06-19-2024, 11:12 AM
I don’t know if those are lyrics. Typically, if you’re meant to listen, it’s a lyric poem. If you’re meant to sing along, it’s lyrics.
Most often, lyrics are indicated by a repeated phrase, line, or stanza.
If the audience is meant to sing along, the repeated line should be memorable. If the repeated line is memorable, it is more likely to be lyrics than a lyric poem.
This is an excellent sung lyric poem. It is not lyrics.
Perhaps it would become lyrics if the entire song were meant to be a sing-along, but given the gravity of the material, this seems unlikely.
For contrast, Garth Brooks’s “The River” isn’t a lyric poem. It’s lyrics. It’s a sing-along song. I have intentionally pasted the lyrics without indicators, white space, or syntax here:
————————
“The River”
You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin' as it flows
And the dreamer's just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what's behind you
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores
And I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide
Yes, I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
There's bound to be rough waters
And I know I'll take some falls
But with the good Lord as my captain
I can make it through them all
Yes, I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Yes, I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
'Til the river runs dry
————————
The same song with paragraphing, white space, and syntax reads as follows:
————————
“The River”
[Verse]
You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin' as it flows
And the dreamer's just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what's behind you
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores.
[Chorus]
And I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
[Verse]
Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
There's bound to be rough waters
And I know I'll take some falls
But with the good Lord as my captain
I can make it through them all
[Chorus x 2]
[Outro]
Until the river runs dry x 3
[resolve/long hold on the final “dry”]
As you can see the draft with paragraphing and syntax is easier to critique. Further, given that these are lyrics and not a lyric poem, several new questions arise. For instance, does the chorus interact properly with the verse? Is the audience miscued or tricked into singing along? Does “until the river runs dry” mean “forever” or just “until I’ m physically unable”? Could it mean, “until duress stops me”?
These aren’t questions raised by lyric poems.
Busker, aside—I have a cogent take on what makes lyrics different from a poem. There was something obvious staring us all in the face that none of us could see. But you saw it.
When a poem is meant to be sung by a performer, it’s lyric.
When the audience is meant to sing along, it’s lyrics.
That’s huge.
I’d like to keep fighting, but mostly because this fight bore fruit.
So, tell me I’m wrong.
If you can’t/din’t want to, then maybe it needs a breather.
Most often, lyrics are indicated by a repeated phrase, line, or stanza.
If the audience is meant to sing along, the repeated line should be memorable. If the repeated line is memorable, it is more likely to be lyrics than a lyric poem.
This is an excellent sung lyric poem. It is not lyrics.
Perhaps it would become lyrics if the entire song were meant to be a sing-along, but given the gravity of the material, this seems unlikely.
For contrast, Garth Brooks’s “The River” isn’t a lyric poem. It’s lyrics. It’s a sing-along song. I have intentionally pasted the lyrics without indicators, white space, or syntax here:
————————
“The River”
You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin' as it flows
And the dreamer's just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what's behind you
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores
And I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide
Yes, I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
There's bound to be rough waters
And I know I'll take some falls
But with the good Lord as my captain
I can make it through them all
Yes, I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Yes, I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
'Til the river runs dry
————————
The same song with paragraphing, white space, and syntax reads as follows:
————————
“The River”
[Verse]
You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin' as it flows
And the dreamer's just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what's behind you
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores.
[Chorus]
And I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
[Verse]
Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
There's bound to be rough waters
And I know I'll take some falls
But with the good Lord as my captain
I can make it through them all
[Chorus x 2]
[Outro]
Until the river runs dry x 3
[resolve/long hold on the final “dry”]
As you can see the draft with paragraphing and syntax is easier to critique. Further, given that these are lyrics and not a lyric poem, several new questions arise. For instance, does the chorus interact properly with the verse? Is the audience miscued or tricked into singing along? Does “until the river runs dry” mean “forever” or just “until I’ m physically unable”? Could it mean, “until duress stops me”?
These aren’t questions raised by lyric poems.
Busker, aside—I have a cogent take on what makes lyrics different from a poem. There was something obvious staring us all in the face that none of us could see. But you saw it.
When a poem is meant to be sung by a performer, it’s lyric.
When the audience is meant to sing along, it’s lyrics.
That’s huge.
I’d like to keep fighting, but mostly because this fight bore fruit.
So, tell me I’m wrong.
If you can’t/din’t want to, then maybe it needs a breather.
A yak is normal.