Prog often Plagued by Poor Lyrics?

Dellinger wrote: ZeppelinTull wrote: Have you ever listened to the album by Genesis called: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway? It has some of the greatest lyrics and music i've ever heard. Yeah, I know that album and those lyrics. And they don't do anything to me but put me away from some of the songs. I don't really like those "funny-like" lyrics and so on, about slippermen with squeaky feet, and serpents with female faces and so on. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy and mythology, I just don't like the way Gabriel paints those fantasy images in my head. I would say the same things about songs like "Musical Box", "Return of the Giant Hogweed", "Fountain of Salmacis", and "All in a Mouses Night" (though that last one wasn't Gabriel's work).

Personally, I think Gabriel-rea Genesis was one of the better users of fantasy lyrics; I love the weirdness I get from those albums.

I think progressive rock has some of the best lyricists ever, both during its golden era and today. Many progressive rock songs have wonderful poetry to go along with the beautiful music. Sometimes when bands try to blend in too much comedy in their work I might find that a bit disturbing, but that's just my preferences, I still consider it to be excellent from an "objective" standpoint. 

   I tend to like prog lyrics, certainly more than anything played by other bands people I know listen to. Some lyrics can be very profound, intelligent, and emotional, but of course some lyrics are outright nonsense, at least to me. (Jon Anderson, I'm thinking of you)

I guess something a lot of people dislike about prog's lyrics is they're often "nerdy," but I guess to me, the nerdiness is what makes some of them interesting. I find fantasy more interesting because if I wanted realism, I'd go out into the real world every once in a while. I rather like most of prog's lyrics, especially the ones that make no sense.

I don't think that prog is plagued by poor lyrics any more than any other genre of music.  You should try listening to some country music ("Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goal Posts of Life" or "Proud to be an American" come to mind) or current pop music ("Skater Boy" or some of Taylor Swift's musings anyone?) for some really god-awful lyrics.  I saw that the OP mentioned Fish as an example.  I think Fish is an incredible lyricist, as is Peter Hammill, Roger Waters, Neil Peart (although I didn't like some of his earlier Randian lyrics, they were still well-written I thought).  Now some prog falls into the Tolkien trap and when they yammer on about goblins and orcs and swords and wizards, it can start to sound pretty cheesy (although I even like this in small doses).  

Hi folks, can anyone help me identify the song from the opening lyrics below? It's from around 1970 by a guitar/bass/piano/drums/vocal combo. My dad taped it onto his old reel-to-reel but never remembered who it was by!

I walk the crowded pavements
The people I see
All trying to be what they're not
They act just like me (x4)

RedNightmareKing wrote: I'm a huge Dream Theater fan, yes. But sometimes... the lyrics just make me cringe. I mean, "The Count of Tuscany" is such a brilliant piece instrumentally, even if there is a bit of Petrucci/Rudess noodling. The lyrics, however, are just a completely different story... They don't work for me. Same for some of the material on Systematic Chaos. Too cheesy! I mean, I miss the DT songs that are a little deeper, not the ones talking about a pharoah's wrath or warmongering general. Save that for the power metal people. But in general, progressive rock lyrics (outside of some DT stuff) are really top-notch, ESPECIALLY Peter Sinfield.

Horizons wrote: Stevo wrote: coolerking wrote: I remember Q magazine reviewing (I think) Big Generator and they said Jon Anderson's lyrics would struggle to get a pass in A level English. He definitely comes up with certain phrases that fit beautifully to certain passages of the music but in general I find his lyrics incomprehensible. That used to really bother me about YES, until I started to think of his lyrics like I would an impressionistic painting. They are very effective at creating a mood , or a suggestion of a scene.   That's how they're supposed to be interrupted. Not all lyrics have to be blatant stories, or have zero subtlety. They can be ambiguous, mysterious, abstract. Too me, lyrics are another instrument. They can just sound good to make me connect to them, not talk about losing a love one or whatever.

'Rotten eyeballs feet between/Hanging down the cheese machine/Hew it strew it do it too/Say it slay it just to do/Try to call yourself on the phone/Surely you are not at home/Sweep the swept floor once again/Stab yourself and feel the pain/Then stand and watch the speed/Clean your eyeballs wash your feet/Listen and repeat'. Or from "Stop These Lines": 'Morning peace dusty air/Clean your teeth comb your hair/Dressed in clothes you always wear/Go to work I won't be there/Lunchtime snackbar eating chips/Ketchup's running down your lips/Deadeyed waiters selling bibs/Which you have to fix with clips/Sitting waiting find an end/Meaningless with no comment/Is this life in your own hand/People are like grains of sand/Pick up streets and pull down skylines/Ravish women blast the mines/Burn the whiskies spill

The main reason why one would find more bad (and good) lyrics in pop than he would in prog is simply that there is more pop than prog. If I dig through pop music, sure, I'll find a lot of bad lyrics, but I'll also find some of the best lyrics. Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Sufjan Stevens, Jeff Tweedy are some of the greatest lyricists ever. Just take a look at Sufjan's lyrics on Casimir Pulaski, Chicago, or pretty much everything on "Illinoise." His ability to tell a simple story, yet effortlessly layer it with meaning, is to die for. On the other hand, generally, you will find better lyrics in prog than you will in pop. There are very few great lyricists in prog (Tim Smith from Midlake is the only one I can think of), but generally they are better. I actually enjoy Jon Anderson's lyrics from time to time. On the other hand, prog does have some of the worst lyrics. While I really enjoy the music of Comus, Gentle Giant, and Spirogyra, I lose my lunch at their lyrics.