Do lyrics matter?

eddietrooper wrote: Well, I'm from Spain and I've always listened 99% to English or American music. While I can read English almost perfectly, for understanding spoken English I need people to speak slowly and clear. Because of that I only understand English vocals "at real time" ocasionally. I need to pay attention and after repeated listens I usually understand 80% of the lyrics, but in that process I pay much more attention at music itself and I don't mind the lyrics that much. For that reason the lyrics never change my opinion about a song or an album. Maybe when I notice their meaning they seem to me silly but if music is good, the song is good for me. Lyrics are an additional content for me, and I usually enjoy them later (essentially reading them) or forget about them If they are not good. But that never lowers the quality of the music .

As a none native speaker, does the english lanauge really resonate or sound good when you listen to it without knowing its meaning?

ken4musiq wrote: eddietrooper wrote: Well, I'm from Spain and I've always listened 99% to English or American music. While I can read English almost perfectly, for understanding spoken English I need people to speak slowly and clear. Because of that I only understand English vocals "at real time" ocasionally. I need to pay attention and after repeated listens I usually understand 80% of the lyrics, but in that process I pay much more attention at music itself and I don't mind the lyrics that much. For that reason the lyrics never change my opinion about a song or an album. Maybe when I notice their meaning they seem to me silly but if music is good, the song is good for me. Lyrics are an additional content for me, and I usually enjoy them later (essentially reading them) or forget about them If they are not good. But that never lowers the quality of the music .   As a none native speaker, does the english lanauge really resonate or sound good when you listen to it without knowing its meaning?

Of course. In fact IMO Spanish rock music doesn't get to sound as "authentic" as English one because of the language. We are so used to hear the English words in rock music that Spanish ones doesn't really fit that well. And you must notice that I actually know almost every word in English, and so they doesn't really sound bad to me. The problem is that I need a mental process to catch and understand the full lyrics, and that process is not as quick as the music itself. Sometimes I can follow the lyrics and sometimes I can't or I do it on repeated listens, but English words always sound like "rock music words" for me anyway. I actually don't like to listen to music in other languages(Italian, Polish, etc). Rock music that is not in English simply doesn't sounds to me the same.

eugene wrote: ivansfr0st wrote: Easy Livin wrote: It is an interesting question. To those who say the lyrics are important, can I ask, does that mean you only listen to music in languages with which you are conversant? For example, if like myself you do not speak Italian, do you ignore Italian prog? If the answer to that is no (you don't ignore foreign languages), do you obtain translations of the lyrics? Further, is your enjoyment of the music diminished if the lyrics are in a language which is foreign to you? Lyrics are important to me as an instrument, meaning that even if I don't understand the lyrics, they still kind of make sense and supply with the right emotions, which the listener "gets" regardless of whether it is in his native language or not. Moreover, it should be added that even if the listener understands the lyrics, he may interpret them in his own, incorrect way. Just look at the people trying to decipher Maynard's or, say, Aaron's(MDB)lyrics. Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso is my favourite Italian prog group and one of the reason  for that is the vocals. I can't understand Italian, however, I remember some lines in my head and I always feel comfortable because I tend to think that they fit the music very well.  -- Ivan I think, Ivan, you are missing the point here. "Lyrics" in this poll means "text of songs", I guess; but you are talking about vocals rather than lyrics, and Easy Livin made quite a valid point... Banco is my favorite Italian band, and vocals of Francesco DiGiacomo are just amazing. I was so hooked on them that I ordered translation of Darwin!, but think could easily live without it as well...

I don't think I'm missing the point, it's just my opinion on what "lyrics" are. Studying English only as the third language, I sometimes can't understand even the more "audible" British singers, because it is not my native language. However, what I mean is that by "lyrics" I mean not just words, phrases, sentences, texts with meanings, but instead "sounds" - not notes - but sounds of human languages. Let's say, somebody writes a song in a language that doesn't exist, meaning that *no* listener can understand the words, but he can get the message as emotions. Basically, to sum it up, by vocals I mean the actual notes, the "letters" of music, but the actual "letters" are different and the whole pronouncation matters.

An obscure idea, I know, and I'm really tired so it sounds too chaotic to understand.

Invite a blues singer to sing Cannibal Corpse lyrics and you'll see it doesn't fit.

 -- Ivan

eddietrooper wrote: [

Of course. In fact IMO Spanish rock music doesn't get to sound as "authentic" as English one because of the language. We are so used to hear the English words in rock music that Spanish ones doesn't really fit that well. And you must notice that I actually know almost every word in English, and so they doesn't really sound bad to me. The problem is that I need a mental process to catch and understand the full lyrics, and that process is not as quick as the music itself. Sometimes I can follow the lyrics and sometimes I can't or I do it on repeated listens, but English words always sound like "rock music words" for me anyway. I actually don't like to listen to music in other languages(Italian, Polish, etc). Rock music that is not in English simply doesn't sounds to me the same.

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It's good to know English is a nice sounding language. By the way, even native English speakers can't follow the words when they are moving by really quickly.  You are not alone.