I don’t know the lyrics to many of the songs I listen to all the time – which has never stopped me from singing along and enjoying them.
I listen to two types of music:
- Songs where I can clearly make out the words and understand the story (eg. anything by Billy Joel, Simon and Garfunkel and other singer/songwriters.)
- Songs where I cannot understand the words or understand the story being told (eg. most everything else).
From Bruce Springsteen’s Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (referenced in the title of this post) to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon to my favorite ’90s rap tunes, I often didn’t know the names or the lyrics of the songs.
That’s changed with streaming. Now when I’m listening to a song, the name and lyrics are right there on my phone for me to see.
And, in most cases, even though I can now read the lyrics I still don’t understand the story.
Two of my current favorite bands are Portishead and Puracane. Their music makes me feel emotions like love, mourning, desire, reminiscence and passion from deep within my chest. I can listen to their haunting melodies and beats for hours on end.
When I read the lyrics, I realize that they are poetry. They are telling a story, just not one I can understand.
It turns out that I don’t need to read the lyrics after all. The music tells its own story to me by making me feel something deep inside. I think that’s exactly what it’s supposed to do.