The two inexplicably vital organs of a good song are its lyrics and its melody. But which of these components holds more significant weight in making a song successful?
History dictates that the earliest form of music was oral, after which the organised sound revolution entailed clapping and foot stomping. But humans’ fatal flaw is that they try to credit everything as a race. After all, it is undeniable that even before humans learned to speak – or much rather make a noise – birds chirped and the wind howled; nature is the first record of music ever existing.
But what about the lyrics? It’s impossible to admit that nature does not need lyrics; the rules of language do not bind her; therefore, she is free-flowing. She does not rely on feeble words to enhance the beauty of her song; she is complete as she is. But for the enslaved mind of mankind, words seem to communicate far more than a melody ever could, whether most of us can attest to this or not. There is simply no other reason why rap is such an up-and-growing genre!
But for the sake of argument, were Mozart’s world-renowned piano compositions more or less wholesome than Taylor Swift’s critically-acclaimed Folklore, bursting with perfect lyricism?
Did the melody ‘get lost in translation? Was adding lyrics a ‘masterpiece’ that we ‘tore up? Is a man too ‘casually cruel’ to enjoy nature’s call without peppering it with words? Or would a melody be a crumpled up piece of paper without the lyrics?
The truth is, we are highly indecisive as a species. But for the first time, something fruitful has come of it: a song.
Author
