What makes a better song lyric - poetry or story?

Question

Does a song have to tell a story? Or is a story unnecessary so long as the words are beautiful? What in your opinion makes a better song?

Answer 1

"people make their own rooms within a song"

OK so that was Mark Knoppfler but he was the epitome of cool in the year he said it.

You can be a storyteller like Paul Simon or The Streets (what's his name again?), a stream-of-consciousness poet like Michael Stype or Thom Yorke, or a characters-and-pictures genius like Maxi Jazz; all can be wonderful. A good, heavy, aggressive rant such as Disposable Heroes or Public Enemy is a tonic for bad times. None of these needs to be always definitive about the meaning of the song, but being deliberately obscure doesn't make a good tune.

Anything's better than the inane posturing of people like So Solid Crew or the by-numbers pop of the likes of Madonna. The good stuff comes from the heart and the soul, not the wallet, whether obscure or direct.

Answer 2

So hard to say, but my gut reaction is that poems succeed a little better in pop songs than stories do... but don't forget that a poem can tell a story too, it's not actually that simple. Songs can do anything that ordinary language does, they just do it next to music- therefore it isn't necessary that they tell a story- it's not even necessary that the words are beautiful, I mean, look at punk.

In the end, I think you have to look at lyrics as a different kind of writing than either poetry or stories. I think most songs are conceived after the music has been written, and the music actually carries a large chunk of the meaning of the song. You can set a sonnet to music, but it seems to be more common to fit the words to the tune, and experiment with them until they fit. The music and the words speak together... and the songwriter makes them say what he or she wants- tell a story, express a belief, or a hope, or a point of view, or maybe just do some screaming...

So, what makes for a good song?I believe the most important thing is a good listener!

Answer 3

I don't think songs always have to tell a story. I love songs that are just poetry put to music. For example, I think Enya does this a lot with her music - she takes an aspect of nature and reflects on it. It's not really a story, but more like an emotional journey.
I think songs that tell stories can become tedious, since storytelling and song lyrics are completely different genres. Unless, of course, the monotony is supposed to be funny. This is true for, say, Weird Al Yankovic's story songs, like "Trapped in the Drive Thru;" it's over 11 minutes long and it's nothing but a story about how this guy and his wife sit in a drive-thru. Excessive? Maybe. But the song supposed to be funny, so the long story format fits it well.
But, yeah, poetic songs are my fave!

Answer 4

Better? No. I don't think that's right. It can be either or both or even neither possibly. As long as you can feel the creativity flowing in you when you write it. So I think of course it doesn't have to be a story but it can be an emotion, or an idea, or of course stories are welcome too. I think all that matters if the feeling when it is written and when it is played and when you hear it again.

Answer 5

The aspect of a story is better than poetry, as it creates both more of a purpose and another meaning to it. However, the ideal is a story done in poem.

Answer 6

For me a song just has to sound good when its played. It often helps if the words have a meaning to them but they don't really have to tell a story

Answer 7

im a songwriter and i cant help but try to create a mood, atmoshere when writing, the song has to tell kind of a story, which is poetry in a way and i like other songs that do, but sometimes just a catchy hook, with simple lyrics works.

Answer 8

Songs are better when they have a meaning. I think poetry sounds better. Poetry can tell a story.

Answer 9

Stories are good, but sometimes distract from the music. To me I'd rather the music moved me 'cos if that was rubbish, would you pay attention to the lyrics at all or just find something with a good tune?

Answer 10

i think poem that makes sense like a story is just perfect for song lyrics.