Bad Lyrics in Prog

i don't care about English lyrics 'cause  I don't fully understand , and don't want too..
But I hate Russian rock music, becouse lyrics are in Russian and I understand how stupid it is sometimes.

Morale - listen more songs or not-your-native language (it could be French, Italian, Swedish whatever for you in particular ).  I like singing in Swedish and Italian, even I dont understand it totally, it's just pleasant to hear

A lot of cr** things was said here 

That's why prog was soo bad looking (not that I matter with it) but people who listen it sometimes are so damn 

I didn't think Yes got into drinking and drugs (excluding Rick Wakeman, of course, lol). That doesn't mean they can't sing about it, though, but when most band sing such things they sing it from experience.

Or maybe you were just joking, in which case it went over my obtuse head.

I agree with the last few posts regarding Yes.  Their lyrics mostly (not sure about the liver bit) are a perfect match for the music and are rather enigmatic in their obscurity (good line that).  I partlicularly like "Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face, Caesar's palace, morning glory, silly human race"

The one line I often cite as an example of prog pretentiousness ( also read, drivel  ) is the opening salvo from  Close To The Edge by Yes.

This topic started off with a criticism of Ayreon lyrics. I tend to agree that the word "cheese" does come to mind when referring to some of the lyrical content of 001001010. But then I think that the Sci-Fi theme of Ayreon rock operas has run its course, hence the "tiredness" of the lyrical themes and the over-all Sci-Fi rock opera concept. Thank goodness (I hope!) Arjen's new project seems to be steering away from his previous conceptual ideas.

I think it can be a turnoff, if you start to notice the bad lyrics, and Yes on the 0010101010 its a turnoff, enough to make me recret i bought the thing, in most cases i dont notice.

JamesCLN87 wrote: Just a quick observation (I'm way out of my depth on the whole poetry argument going on here so won't even try to get involved :D) but I often find its more the way the lyrics are delivered than the way they are written that leaves the impression on me. I for one have never sat down and read the lyrics of an album without having the album on too, I really don't think many lyrics (if any) hold up to that kind of scrutiny. I mean don't some bands try to fit lyrics to music, thus they are forced to make certain choices with what words they pick. An example of this that I'm listening to at the moment is some lyrics at the end of the Glass Prison by Dream Theater. Way off in the distance I saw a door I tried to open I tried forcing with all of my will but still The door wouldn't open ....... Now some parts of that section have what I would consider good lyrics , others have somewhat questionable lyrics, however when I'm listening to the song itself i absolutely love all those lyrics due to the way James delivers them and the rhythem of the words he sings. It is music we are listening to after all, surely the way the words are sang is as important as the words themselves, I mean if you tryed to analyse some of Pink Floyds lyrics without knowing anything about their music you'd probably find a lot of them a bit daft even childlike, same could be said of Peter Gabriel era Genesis yet these two bands are frequently mentioned in conversations surrounding good lyrics. Just an observation...........

In the vast majority of cases, I agree. Usually the music and lyrics have a symbiotic relationship, each feeding off and helping each other. But, there are a few cases where the lyrics work just as good without the music. Bob Dylan and Paul Simon (someone who has published his lyrics) come to mind. They are brilliant. Dylan may even be one of those cases where the music hurts the lyrics. sorry to offend any Dylan fans, but he is just not a good musician, but a brilliant poet.

I think another good indication is seeing and reading lyrics before hearing them. I like the lyric above a lot, lots of subtext there. Works very well as a poem, imo. Though, I am sure the music enhances it.

Just a quick observation (I'm way out of my depth on the whole poetry argument going on here so won't even try to get involved :D) but I often find its more the way the lyrics are delivered than the way they are written that leaves the impression on me. I for one have never sat down and read the lyrics of an album without having the album on too, I really don't think many lyrics (if any) hold up to that kind of scrutiny. I mean don't some bands try to fit lyrics to music, thus they are forced to make certain choices with what words they pick. An example of this that I'm listening to at the moment is some lyrics at the end of the Glass Prison by Dream Theater.

Way off in the distance I saw a door
I tried to open
I tried forcing with all of my will but still
The door wouldn't open

......

Edited by Easy Livin - March 06 2009 at 03:01

Rael, I don't want to be stuck analysing second-rate lyrics until Doomsday. If you fail to see how awful certain lines are, ("Terror filled their minds with awe" for example) well, good for you! I clearly remember writing the way Phil Collins sings certain lines in "One for the Vine" is just exquisite. So let's just sit back and enjoy the song.

You could say similar things about "The Revealing Science of God":

'They move fast, they tell me / but I just can't believe they really mean to. / There's someone to tell you / a course towards a universal season'

- Lines like these are by no means distinguished, but they move me deeply every time I hear them. (Let me embrace you, Moshkito!)

P.S. I've studied poetry in at least four languages for more than thirty years, and I've taught poetry at two different universities, but I will never claim that I am "the only authority" on poetic matters. One thing I know for certain: WIND AND WUTHERING's lyrics aren't poetry. No-one is ever going to publish them in a book and enjoy them the way people enjoy Petrarch, Keats, Melville or even Sylvia Plath. Oh, and by the way, Rael: crash courses in poetic methodology are probably available from your local college. Sayonara!

Edited by fuxi - March 05 2009 at 13:00