Friday, September 4, 2015

Pinch of Melody...Dash of Lyric

I was asked what draws me to a song – the music or the lyrics.  My first thought was “ummmm of course the lyrics!” I mean that is what makes a song special right – the words?  How they speak to you?  How they give pause in your brain to make way for pure emotion:

“The sacred simplicity of you by my side.” Vienna Teng  (these words made me sigh and shiver all at the same time)

Yet there is the melody.  Can I like a song for its lyrics if the tune is bad? I mean I have liked songs with bad lyrics because the music was good.  And usually I don’t catch the lyrics on the first listen – it is only after time or if I make a point of trying to listen that I understand the lyrics.  Logically then it would be the music.  So then maybe it is the music that first catches my attention but the lyrics that make it a favorite?

In an effort to answer the question, I looked at my MK Random playlist to see if there is a pattern to why these songs are important to me.



The list presented another reason other than notes or lyrics.  Association.  Several songs on my list are there because of why I heard them – introduced by Chad.  There is a song that is on there just because it is Rylee’s “sparkle” song and it makes me so happy to hear it because it makes her so happy to hear it.  There is a song on the list because I heard it on a favorite TV show during a climactic moment. The list also has songs because I like how the music makes me feel.  Free.  Or happy.  Or sad.  Or iintrospective. Still other songs have lyrics make me think of someone, some time, or take me somewhere.

 It seems I can’t answer why I am drawn to a song or why I choose to listen again.  I suspect there is no right answer – no consistent answer – no one answer - at least for me there isn’t.  I know there are songs that pull me in completely.  I know there are songs I want to stand up and dance to each time I hear them.  I know there are songs that make me ache in every fiber of me.  Just don’t know why.  Just don’t know that it matters. 

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