Do you need lyrics to enjoy a song?

No, I don’t always need lyrics. A lot of the time, I block the lyrics and focus on the music, itself. It’s nice to interpret the music for myself, sometimes, especially when I’m working through something painful.

Going to check the links out now – Great question!

I see music both ways. It really just depends on the day. Music doesn’t need lyrics (classical music) and lyrics do not need music (poetry). They are two things that work together very well but are independent of each other like salt & pepper or peanut butter & jelly.

NO.
i love instrumentals and often feel that lyrics would totally screw up the song… for example:

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic
Frankenstein Edgar Winter (covered awesomely by Phish)
Jessica by the Allman Bros
Little Wing the SRV version
Any Colour by Pink Floyd

No. I like quite a bit of music without any vocals at all.

@tennesseejac ohhh great examples.

i loveeeeee frankenstein

I don’t think songs need lyrics. Nor do I think lyrics need songs. I enjoy all sorts of music, from classical to jazz, medieval to country, and christian to rock. Much of it has lyrics but not all of it does.

I must admit, though, that when I sing I generally need lyrics because I just can’t skat very well. However, I have been known to sing without lyrics, too.

any Miles Davis fan would certainly say NO

@tennesseejac – As would any Art Tatum fan.

I don’t need lyrics as long as the music is beautiful and/or powerful. I do enjoy singing though, and find I require lyrics for that.

i don’t need lyrics, but i prefer them. i appreciate the instrumental aspect of music, but i can better relate to words. i am just into words in general i guess. i don’t know anything about instruments whatsoever – someone may criticize a guitar player for playing off chord or whatever, and i won’t even notice half the time – so i guess that’s why.

I like jazz from many different artists and almost all of those songs I like have no lyrics whatsoever so no, I don’t really need lyrics to enjoy jazz music.

On the other hand, I do like lyrics in rock music because it gives each of the songs individuality and appeal in their own ways.

Most songs that grab me are also poems.

No. Sometimes I listen to the score of a movie, or just instrumentals. I’ll even go and make beats or music myself, knowing I’ll never have words go with it. Sometimes lyrics mess a song up.

I think for the most part lyrics are not essential, but a lot of times clever lyrics can really make a song a real gem. People ask me why I listen to music sung in different languages, and I reply with the same reason. It seems to me that people who insist on lyrics they can understand have very poor taste in music, but that’s just my opinion.

No absoloutely not.

Of course yes..u need lyrics to enjoy song..if u like some song which dnt contain lyrics and if u want to sing it as and when u want than it will be difficult to you to sing that particular song…so i prefer a song which is full of meaningful lyrics…..

I listen to waaayyy more music that doesn’t have lyrics than music that does. I mostly listen to instumental tracks from movies, video games…that sort of thing. So yeah, I can enjoy music without lyrics. I usually enjoy it more, given some of the crap people sing about these days.

But there are good artists out there that take the time to write good lyrics, of course. I’m just the sort of person that gets more from lyric-less music because I tend to analyze things. I’ve got perfect pitch, so I’ll try and figure out what key it’s in, recognize chord progressions, etc… Music is quite different when you’re looking for patterns and such rather than a tangible underlying meaning.

Sometimes, even, with songs that do have lyrics I get the feeling that the music may not always match the words. Like it seems to have the wrong feel (it may not be articulated well or sounds like it’s not in the appropriate key) and they just don’t fit together. But when they do match…oh, man. It really resonates wonderfully and takes that piece of music to a whole ‘nother level. (I really like some of Eavnescence and Conjure One, for example, because some of their pieces really hit that mark.) But there are pros and cons to both types, I guess.

<_< I hope that made sense to at least one person ‘cause I feel like I’m ranting again, lol.

No, a good example is Dream Theater’s Stream Of Conciousness

Neah. Like a lot of music without lyrics.
I also like a lot of music where
I don’t really pay attention to the lyrics.
More like voice as instrument.

damn dude i feel the same way about this. i love instrumental music. my girlfriend will not let me listen to any music that doesn’t have lyrics tho when im with her. she gets upset whenever i play any sort of electronic or jam music (hippie music as she calls it lol) but i love music without lyrics. i listen to music for the god damn music and if the lyrics are awesome that’s a plus.

i talked to her about this and she explained that she listened to music specifically for the lyrics and if the music was okay that was just an added plus. it bugs the shit out of me though. haha

and i agree with you uber that @ tennessee that list is fucking sick esp. frankenstein and jessica.

ps buckethead is fucking amazing.

@arcoarena been there too. I came to the realization that I cant be with a girl that does not appreciate good music. I get so fu#king turned on when I meet a girl that is passionate about music, its like an instant connection..POW! holy shit
Stay true, keep trying. Some people need to ease into the goodness of great music.

What about techno?
Disco Biscuits…. STS9???
The Mahavishnu Orchestra?

Ocean by John Butler Trio !!!
or one of my all time favorites
is when Jimmy Page does White Summer/ Black Mountain Side

lol yeah i know what you mean. some of her friends have such amazing taste in music and it upsets me even more than she doesnt agree with them on that haha.

and fuck yes. i just recommended sts9 to someone else on another fluther question lol
http://www.fluther.com/disc/34773/do-you-know-squarepusher/

and disco biscuits are sick. ive never heard mahavishnu orchestra ill haveto check them out.

have you heard bassnectar before. very similar to sts9. also LOTUS. theyre fucking amazing.

i love john butler. you definitely have a great taste in music. or one that is similar to mine at least lol

lol for that matter now that i think about it. my i got my fluther screen name from the cake instrumental track “Arco Arena”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNxM-YL2g44

and also at tennesee you listed a funkadelic song. if you like funk you should definitely check out “LETTUCE” they are a combo of funk/jazz and absolutely amazing.

@arcoarena word.

Most times i do not but for some numbers lyrics are needed.

I notice the music first, the lyrics are secondary. I can never remember a song title because of this!

@jonsblond: haha, I’m the same way. I just remember melodies and the sound of music (heh). I can play a song back to you on an instrument after listening to it a couple of times, but it’s like don’t ask me who wrote it or what it was about ‘cause I usually just won’t remember those details.

No, I swing both ways.

Loved Green Onions in my youth. Also Wipeout. (which to be technical does contain one word).

What about Dave Brubeck’s unmatched Take Five.

I thought this question was very timely:
My hubby told me a story last night that moved me to tears about listening to an interview on Fresh Air with a cellist who played concerts in prisons. He said whenever the played Faure’s The Swan, the gang members became extroadinarily silent and attentive and would ask him to play it again, because it reminded them of their mothers.

I think this is a perfect example of Uber’s comment about painting pictures in one’s head.

First of all, all songs by definition have lyrics. Otherwise, they are not called “songs”.
But in some cases, people (including me) may like to listen to some music without lyrics. Classical music is a typical example. I like the plain-old strings orchestra a lot more than the arias and librettos. But I prefer 20th c music overall, especially songs with good lyrics. Bob Dylan over Enya, Paul Simon over Jean Michel Jarre, Leonard Cohen over Madonna (ok, she does have lyrics, but they’re plain lame).

It’s all a matter of taste though, so there’s no “right” or “wrong” about this. There are people who mostly enjoy rhythm, or melody, or words, or the singer’s dancing routine.

@Jack79 whats are they called if they dont have lyrics then?

Instrumentals?

I just tried using two of the tune searching sites trying to find a hymn my wife was humming. (“What is this hymn! It goes like this!”)

The sites both came up with some ‘strange bedfellows’ for that tune. “Hey Jude”?

Anyway… The point is, we finally remembered a few of the words and were able to find it using Google. So if you’re searching for a song, it’s good to remember the lyrics.

A “song” is a piece of music with lyrics.
Anything else is just “a piece of music”.

It can be a “theme” or a “phrase” or even a whole symphony. They have different names depending on the style. And many people just use the informal term “instrumental”.

btw Grisson one day I was driving with my girlfriend next to me humming a very familiar tune. I was 100% sure I knew the song, but could not for the life of me remember the band. I was pretty sure it was a male singer though. She started laughing while I kept trying, in vain, to remember the artist. “It’s yours, silly!” she finally said after I was so frustrated that I was about to give up.

And then there is “lieder,” which is a song with words you can’t understand.

lol good one Darwin :)

@Jack79 im sorry, but i dont agree that at all. Even if it doesnt have words, its still a song IMO.

everyone should experience a live recording of
Lands End by String Cheese Incident

uberbatman, it’s not a matter of opinion. It’s the definition, whether you like it or not. If it doesn’t have lyrics, it is simply not a song. You don’t get to “choose”. It’s still music, and you have every right to love it if you want. But a song is by definition a piece of music that has lyrics to it, regardless of its quality. Similarly, if it has no music it is called a “poem”, not a “song”. Regardless of what poetry fans may wish to call it.

People such as Beethoven or Jarre would actually be insulted if you called their elaborate, wordless compositions “songs”.

The only exception to the above is the word “ballad”. “Ballad” originally referred to a specific type of poem (without music), but throughout the 20th century it has come to mean the typical Dylanic-type soft song with an emphasis on lyrics and some simple (usually guitar) music to go with it.

Song
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sang; akin to Old English singan to sing

Gotta love etymology…