nooleen
bad ape
OK i love this now
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HahThe lyrics are pretty dreadful; awful attempts at what UK critics tend to call "sixth form" poetry
Hah
Lads, they're song lyrics, not any kind of poetry. Can we all stop pretending that the two are somehow equivalent?
Not all singers are poets and not all poems are without music. The word lyric goes back to the lyre, which was used to accompany poets as they recited their works. Poems are often broken down into cantos (songs) and some songs work without any kind of musical accompaniment or recital. If you really think they're not equivalent, I'd highly recommend the work of Leonard Cohen to you.Hah
Lads, they're song lyrics, not any kind of poetry. Can we all stop pretending that the two are somehow equivalent?
I really think they are not equivalent, and I am already familiar with the work of the one actual poet anyone knows about who also made popular music. They're totally different art forms, it's just a cliche to say good song lyrics are "like poetry". Be honest now, who here has actually read a poem since their leaving cert? Who owns a book of poetry? Who has read a poem in the last year? If they really had anything non-superficial in common don't you think people who are into music would also be into poetry?Not all singers are poets and not all poems are without music. The word lyric goes back to the lyre, which was used to accompany poets as they recited their works. Poems are often broken down into cantos (songs) and some songs work without any kind of musical accompaniment or recital. If you really think they're not equivalent, I'd highly recommend the work of Leonard Cohen to you.
I honestly can't tell if you're serious or trolling. I was convinced by your post before this that you were dismissing poetry entirely by presuming no one would read poetry except as part of their leaving cert but you claim to care about poetry without being able to acknowledge the intertwined and convoluted history between poetry and song. You assume that poetry's lack of popularity proves that it is not the same thing or not comparable, is this true of plays versus theatre? Pop music versus dub reggae? Camogie is less popular than hurling, therefore they are not at all the same?actually, the last sentence above there is kinda daft, I retract it
The rest stands. Honestly I think anyone who equates song lyrics with poetry probably has very little interest in poetry at all. Speaking as someone who actually cares about poetry a little bit like. They're just different things
Whether they're equivalent or not either one can be good or sixth-form-poetry badHah
Lads, they're song lyrics, not any kind of poetry. Can we all stop pretending that the two are somehow equivalent?
That's the bit I retracted, having realised I was talking shite. Sorry!You assume that poetry's lack of popularity proves that it is not the same thing or not comparable
What if it was a badly-written verse? More likely to be a bad poem or a bad song (or even a good song)? How about a piece of prose - could you tell it was from a song without the music? As far as I can see describing lyrics as "poetry" is just an attempt to classify a piece music as highbrow rather than lowbrow, a distinction that I don't think is useful ... in fact, IMHO it's a distinction that unfairly denigrates music that is less cerebralIf I presented a well written verse to you in the absence of any context, could you tell me if it was a poem or a song based on how it appears on the page?
Ay, that is indeed trueWhether they're equivalent or not either one can be good or sixth-form-poetry bad
Fair point. My reasoning behind those sort of comparisons is that some lines need a music and melody to lift them from being just meaningless or banal. For example, I love Bowie and I don't think he's low brow by any means but equally I don't think most of his lyrics stand up on their own. Equally, I don't think there's anything to gain by setting all poems to music. Some work, some don't (in both directions). I do feel you're throwing the baby out with the bath water by saying there's no equivalence but hey, that's album club!That's the bit I retracted, having realised I was talking shite. Sorry!
What if it was a badly-written verse? More likely to be a bad poem or a bad song (or even a good song)? How about a piece of prose - could you tell it was from a song without the music? As far as I can see describing lyrics as "poetry" is just an attempt to classify a piece music as highbrow rather than lowbrow, a distinction that I don't think is useful ... in fact, IMHO it's a distinction that unfairly denigrates music that is less cerebral
Joanna Newsom said:I roam around the tidy grounds
of my dappled sanatorium.
Coatless, I sit
amongst the motes, adrift,
and I dote upon my pinesap gum.
And the light, through the pines,
in brassy tines,
lays over me, dim as rum
and thick as molasses.
And so time passes.
And so, my heart, tomorrow comes.
I feel you, leaning,
out back with the crickets,
loyal heart marking the soon-ness,
darkness:
tonight, still,
the mourning doves
will summon us their song
of love's neverdoneing lawlessness, lawlessness
while, over and over —
rear up! stand down! lay round! —
trying to sound-out,
or guess the reasons,
I sleep like a soldier, without rest.
But there is no treason,
where there is only lawlessness. Lawlessness.
For example, I love Bowie and I don't think he's low brow by any means but equally I don't think most of his lyrics stand up on their own.
Fair point. My reasoning behind those sort of comparisons is that some lines need a music and melody to lift them from being just meaningless or banal. For example, I love Bowie and I don't think he's low brow by any means but equally I don't think most of his lyrics stand up on their own. Equally, I don't think there's anything to gain by setting all poems to music. Some work, some don't (in both directions). I do feel you're throwing the baby out with the bath water by saying there's no equivalence but hey, that's album club!
I was just trying to imagine what it would be like if you took Ramones lyrics and got Joanna Newsom to sing them to her music (or vice versa).
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