Depending on the type of song we are talking about, it’s just nuts that the melodic math of the song can be even more important that the lyrics.
I mean, half the lyrics of many pop songs are nearly incomprehensible.
Take Natural, By: Imagine Dragons, as a quick example.
After the building of the first two verses, the chorus explodes into:
A beating heart of stone
You gotta be so cold
To make it in the world
Yeah, your a natural
Living you life cutthroat
You gotta be so cold
Yeah, your a natural
Uh. That doesn’t really make sense. But set to the beat behind it, the song is a total jam.
Or what about I Can Lift A Car, By: Walk The Moon. A favorite of mine (btw).
When I come home
When I come home
Oh I hear you washing in the shower
Mirages of you
Mirages of you
Even steam pouring through the crack at the floor
I won’t lose it, I won’t lose it, I won’t lose it
I won’t lose it, I won’t lose it
Hold it steady, hold it steady, hold it steady,
Hold it steady, hold it steady
All by myself/I can lift a car
All by myself/I can lift a car
I can lift a car up all by myself
The lyrics have to follow the melody and pop with the rhythm to get it just right.
Yes. There are naturally exceptions and many wonderful lyrics out there, but the point is this:
It matters much more how a song makes you feel than the exact lyrics.
Amiright?
The lyrics contain typical Swedish neologisms like “crazy wildin’ static” and lines like “Keep it ruthless when I get wet.” Melodic math had pretty much taken over from lyrical logic. But did anyone care?
-John Seabrook, The Song Machine