JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Why are there so many lyric-only folks?

Hello,

Guess I'm a little late to this party, but let me go out on a limb and say I agree with bits and pieces of what most everyone has said. Though obviously, being a lyricist, my leanings would be with those folks who recognize, understand and still appreciate the Lyricist As A Sole Entity. Would I like my lyrics "musicated"? Sure, sometimes. Do I lose sleep if they aren't? No. Could I plunk out a melody on my own? Perhaps. But at the end of the day, do I write for the sheer love of it? YES!!

Anyhoo, I think that discussion has been bandied about enough, so I just wanted to touch upon the lyrics vs. poems question. More specifically, I think the line between the two can be a bit blurry.

For instance, my writing background is in prose (copywriting, general interest essays, etc.). I did have some general musical "training" (several years of piano, self-taught on guitar, and selected to be a member of the state choir "back in the day") -- and I'm sure all of this helps me in some form or another when I'm writing lyrics.

BUT, you know what/who have been two of my biggest influences? Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein (whom I have mentioned before). The "sing-songability" of their work lends itself very well to both meter and rhyme -- the building blocks of lyric writing. Would I qualify them as "poets"? From my standpoint, yes....but speaking to Mag's (well, Sammy Cohn's) point about "visual" vs. "listening" pleasure, I think one would be hard-pressed to say these two gentlemen are best appreciated when read to oneself. In fact, I would choose to qualify their work as a "Feast for the heart, mind and soul."

In that sense, I think the difference between lyrics and poems can be simply a matter of semantics.

So there you go
Two cents from me
I hope you know
I'll surely be
Delighted if
We can agree
On lyricist
Equality!!


Have a good one,
Beth