes to *music* I don't care if the lyrics is turd, selfish and without morals. It is the melody that matters. You could just imagine if the melody is so good and backed up by very good lyrics -- it's pure eargasm!

How about you?

*** You can cite a favorite song with great melody but with bad lyrics, or both good.

Example:

Pink Floyd's "Time" -- Great melody and good lyrics:



........................

Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" -- Great melody, but not exactly good lyrics:



Keep them coming...

 

[BritishSteel]

I agree with you! It always amazes me how a great melody can turn even the most dull or nonsensical lyrics into a great song. For me, a brilliant example of this is 'The Riddle' by Nik Kershaw. He admitted that the lyrics were completely garbled, but when you combine it with that melody, you end up with something that really stands out! 🙂

 

[ticklehappy]

The melody is the most important aspect, and a lot of the greatest numbers have been created by two or more writers not always one for the melody and another for the lyrics but often as a team then there are many examples of one person doing the whole thing. Its a very good question what comes first the melody or the lyrics, there must be some stats somewhere I guess

 

[BritishSteel]

One of Kurt Cobain’s most famous quotes was ‘music comes first and lyrics come second’, and it’s easy to see what he meant by that. Pick any of Nirvana’s most popular songs, read the lyrics and then listen to the song itself, and the melody brings it to life. ‘Lithium’ is a great example, and so is ‘In Bloom’. Not the most poetic lyrics, but they come alive when he sings them!

 

[Bohemianne]

^ I love Nirvana's "Lithium," actually.

 

[BritishSteel]

‘Lithium’ is a great song, but I’ve never truly believed, as many people do, that Cobain was being seriously upbeat when he sang it. I was always convinced that song had a very heavy dose of irony in it!

I’d also like to nominate Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand by The Who, as another reasonably safe lyric that was brought to life by an utterly brilliant melody! 🙂

 

[Vanillaphant]

I used to think that lyrics didn’t matter, but I think I have a greater appreciation for them these days. That doesn’t mean that in order to love a song, I must love the lyrics too. And it certainly doesn’t mean that I think all lyrics should be serious and thoughtful. Perish the thought! lol

Perhaps the most important thing is whether the words fit the music, whether they scan. I think that’s what the listener responds to initially, anyway. If the words sound right and they’re vaguely coherent, then the music (along with some decent vocals, obviously) can do the rest. And if you find the lyrics moving/interesting/entertaining, then that’s a bonus. But that bonus can be a pretty big one, let’s face it! (Let It Be, anyone?)

It’s funny cos I was listening to Shiny Happy People by REM recently. In fact, I was watching the video on Youtube, and one video led to another… I ended up watching an interview in which two band members – Michael Stipe and Mike Mills – talk about the fact that it’s one of their least favourite REM songs. To be honest, I assumed that the lyrics to that song were a little tongue-in-cheek. But judging by Stipe’s comment that “it’s a fruity pop song written for children”, it would seem that I was wrong lol. Perhaps they felt that they were selling out a bit, and that’s why they’re embarrassed by it now - who knows! But it hasn’t changed how I feel when I listen to the song. It’s all about Peter Buck’s uplifting and absurdly catchy riff, anyway. 😀

So I suppose that would be a good example of a song that I like, but whose lyrics are maybe not-so-great.

Interesting thread though! 🙂

 

[BritishSteel]

^ Shiny Happy People is one of my very favourite R.E.M. songs! I agree with you about the hook; it’s very memorable! 🙂

Also, Nightswimming is a song that I think combines brilliant lyrics with a superb melody. That piano line......wonderful!

 

[siamese dream]

Usually it's hard for songwriters to start with lyrics and then build a melody around that... The melody sometimes just lends itself to certain words even if it's simple/stupid lyrics... Think how the score to the original Superman movies with Christopher Reeves had those three notes, "da-da-daaah!", That everyone who saw those movies thought or said/sang "Super-maaan!" along with those 3 notes. �� ...but they never *say* Superman in the score...those 3 notes just completely suggested it from the way they sounded paired with being in a movie titled "Superman."

(Edit) good song/tune with bad lyrics: lol...too many... Peaches and Lump by POTUSOA were offenders in the 90s when I became old enough to really get into music more than just as liking a song if I hear it but not buying albums and being interested in bands...

Good song with *great* lyrics... My friend got me stuck on the song "Figures" by Jesse Reyez... And while at first I hated how she says "Figures" as figars....man , if you were did wrong in a relationship those lyrics cut deep. "I wish I could hurt you back, Love what would you do if you couldn't get me back?... You're the one that's gonna lose something so special, something so real...tell me boy how in the f**K would you feel? If you couldn't hurt me back... That's what I wish that I could do to you."

 

[Tenebrae]

I agree with you 100%. What makes or breaks a song is its melody. Touching, funny or otherwise simply good lyrics are definitely a plus but they just come like the proverbial cherry on top: without them, the cake is still very good.

Case in point: I love Sonata Arctica but I must confess that the lurics of songs such as Selene (look'em up), are a little bit embarrassingly bad The song is still awesome.