As a bass player, wannabe-pianist and ex-trumpet player, my primary focus while listening to music is to catch bass lines, harmony and melody. For quite some time, those three items alone comprised my appreciation for music. About a year ago, I picked up guitar for fun and started learning all sorts of songs. It was then that I started perceiving music in a new and completely different way.
After figuring out basic chords and strum patterns, I noticed that singing lyrics while playing actually forced me to know what the lyrics were about. For a guy who pretty much "La-La-La'd" his way through a college music program, this is a HUGE development. Paying attention to lyrics gave me appreciation for songs I didn't like before, and a completely new perception of songs that I thought I knew very well.
One of my favorite songs right now is "Two Way Street" by Kimbra. You may know her as the girl who sings in "Somebody That I Used To Know." Anyway, one of my main complaints when I first listened to this song was that she only sings during the very first half of the song. The rest of the song is filled with prolonged vocal ad-libs that sounds like Christina Aguilera giving birth to Mariah Carey. Though I didn't think it was perfect, I liked the first two minutes of the song (when she actually uses words) enough to actually learn it. It was then that I realized that the song was much more than I thought it was.
Essentially, the song is about how Kimbra has opened her heart to someone and that there is no barrier preventing that person from claiming her love. With that said, she implies that this gentleman has to reciprocate her sentiments for their love to be true (because love is a "two way street"). With this in mind, the "empty" second half of the song may represent the lack of a response from her man, which makes Kimbra's effusive declaration in the first half tragically unrequited. I'm sure there are plenty alternate explanations, but interpreting the lyrics to this song was essential to justify its bizarre musical structure for me.
Now, for those of you who are thinking, "Man this guy is a total BOOB! You obviously have to listen to lyrics to appreciate music," I'd like to challenge you to reconsider one of the simplest, most misunderstood songs of all time:
Even though this song lit up your middle/high school dances with guileless feel-goodery, "Hey Ya!" upon second glance, is incredibly depressing. In between the repetitive "HEEEEYYYY YAAAAA's" the song describes a broken relationship where a man no longer loves his woman and she in turn is losing interest. If you were too busy "shakin' it like a Polaroid picture" to catch that, don't worry. The song is aware of its unknowing listeners!
"Y'all don't want to hear me/You just wanna dance"
Several of my teachers have distinctly told me that to fully understand a song, one must refer to the lyrics. I'm relieved that I've finally taken their advice and that there are still discoveries to be made in music. Now, please excuse me while I try to analyze the lyrical nuances of the greatest song of all time.
Have a nice day,
Matthew
