Working on a new cover and came upon these lyrics (obviously a big hit).

Bittersweet memories
That is all I am taking with me
But goodbye, please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you need.

...when singing this the sheer beauty of the lyrics hit me!


Then compare them to this - also a big hit:

Where are the crowd
We're c-coming out
Got my flash on it's true
Need that picture of you
It's so magical
We'd be so fantastico

...but no beauty in the lyrics.

Am I just being old or are there few good lyricsists out there today. Perhaps everything has been said. I can come up with lyrics of a dozen older tunes which are brillent, but few come within the last decade or two or three...

literature and music have the power to elevate our thinkling and lead us to consider complex and important topics. In my opinion, the arts in general have shifted from being about concepts to being about feelings (which topic gets redundant pretty quickly.)

Take Christian music as an example. The traditional hymns were mostly statements of doctrine put to music, with the intent of reinforcing the tenets of faith each time the song is sung.

To my ears, contemporary Christian music is often totally lacking in doctrine so the songs are marketable to any denomination. It plays on the common denominator of feelings, which persists across all denominations, but is not the basis of faith at all.

The difference in the power of emotion versus the power of principle is easily seen in war: Soldiers retreat because of emotion, but they stand fast for the sake of principle

CENTS-O-METER
0_______/_.02

FWIW, I've noticed the same thing, Pat.


--Mac

I like Billy Joel's lyrics to the Piano Man, gets me every time, especially the line "when I wore a younger man's clothes" and "as the smile ran away from his face"

Clever use of lyrics. Maybe the poetry and thus the beauty is what is missing in much of the modern songs.

Quote:

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I like Billy Joel's lyrics to the Piano Man, gets me every time, especially the line "when I wore a younger man's clothes" and "as the smile ran away from his face"

Clever use of lyrics. Maybe the poetry and thus the beauty is what is missing in much of the modern songs.

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The thing with the Piano Man is that every cat who ever played a joint can relate to the tune. We all know "that" business man, "that" waitress and "that" bartender who is a friend of mine etc. etc. I still get flashbacks everytime I hear the song, and in my mind anyway that is what a good lyric is supposed to do.

Later,