Lyrics are an essential aspect of music for many listeners. In order to appreciate what they are listening to, many fans read the words of the song while the music plays. This practice started with the liner notes of vinyl sleeves and evolved through CD booklets and ultimately the internet via websites such as Genius. For those who want them, finding lyrics for songs has never been an issue. Interpreting those lyrics, though, is a considerably more daunting and complex task.
In any discussion of popular music, lyrical interpretation is bound to come up as a topic of debate. From The Beatles to Kanye West, artists have consistently written songs that leave some of the meaning up to the listener. These conversations populate the minds and mouths of music lovers everywhere, driving interest in the intricacies of the art form and increasing its overall degree of appreciation. This summer I had a discussion with a friend about a line in The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down.” Around the middle of the song, John Lennon sings, “I’m in love for the first time/Don’t you know it’s gonna last/It’s a love that lasts forever.” My friend and I pondered whether the line was intended to be from the viewpoint of a young lover who is unaware of the probable doom of his relationship, or from an experienced man now jaded with how naïve his old self was. I’ve partaken in debates about whether Animal Collective’s “Bluish” is about falling in love or giving head, and I’ve heard and considered varying ideas on what the hell Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal” is about. These sorts of dialogues are often the core of discourse on music.
Music interpretation accomplishes two important principles — it adds to the art form’s social aspect as a whole, while simultaneously allowing for the individual listener to have a stronger personal connection to the song. Depending on one’s own vision, “Don’t Let Me Down” can be a post-breakup lament or a happy promise of new love, “Bluish” can be sexy or lovely, and “White Winter Hymnal” can be whatever one wants it to be. This ability of the listeners to put their own view on the lyrics becomes more important as the lines become more abstract, like those in “White Winter Hymnal.” Take Of Montreal’s “Gronlandic Edit” as an example. For many listeners, Kevin Barnes’ desire to “forget all of the beauty’s wasted” is seen as an attack on the excessive decorations of outdated and unnecessary religions, but for the unfortunate product of a breakup, this line could be an attack on a singular person whose beauty is supposedly wasted on a terrible personality. For a more familiar example, consider how, seemingly, an entire generation viewed Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools” not as a social commentary on the dangers of alcohol, but rather ironically as a party anthem to indulge in the very vices Kendrick speaks out against on the track.
With the advent of Genius, these great privileges have been taken away from many listeners. When they go to look up the words to a new song on the website, they see premade explanations of the lyrics and take that to be the ultimate meaning of the song. Their experience is limited by a narrow mindset that is no fault of their own. If the song’s meaning is already available to them, then there is no need to discuss; no need to apply it to one’s own life; it simply is what it is. The listener’s burden and work may be lessened, but their capacity for enjoyment disappears with it.