Lyrics or Melody: Which Speaks a Message to You?

When listening to and experiencing music, which speaks to you the most: is it the lyrics, or is it the music itself? I don’t believe this is a categorical ‘one way or the other’, black or white answer.

When I speak to others about music and the topic of “the message of the music” comes up what I most often hear from others is this: it is the words of a song that speak to them, and the melody or music is a vehicle upon which those words are carried.

I don’t usually agree. That is not to say I don’t hear the message of the words, I simply hear a deeper and more powerful message in the music itself.

For many songs I know that I sing along to or that I hear live, on the radio, TV, online, or whatever medium I hear it via, the song cannot exist without both the lyrics and the music itself. It’s like the old saying, “It takes two to tango.” For most songs it takes two to tango; both the music and the lyrics. The best songs are those in which the lyrics ride upon a melody in which the music directly supports and helps to interpret the message. A good example of that is political satire music (i.e.: Montana Logging and Ballet Company). The melody, the chord progressions and interpretation of the music can, and often do, directly affect how the message of the lyrics is heard.

I will admit that for many songs I have sung, alone or as part of some gathered group of people, the lyrics contain the message that speaks to me the most. The song “Hymn of Promise” is a good (spiritual) example. In the lyrics I hear of something new, a new creation, being made new again; even when, in our human sight, the “thing” appears to be lifeless. It’s a message of a great mystery and beauty that I don’t hear in the song minus the words. Here’s the first verse:

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

- Natalie Sleeth, 1986

Yet the majority of the time I hear a message in music that is so much more powerful, with more depth and breadth than the message of the lyrics. It is a message held within a dimension beyond our three-dimensional world. It is a message that cannot be spoken in the words, but a message that says what mere human words cannot. This is a message that isn’t just heard with the ears, it is a message that is felt within the soul. And when I can literally feel the vibrations of the music on, within, and passing through my body, the message of the music itself becomes even more powerful.

Music like that needs something that cannot be taught, it cannot be learned from a book, it can only be experienced and expressed. It is music that requires a melody that dances upon the movement of the chord structure and progressions; it cannot dance apart from or independent of the underlying chords. It is music that requires either simplicity or fullness; minimalistic or grandioso; sometimes both, sometimes in between, sometimes neither. It is music that can travel fluidly and easily between the two, or remain generally on one side of that dynamic or the other. Simply put: it is music that adapts to the spirit of a moment, for music is a reflection of our souls; both individually and collectively. Music like that seems to require an interpretation that responds instantaneously to the spirit of the moment as the prevailing winds of the mood and atmosphere carry it. It is music that doesn’t seek to control, but rather follows the course. (Though it is true that music can be a mood-determining factor). The music I speak of is music that is truly reflective of the movement of the Spirit in our midst and responds to it in the changing moments. It is music that reflects the inner spirit(s) through the vibration of the melody, the harmonies, the harmonics, the chords, the tempo, the instrumentation, the voicing, the interpretation, and the intensity of the music itself.

Some have argued that only classical music can attain this level. While I don’t entirely disagree, I don’t agree either. Classical music is an art form of beauty; but contemporary classical performers seek perfection (free of mistakes and missteps) in the performance and the interpretation; playing all the notes perfectly as written. Humanity is not perfect. I believe the beauty of heaven is glimpsed in the moment; in those moments in which the music matches the Spirit in the moment, complete with mistakes, missteps and beauty … those moments in which the vibrations of the music match (are in  harmony with) the vibrations of the inner soul. THAT for me is a taste of heaven. That could be why I prefer to play music not perfectly as it is written, but rather simply using the written music as a guide to what I am feeling in any given moment. And that is probably why I’m ok with not playing music with perfection, but instead allowing the mistakes to become an integral part of the overall canvass of the painting that that our lives create.

My desires to feel the vibration of the music are the reasons why I’m uncomfortable with music that is joyful and celebratory, yet is played at a subdued level of intensity. Moments like that, to me, are disjointed and anything but moving. There are moments when a soft and delicate interpretation and intensity of the music are best subdued. But there are just as many moments when I really need to feel the vibrations of the music on me, within me, and passing through me on the way to others. Those are the moments when the intensity of the music requires a loudness in which the vibrations are felt. (No, I don’t mean the steady thump-thump of the oversized, over-amplified woofer speakers of someone’s car passing my way.)

Music for me is the melody, the chords, the progressions, the harmonies, the harmonics, the vibrations, the feelings, the spirit, the interpretations, the voicing, the instrumentation, the questioning, the answering, the emptiness, the fullness, the tempo, the complicatedness, the simplicity; they all combine to provide a brief moment of beauty – a glimpse of the ultimate beauty that I believe exists within each one of us. The key is to tap into that inner-ness, and let that inner you come out without fear of mistakes, without fear of not being perfect. For then you will have discovered the true existence of the Spirit within; the true existence of our Creator living within you.

Which is it for you? Is it the lyrics or the music itself in which you hear the most powerful messages? While they both can inform and influence the other, it is the music that speaks the most powerful and moving message to me.

Peace -
Pastor Dave

Related blog posts:

1. Your Hourglass, Your Choice Hourglass is defined by the 2006 Random House Unabridged Dictionary...
2. Music is a Doubled Edged Sword Music: it has the ability to bring people in and...
3. My Christmas Letter The annual barrage of gift giving, and all the anxieties...
4. OK, Who Prayed for a White Christmas? So, who prayed for a white Christmas? As you can...
5. New Arrangement: "Bread of Life" I have completed another musical arrangement for piano, guitar and...