Poetry Or Lyrics

[lovemwaf]

I think that poetry is one of the best uses of the english language. It is a great art form and a skill that people who write poetry have honed. But then there are some really amazing songs out there that have your head boggled by their lyrics. I prefer poetry though. Which would you prefer?

[thekernel]

I don't find the two mutually exclusive. They can be very different, since poetry doesn't always follow a rhythm, while writing lyrics you need to be able to fit it in the musical phrasing. However I try to let the lyrics I write be capable of standing alone. I want the lines between poetry and lyrics to be very blurred, because I love poetry so much and would hate for my lyrics to be vapid and useless.

[Dieselfit]

Poetry can be blurred as mentioned already. Lyrics aren't the best way to learn English but it is a good way to add words to vocabulary. While poetry can be mind puzzling and adds a little bit of a curve which makes it hard to understand but a better learning experience for our English learning. It's like trying to attempt a puzzle made out of Math. You are practicing two things at once which is better for your brain.

[sulayman]

I think that lyrics to me have a bigger impact on me. I can listen to song lyrics over and over and still find the life in their meaning. I think that poetry to me is only good performed for you and gets you amped up in that moment, especially if the poet is a great orator.

[Silverhoop]

I don't always think that they are that different, simply one has a tune and the other a rhythm.

If you take some Bob Dylan lyrics and read them without the music, then they are poetry.

Leonard Cohen has a famous song which was actually just a letter to a friend, granted it rhymes but it was meant to be read not sung (Joni Mitchell convinced him otherwise)

There is a great piece on Poetry versus lyrics here: http://www.writersdigest.com/qp7-migration-books/writing-better-lyrics-interview

[SpiralArchitect]

Well I've always said that my favorite American poet is Jim Morrison. 

Joking aside, I'll agree with people who said that in essence there isn't a huge difference. The only difference is that lyrics are usually written with a tune in mind or sometimes written in a way that a tune can be laid on them. Poetry doesn't have these trappings but the essence of wordplay remains the same.

[pandandesign]

I would prefer a good poetry over lyrics because poetry means a lot more than the lyrics. Lyric, in my opinion, is something I don't actually pay much attention because it comes from a song. A poetry comes from authors who have spent all their life writing down their own experiences. I think you have to really understand the poetry in order to decipher some of the meanings written by the authors.

[simmyao]

Lyric is definitely a subset of poetry. So I'll rephrase the question to: Written poetry or musical lyrics?

Obviously, they are two quite different art forms, although some poetry has a cadence/beat to it, making it quite similar. I prefer musical lyrics, because the music just adds another dimension of meaning and emotionality to the words.

[LauraM]

Poetry stands alone, and as such its success or relative success is entirely dependent upon its structure, cadence, imagery, symbolism, and other factors that can and do convey the meaning and the emotional intent of the poet.

I think it's true that poetry can be so lyrical and/or so rhythmical that it can be melodic and almost beg to be set to music.  Or in fact when reading it we can "hear" the music of the lines.

I think the same is true, conversely for lyrics.  They can be poetic, but not necessarily and not always.  As lyrics are but one component sometimes the real emotional power is conveyed in the melody and the accompaniment. 

Fascinating topic!

[rodserd]

I've had an on and off again relationship with my understanding of poetry.

When I was young I thought that "classic" poetry was so awesome because it required real skill to fit everything into the forms and formats that you had to use, and make it sound good.  Consequently I thought modern poetry was trash because it broke these rules.

When I grew up, I realized that most classic poetry was written i that format so people could be lazy instead of creating something beautiful, they just had to follow a recipe.  Modern forms became more important and interesting to me.

Now I just don't bother with the whole lot of it with poetry.

Now, when it comes to music, I thoroughly enjoy analyzing lyrics, especially word choice when it comes to melody.  I like playing a game where i will try to find a better fit for a particular word in a song, and see the potential that was there before the decision was made.

[erronousRogue]

I hold music composition/singing higher than plain old poetry, personally. No idea why, I just don't like the form factor. Words that rhyme being carefully chosen in a rhythmic fashion just demands to be incorporated into a song somehow.

[RazKnows]

I listen to music all the time so I would choose lyrics over poetry. I'm not sure if poetry is really done well anymore.

[FatesWing]

I do agree that poetry is one of the best uses of the english language. I feel that lyrics, when written to their fullest potential, are quite identical in form to poetry. A verse can easily become a poem. A chorus can easily become a Haiku. I guess I prefer both really!

[MyDigitalpoint]

Some lyrics are truly great poems but certainly not all lyrics are poetry.

Definitely poetry is the expression of English at its best!

[jbepp]

Some lyrics are exceptional, and might pass as poems; but I'll always prefer real poetry.

Poems truly make a language shine.

[Baburra]

I'd prefer lyrics. Poetry somehow sounds a little more appealing to me when I know it's written to conform to some background music and thus having a little more flow in my head when I read it.

[ollie]

There are some song lyrics that you read without any music and think, "oh, that's not bad." But the trick in some cases is to hear them. There's lyrics that work so well with the music or the singer's voice that it just punches you in the gut or breaks your heart in a way that it can't when it's just on paper.

[Denis Hard]

I'd rather read lyrics instead of poems. Poets tend to go overboard with obscuring the message they want to get across. If I'm reading something, the more transparent it is, the better I'd like it. The good thing about most lyrics is that you don't have to bother trying to read between the lines. The meaning is quite obvious.

[xxxxxx]

I prefer poetry over lyrics as a good form of learning an English language. The rhyming of words in a poem makes it easier for me to understand and remember a certain word and the thought of a poem brings true meaning of a single word and phrase of an English language.

[sandmoran]

I think song lyrics can totally be poetic, as long as they are not being sung by Justin Beiber, that is.  I have never been a huge fan of actual poetry, but I do love reading and writing Haiku.  I think it is because I love the ideal of being to express a thought or evoke a feeling in someone using only seventeen syllables.

[dejongkimberlee]

I absolutely love poetry. I believe that some lyrics are so perfectly constructed that they can be considered poetry.

[thomas pendrake]

I believe it was Robert Burns who basically felt that poetry and musical lyrics are basically the same. I write both but much of my poetry does not work well as lyrics. Musical lyrics always work as poetry, but not necessarily good poetry. Or, at least, not intellectually sound poetry. However, what about "Jabberwocky".

[lizbeth19hph]

I am also a Poet and I believe that it is one of the best ways to express the English language through rhythmic or free flowing verses. There is what we call a lyrical poem, though. A poem that is actually made as a song and the classical ones have measurements and other parameters. A poem you write can actually be made into a song merely by creating melodies in tune to the lyrics. Composing poetry is fun and artists also use it as an "escape" or outlet when their emotions come pouring in and they need to vent.

[SpringBreeze]

That's a hard one. I think from a historical point, I prefer poetry. Good poetry goes way back. But like you said, lately there has been an influx of beautiful lyrics too. As a matter of fact, sometimes I feel that they were poems first and then someone got the brilliant idea to turn them into music.

[Katya S]

Personally, I prefer lyrics just because (if well-written) they tend to compliment the music and create a message which I find just as strong as poetry. Obviously, it depends on what lyrics and poetry you're comparing, but in general I prefer lyrics. My favourite band is Pink Floyd, and the lyrics in their songs are one of my favourite things about them. I do really like poetry too but I haven't read a lot of it - it's a difficult question.