Since we got off track in class the other day regarding which musical artist’s lyrics we thought were worthy of the page, I thought I’d share some examples of the (rare) lyricist who seems accomplished enough to qualify for this treatment (from bands I listen to, at least). Firstly, Andrew Bird comes to mind. Here’s a snippet from “Tenuousness”:
Tenuous at best was all he had to say
When pressed about the rest of it, the world that is
From proto-Sanskrit Minoans to Porto-centric Lisboans
Greek Cypriots and harbor sorts who hang around in ports a lot
….
Love of hate acts as an axis
First it wanes and then it waxes
So procreate and pay your taxes
Certainly there’s a love of alliteration and poetic embellishment in these lines. It comes out well in the song, too. For the sake of brevity, I offer only a second lyricist, Tom Waits:
Across the stripes of a full moon's head
Through the bars of a Cuban jail
Bloody fingers on a purple knife
A flamingo drinking from a cocktail glass
I'm on the lawn with somebody else's wife
Come admire the view from up on top of the mast
(From “Jockey Full of Bourbon”)
There is a strong mix of slant, end and non rhyme here, and a strong use of enjambment that lends irony and humor to the work. If I had more space I would include John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) and Kevin Barnes (of Montreal). What songwriters would you read on the page?
The examples that you have are great! I’m a fan of The Mountain Goats and Of Montreal, and Tom Waits always has interesting lyrics that I can see as very poetic (as in using poetic language, rhyme, etc.) and he kind of talk sings a lot of his songs so it’s easy to see his lyrics as poems.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always thought that lyrics should get more credit for being poetic, and I think that most songwriters can probably write great poetry, but they are just more inclined to write poetry with more music and rhythm to it, hence why they may be songwriters.
Some songwriters that I like to read the lyrics of are Elliott Smith, David Karsten Daniels and Eef Barzelay. These are somewhat unknown songwriters so most people won’t know off hand what their lyrics are like, but I recommend reading the lyrics to “I Didn’t Understand” by Elliott Smith, “We Go Right On” by David Karsten Daniels and “The Curse of Great Beauty” by Eef Barelay.
Andrew Bird is my absolute favorite, I'm so happy that someone else likes him as much as I do! I actually did a presentation on him in my studio art class, its nice to see how all art forms truly tie in and influence each other.
ReplyDeleteSomeone you might like is William Fitzsimmons, he actually preformed here at the Indie Series concert (I met him and it was the highlight of my life!) but here are some of his lyrics:
a guide dog had to serve the role that you would not let
the mother of your children every really play
the office was a dungeon where you hid your fears of
what would really happen if no one ever came
he writes really personally, following his (blind) parents' divorce, and his own recent divorce. It amazes me that someone could get that close and personal with such a huge audience.
oops! p.s. that song is called 'Everything Has Changed'
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