Lyrics: Take them with a huge grain of salt

[midwayfair]

Consider the breadth of literary interpretation that can be applied even to clear straightforward prose like Don Quixote or Great Expectations and then consider that for centuries people have composed music with no lyrics at all that nevertheless conjures images, often very specific ones, for the listener.

Authorial intention is only relevant if one is documenting the author's intention. It has very little to do with the meaning of a song.

I write blog posts for basically every song I release, and liner notes during FAWM. More than once someone has read those and come to their own conclusions, and I generally do not "compromise" and write intentional nonsense, though I have sometimes intentionally kept nonsense lyrics because writing a line that made sense didn't evoke the same feelings.

[Diamond Dave]

“It doesn't matter what I say
So long as I sing with inflection
That makes you feel I'll convey
Some inner truth or vast reflection
But I've said nothing so far
And I can keep it up for as long as it takes”

—“The Hook,” Blues Traveler

[marciero]

Originally Posted by midwayfair

Authorial intention is only relevant if one is documenting the author's intention. It has very little to do with the meaning of a song.
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I'd agree with that.

For some songwriters who are called "poets" it just means that the lyrics dont make sense, and are not meant to probably. But listeners are free to impose meaning.
To me its enough for song lyrics to simply evoke a series of images or feelings, or even just sound a certain way. These dont have to be connected to each other or make sense. So it is with a lot of, but not all, Dylan.

[Kinda Old]

I have always found this scene to be very touching from the film "Imagine"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dk_PQt-bdo

[Nymuso]

I got into this for the music, not the poetry. Unless the lyrics say something completely odious (and there are a few) I don’t care what they say.

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

I got into this for the music, not the poetry. Unless the lyrics say something completely odious (and there are a few) I don’t care what they say.

I like it when the the music and poetry seem inseparable. Which happens in the best of songs.

[fitness1]

Obviously haven't read all the replies, but I think 50% would be a really high estimation.

The very reason I listen to most of the artists I do is because of a very deep and easily accessible meaning in the lyrics.

That said, I am well aware of what the OP is talking about - and one of the first artists/bands that come to mind is Steely Dan. As much as I like their music, their lyrics are typically pretty rooted in fantasy!

[EZYPIKINS]

Originally Posted by Kinda Old

I have always found this scene to be very touching from the film "Imagine"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dk_PQt-bdo

I remember having an epiphany while watching that documentary.

After that, my writing became less about what I wanted to say and more about what words sounded good together.

Had gotten off work, at the auto body shop one day, and went straight to the studio, for a writing session.

I had the chord progression for the intro. I had been playing it as a warmup for years.

Nothing lyrical was jumping into my brain. So, I'm looking around the room for inspiration.

My eyes fall to my shoes. Black Adidas sneakers, covered in different colors of dripped paint and primer.

"I'm tired of wearing these same old shoes, Same ____ job, same old blues."

As I strung pleasing words together, the song took on a life of it's own.

Played it for my Mom, to get some feedback. Mom said. "Thats the saddest song I've ever heard."

Told her, "Mom, that's a song about my shoes."

It' just words.... John Lennon

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

My eyes fall to my shoes. Black Adidas sneakers, covered in different colors of dripped paint and primer.

"I'm tired of wearing these same old shoes, Same ____ job, same old blues."

As I strung pleasing words together, the song took on a life of it's own.

Played it for my Mom, to get some feedback. Mom said. "Thats the saddest song I've ever heard."

Told her, "Mom, that's a song about my shoes."

That just goes to show you.

Different people, do indeed, hear different things in a song.

Great example, actually.

[hubcapsc]

A good lyric, to me, makes me think "man that sounds cool".

Dylan can/could do it over and over again.

One of my songs has this in it:

I was standin on the corner
waitin on the bus to come by
when a steinway piano
fell right outta the sky

It went outta tune
when it hit the ground
but it's still the best piano
that I ever found!

It doesn't mean anything, but I think it sounds cool
when I get to that part of the song...

Steely Dan songs sound cool, a lot of the lyrics
kind of mean something... or not... but they
sound cool.

-Mike

[M19]

Originally Posted by sinistral

I wonder how many peoples’ livers were rearranged to the solid mental grace trying to figure that one out?

I spent years wondering what the words to "Italian Song" (Jon and Vangelis) meant in English, only to find out that they were pure nonsense syllables...that "sounded" Italian to Jon!

[jwing]

"I'm singing this note 'cuz it fits in well with the chords I'm playing. I can't pretend there's any meaning hidden in the things I'm saying." - Pete Townshend in "Getting in Tune".

[dilver]

Depends on the genre. Verse lyrics usually don’t matter as much as having a good hook phrase for the chorus. I tend to like lyrics that are clever vs having deep meaning.

[Diamond Dave]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

I like it when the the music and poetry seem inseparable. Which happens in the best of songs.

I think of “Wish You Were Here” when you mention inseparable music and lyrics. Both are beautiful.

My wife will love certain songs simply for the lyrics. I can’t do that. I need to enjoy the music viscerally, and great lyrics are icing on the cake. I love plenty of REM songs with indecipherable or meaningless lyrics* and a great riff.

*Not “Nightswimming” or “Everybody Hurts.”

[RTR]

As a frustrated songwriter, I pay very close attention to the lyrics of tunes I like.
I have divided writing into ones with imagery, poetic passages if you will, and one with simply catchy phrases to accompany good licks. The first category would include people like Joni Mitchell's folky efforts, Ian Tyson likewise, Kate Wolf, Peter Rowan, Iris DeMent and others. Still good images alone are not enough, the melody remains all important.
The 2nd category is harder to explain but many Bluegrass/Country songs simply need some words to accompany really good licks. Carter Stanley, Hazel Dickens, Bill Monroe wrote such numbers, others like Harlan Howard and at the very top Hank Williams, although he has a foot in both camps.

I have written about a dozen very poor songs, which generate no interest from anyone. Still, I would be happy to be able to write even a simple Country ditty. It is much more difficult than most imagine. It ain't easy, if it were everyone would be writing tunes like Hearaches By The Number