Lyrics, Instruments, and Tattoos

This week in class, we discussed protest songs that became hits despite the fact that the very nature of protest music often results in a lack of commercial success. I know that many of my peers chose to write about specific songs that fit this criteria, especially Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A..” What’s particularly interesting about these songs is that they are often mistaken for something very different from what they are. For instance, “Born in the U.S.A” is thought to be, by many people, a patriotic song when it is in fact the opposite. This begs the ever present question that we find in music these days; “Are we listening for the lyrics or what we hear instrumentally?”

    This has often seemed a very trivial question to me. I have always been very in tune to the lyrics of what I listen to. Of course both parts of a song are equally important, but for me, lyrics tend to be a more significant indicator of whether or not I’ll listen again (and again, and again). I can continue to play to an instrumentally weak song, provided it has phenomenal lyrics, but it’s much harder for me to do the opposite. Just the same, sometimes a really corny or awful line can kill a song.

The fact that many people can overlook the lyrics of music is really interesting to me because even without the high priority that I handle the content of songs with, I believe that there is a lot to be learned from the words in a track. Personally, focusing on what exactly is being sung, has shown me a lot over the years. I learned to manipulate words, use literary devices, and understand the incredible amount of structure that can go into writing. I use all of this when I write, from informational papers to poetry. Songs give us the power to say more with less, and better yet, to say things that others are afraid to.

This topic also bleeds deeply into the connection between music and tattoo culture. Though very different art forms, both live hand in hand in their respective scenes. We often assume that people with many tattoos listen to music, at Warped Tour each year you can find a table advocating for the acceptance of tattoos in the workplace, and of course, there’s Musink, a festival literally devoted to both music and tattoos. But how does this connect to the idea of lyrical importance?

    Tattoos have a close connection to the music scene not just because both are art forms that unite people in unique ways, but also because they can work together. Tattoos of band logos and lyrics are increasingly common these days. Now here’s where lyrics in particular come in; most people who have a band tattoo, when asked about why they liked that band so much that they dedicated an entire tattoo to them, will admit that there was something there that resonated deeply with them. This can be something instrumental, but very often it is lyrical. The best examples of this are, unsurprisingly, tattoos of lyrics.

    I’d like to end my post this week with a question rather than a clear-cut conclusion. Those of you that read this can think about it to yourself, but feel free to post your thoughts in the comments. First of all, do you listen purely for audio or also for lyrics? Second of all, and lastly, would you consider getting a music related tattoo? If so, of what?