"And a clock ticks out like a dripping faucet 'Till you're full of rag water, bitters and blue ruin And you spill out over the side to anyone who'll listen. I've seen it all, I've seen it all through the yellow windows on the evening train." Now THAT is a lyric (and only one of a thousand others milling around in his brain).
@@HarkenRoad Right on. Waits's entire "Rain Dogs" album is such a gem. Or rather, a treasure chest of gems: rock, pop, country, folk, ballads, broke-down New Orleans jazz, polka, Latin grooves, instrumentals, and even spoken-word pieces like the one you're quoting, from "9th & Hennepin". It's not fair that those songs, and supreme songwriters like Waits in general, won't get a wider audience, while meaningless lyrics like Jack Harlowe's song hit the top of the charts.
No it isn't. It's a species that broadly lacks the ability to process a tidal wave of information, half of which is garbage. I'm starting to think they just give up on processing all together.
I dont really hear lyrics very well, I never understand what the lyrics are actualy saying unless I go look it up. To me they are just kind of another instument that adds a melody and structure to the song. Must be a me thing because I mishear people a lot but my general hearing is fine
@@gamesmaster1060 Many times doggerel is exactly what was intended. Paul Simon did this a lot and it worked really well for him. Good sounds sound good.
Damn dude, where have you been all my life?! I'm totally the same, and also hate watching movies without subs (can't do it actually). Otherwise, my hearing is ok. My mom (if I remember correctly) has a prob like that as well. Do you know what could be the problem? Are our brains like slow or something? I hate it :(@@gamesmaster1060
@@gamesmaster1060... I don't understand a lot of lyrics either. I think my hearing is slightly impaired because I don't often understand dialog in movies too. But I love music 🎶
Gamesmaster, ive been a musician for a tad over 5 decades now and have always had the same issue, i just don’t understand the vocals unless ive heard the tune a million times. They are just another melody line.
Three things: Don Quixote pointlessly battling windmills and "effortless...attempt..." painting a negative view on RB's POV combined with 53 TsU? Do we understand what is being communicated here?
@@LiamArdo89 yeah it talks about break up and loss of love for someone then calls out the listener for not paying attention to the lyrics and just jams out at the end
"The way you make me feel You really turn me on You knock me of of my feet My lonely days are gone" Michael Jackson, King of pop Is that really so much better?
Reinaldo Quintero, you are an inspiration for your people and I always remember when I met you in 2004. Your early designs of jiggly girls were amazing. I hope you are succeeding in your path as an artist. ❤
Ah yes, compare jack Harlow to one of the best lyric and songwriters to ever walk this planet. What's next are we going to compare Chopin to Eazy-E? You take two songs, written by two people, for two completely different reasons, for two completely different fan bases, from two different countries . Jack Harlow is a club artist, more entertainment than music. John Lennon is just an artist through and through. This comparison of what's going to be played in a club where people are there to dance, get drunk, and try to get laid vs what you would put on your record player and listen to it over a nice glass of whiskey at 7:30pm on a Thursday. It's not the same and we need to treat it as such. Yeah the lyrics are whack, so is Future, Drake, 21 Savage, ect .... It's so whack that they control the top 10 songs played at any given moment for years now. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's trash. Pretty disappointing take from you to be honest.
@@xzaviertariq5692 Pretty disappointing take from me? My brother in Christ, when have I ever not held such a high standard?? Just because people want to get drunk and listen to actual garbage doesn’t mean it should go without criticism. The defense of “oh it’s written for different people” is the weakest one ever thought of. Let me understand you. The justification for the writing is the audience and regardless of its meaning or lack there of, if it has an audience it holds some inherent value. Have you ever stopped to wonder how many millions of people supported Hitler? Oh yes, I went there. The existence of an audience is the VERY REASON this level of criticism is needed. Just because you can be “entertaining” doesn’t mean what you say shouldn’t be judged or critiqued. People who have a platform have a responsibility to what they say to the crowds listening. Now, I do see your point and I agree to an extent. Comparing Jack Harlow to John Lennon is almost as wild as comparing him to Hitler……..or is it? The Beetles were the one of biggest band when they first hit radios. However, large groups of people thought their music was bad. Why? Because they said it was made to be played in a clubs “where people are there to dance, get drunk, and try to get laid”. It was rock and roll and it was devils music. Nowadays we consider the Beetles easy listening but go check the tape. The point I think Rick, and subsequently I are trying to make is even though it’s a party, drinking song, it should still be a song. And songs have real lyrics.
@xzaviertariq5692 I'd love to hear your thoughts on Ren. Lyrically, he is very much like John Lennon. He's multi talented. A poet, I would say. I watched a bunch of his street performances, and he has no need for auto tune. 👏👏👏
The Beatles were something "new" to a lot of people, and most people, even today, don't like change. The Bible Belt really didn't care for them, to say it lightly. Jack Harlow is OK, but it's doubtful he will be memorable for decades. I still listen to a lot of 80's and 90's music, and I don't feel like he will be a thought, compared to some of those artists. I read the name Eazy-E, and that is a great example of an artist that people still mention. Snoop and Dre are still a huge part of the industry. Dr. Dre released a 30 year re-release of The Chronic, and everything, ($5k pieces even) sold out immediately. Snoop is everywhere. Eminem, just dropped new music. Ren is the only one I have heard that can rap and rhyme like him, like one of those speed read commercials at the end of everything back then...but I've never heard a single track that was as boring and sad as Texas Hold Em. She sounds bored. Like "fine, I'll do it." And please put on some clothes. Kristen Stewart wore something equally as horrible and the Oscars were a nightmare of fashion accidental exposures (or were they?). I agree, Jack Harlow is for a different audiences. It's pop. That being said, compare Post Malone, who is in the same category. Jack doesn't compare. He's out there doing things, and is very versatile. I hope Beyonce decides to leave country music in her past. She's so capable, but not versatile, and is great on her own lane.
Rick you are spot on. Love your trasparency and candor. I have attempted to write lyrics (unsuccessfully) and even my rubbish is orders of magnitude better than some of the pathetic excuses for lyrics that pass today.
I was once at an acoustic open mic night in a little venue when a young lady sang "Across the Universe" accompanying herself on her acoustic guitar kind of like you just did, Rick. She sang it sweet and simply, and I thought to myself, "this is so beautiful even when just sung by someone with just an acoustic guitar." She flubbed the second chorus a little and made an embarrassed face, and someone in the audience began singing the chorus along with her to help her; that got her back on track and then the whole audience began singing impromptu along with her for the rest of the song. In that communal setting of people who all loved acoustic guitar, the Beatles, and John Lennon, the sound of everyone singing together this beautiful song was a almost a spiritual experience, with the chorus expressing something universal, and uplifting. It was one of the most profound moments of collective joy and togetherness I have ever felt at a performance.
Wow! The thing I so much like about this was the fact that decent people were there wanting the singer to succeed and then moved by a collective unconscious they brought it to the conscious and all joined in. The young lady will never forget that night and how an audience is there wanting you to be your best!
I was was at an acoustic open mic night in a little venue when a young lady sang "Why Don"t We Do it in the Road" the whole audience joined in. It was one of the most profound moments of collective joy and togetherness I have ever felt at a performance.
@@scottdevitte4209 i mean that's just a segway track off the white album, unintended for commercial anything and more a joke than anything... if you were trying to make a point about mediocrity pervading all artists, you didn't succeed. 🤷♂
This is a prime example of passive listening VS active listening. A lot of songs with less meaningful lyrics can be insanely popular if people just vibe with the song and constantly play it in the background over and over. But if you want to actively listen and focus on a song with more intent and be immersed, songs with depth and profound songwriting will always win AND leave a lasting impression forever.
this is a super solid take. much more open minded than rick and arguably more correct when put into practice. something to consider however is that to gauge musicality, you must look beyond lyrics. rhythm and melody are languages in and of themselves, and they won't speak directly to you unless you let them do so. this is where stuck up old people like rick come off as ignorant lmao. i've never derived more enjoyment out of a song than when i really sit down and listen to every part of it interacting with every other part of it, which is how music should be enjoyed instead of comparing it
This is also why streams will never indicate how good a song truly is, since, because our generation uses music more like a background thing, the simpler songs will be streamed many times more than the ones you actually have to focus listening too.
6:00 his breakdown of beyoncé's country just shows that the lyrics are god-awful. It was produced by too many people, and in my own opinion it's just pastiche for beyoncé because she's conquered the world and has nothing left to achieve. So she actually has to go down now and sideways and pretend that country music. So she throws a lot of cliches out there which wouldn't have happened. If it was an authentic lived experience. Maybe I'll do a Japanese koto song and I'll just throw in every meme and turn that I think are vaguely Japanese
The saddest part is there are some really talented song writers and great songs being made now that won't even get anywhere near the top 40 because they will never get the exposure they deserve
They're easier to find than ever. Right here on UA-cam you can find tons of awesome bands just waiting to be discovered. You don't have to be chained to the radio hoping they'd play your favorite song anymore
exactly. because their type of music doesn't "sell" . :( it's horrible how the music world has become. it's always had its issues but in the last 20 or so years it's just gotten beyond rotten.
I love how rick has the balls to say when something is not only bad, but complete trash. We've reached a point where any type of criticism is badly viewed and tbh in so many cases the criticism is what makes something better in the long run. We need more people like this and maybe the music industry will go back to caring about the songs they make and what is actually in them.
yeah, people always want to say art is subjective, but no, there is stuff thats objectively bad. Even if you don't like rap/hiphop just compare the lyrics of modern songs to stuff from 20 years ago. Even if you hate the message in that stuff at least it makes sense.
Me too man but don’t ever let that get you down. I make music and regardless of others hearing I love those songs and I enjoy making them. That’s all that matters
@@Sonny_K what? How silly is that comment. UA-cam is one of the big platforms and he’s using it to comment about his music. I’ve just clicked his channel to have a listen as I love to support other musicians but there’s nothing there.
@@Sonny_K I think what you’ve done is read an observation as an attack. It’s not meant to be negative just that he’s got a platform here he could direct other musicians and music followers to his music.
That said... there is "Surfin' Bird" which went to #4 in '63; "Wooly Bully" went gold in '64 while "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" went to #1 in the US and the UK that year. "Hully Gully" spawned a dance craze in '59. So dippy lyrics have always been with us as well.
The difference is they were comic relief and approaching satire and not masquerading as bona-fide timeless scores. Other examples of that are "Please mister Custer' , "Theyre coming to take me away", "Hello muddah hello faddah" just to name a few. However even those had lyrics painted a word picture and made you laugh. The song that Rick is talking about does neither. It is just stale Pablum. But hey if that moves somebody I guess its subjective.
I think of it as fast food. It’s ok on occasion. But if your diet is nothing but fast food, then we have a problem. These kids only listen to this stuff. Some of them never experience a proper meal if you know what I mean. They’re unable to appreciate it because their taste palette is heavily skewed.
Similar to Screenplays by Committee Grinding through Focus Groups to come up with something that will guarantee Box Office ameliorate the Public 🏞️ Maybe that's why MCU has lost it's evanescent sheen as of late!
There have been some great songwriting teams who worked together on lyrics, but I guess they're usually composed of two people which couldn't be described as a committee.
“It doesn’t matter what I say, as long as I sing it with inflection”. Hook by Blues Traveler in 1994. 30 years ago and they totally nailed it. Amazing song, amazing music, amazing band
I love that line from Queen‘s Show Must Go On: „My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies, fairytales of yesterday will grow but never die. I can fly my friends“
If I remember correctly, this song was written when Freddie Mercury was dying of AIDS, and was deliberately placed as the last song of the album, for the biggest effect. Even though it was Brian May who wrote it. What a powerful message that even when you've lost a loved one, their memory will never die, and you just have to keep going on.
Melodies can send a song to number one but the song will soon be forgotten. Good melodies with good lyrics become timeless. It's the melody that catches the attention and it's the lyrics that make it memorable.
It boggles my mind when I talk to someone about a song's lyrics and they respond, " I never knew what that song was about." But its seems to be the majority of people don't listen to most of the lyrics.
U2 fans used to tell Bono about playing "One" at their wedding - which tells you that people aren't paying attention to the lyrics beyond one or two words.
@@JoeFrickinFriday It's my Cover Band's set, I'm not a big fan of U2, but like that song, seems to resonate with people, I also sing Freebird, and I think the lyrics are banal tbh, but an excuse to get to the solo
I have a friend who will listen to the same song over and over but when it really comes down to it They couldn’t tell you one sentence in that song. It’s crazy
I mean, most Lyricists are going to tell you their lyrics are up for interpretation for a reason. Seems kinda smug to say "doesn't know what the lyrics are about", no? If someone feels a certain feeling, or interprets a song differently, who are you to tell them they are wrong. I certainly got a different message from listening to Rage Against The Machine than my contemporaries. I clearly even got a different message than the songwriters themselves meant, in hindsight.
@@segueoyuri yes, he has decades of experience as a producer and musician. He's very friendly, must have been fun to work with. Of the top youtube production channels, he is the most approachable. Audio Animals,, Mixbus TV for example... I don't get great or fun vibes from them.
Thank you, Rick, for once again reminding me why I don’t listen to top 40 radio. Having grown up on country music in particular, this brings to mind a George Jones quote on the power of a well-written country song: “when you’re happy, you enjoy the music. When you’re sad, you understand the lyrics.”
Rick I love how you're such a boiling vat of enthusiasm! I almost feel like I understand music a little bit better every time I watch one of your videos. My artist cousin has built a number of miniature visualizations of Beatles songs, and Across the Universe is one of the most recent. They're like little dioramas with moving parts and a small player inside with tiny speakers. He's a long time Beatles fan, I think he's about 68 now. My brother builds the electronics. Thank you for doing these videos!
I would have said "It doesn't matter what I say / As long as I sing with conviction". My genre of choice is extreme metal, but I'll step outside that and contrast Amy Winehouse with Taylor Swift. I often refer to Swift as "The Anti-Winehouse" because she sings with neither conviction or good lyrics.
You have to take into account that streaming is what’s dictating what’s popular now. Unfortunately streaming is decided more democratically than the radio ever was. This was our doing, not theirs.
I already had this type of thinking because is like cherry picking from the old and the new, there were bad and good music as now there is bad and good music, HOWEVER, pack everthing old and put in the bag "old" and pack everything new in the bag "new", now put a filter to drain everything bad from the bags and tell me which bag will be fuller, the bag " new", would be a miserable bag compared to the bag "old".
This is hilarious, when I saw the thumbnail I said to myself “my favourite old man yelling at clouds” and excitedly clicked. Never change Rick, we love you.
I have written for publishers for years now, and I have found over the decades that I have to dumb down my lyrics. I'm yelling at the clouds with you, my friend.
Depends on the audience but overall people have developed a mistrust of unnecessarily big words. "I'm sitting by the lake" - Gojira works better than "I recline, surveying the sparkling reservoir" - Nobody.
This is reflected in reading levels, at least in the U.S. As someone who has worked on educational materials, I've noticed our collective vocabulary seems to diminish as we spend more time online, and we have to keep lowering expectations in reading comprehension for students or they won't pass standardized tests. And when the novelty of an unusual word reaches the right audience nowadays it goes viral, for example, the word "demure" went viral in 2024. The oversimplified lyrics appear to be a bigger issue with the most mainstream bands. But metal and goth genres are examples where the vocabulary is interesting and paints an articulate story. The boring and simple lyrics annoy me so much I started a couple of playlists on Spotify for songs that have "SAT words" in them.
A lot of people I've met have extreme trouble recognizing rhyme schemes that don't end at the end of a phrasing (as in the end of a spoken line/stanza), let alone trying to recognize compounding rhymes (rhymes that can happen within a single line or stanza) or something that's not a visible pattern (w-orn, m-orn, t-orn, etc). 100% agree that on paper it can look bad but depending on annunciation, dialect and other things it can rhyme but a lot of pop lyrics can be braindead. I honestly think a lot of people don't try to learn new words or even understand the language they use every day to even a basic understanding (I get told more often than not that I use "fancy" words, but honestly I just like learning new ones even if I have trouble remembering them from time to time).
*enunciation. Annunciation is about an announcement, and specifically the Archangel Gabriel telling the Virgin Mary she'll be pregnant with God's child. I make the correction since we're talking about being intentional with words 😉
Part of why I love the indie folk scene is they often still have great poetry and storytelling in the lyrics. Artists like Lord Huron and Gregory Alan Isakov have lovely lyrical skills. Songs like La Belle Fleur Sauvage and Louisa use clever metaphors to spice up the love song genre. Long Lost has incredible poetic imagery. The Stable Song and What Do It Mean are rich with emotion and have some clever metaphors. “Her colors change to mark the passing of the days. No earthly sight could match the beauty she displays.” “You know I’d given up on living til I met you girl, then you came into my life with come hither in your eyes. Pulling me up out of the grave, what a nice surprise. I die when our nights end, but I only stay dead til I see you again.” “Leave me where the light pours down through the trees like rain. Let it wash over me like a flood, let it ease my pain. Let it drown me.” “So much to say, but my words mean nothing; a life spent talking when my epitaph would do. Wasting my days with my mind on the future and my past like chain that won’t ever let me go.” “Turn these diamonds straight back into coal.”
Yes! I love lord Huron! I don’t listen to the other guy but I have heard of him and really would like too! I was just thinking, that he would probably like Hozier too, because he has such poetic meaningful lyrics! 👍
I’m just here to say that the stable song, the version that is done with the Colorado symphony, is absolutely an amazing piece of art. That may be one of the greatest things to be released in the 21st-century. This is why I love videos like this, but as a 35-year-old I cringe when people say, this generation music sucks. No, people are lazy, and the record industry can’t benefit off of these people. But here’s another perspective, do we really want these artists to be the biggest thing in the world? Look at how the record labels exploited grunge, you haven’t really seen a decent rock movement since then, except for nu metal, which, yeah I don’t really need to explain the downfall of that one.
Absolutely agree with "Lyrics do matter, but they don't matter to most people"! Right to heart! Don't mind Rick, I'm 63 and think the same as you do! We're not alone!👍👍😎😎
Arcade Fire wrote one of my favorite lyrical lines : “If I could have it back, all the time that I wasted, I would only waste it again”. Beautiful and bittersweet
Dig it. Sometimes a line or two strikes a chord (no pun intended). As I've gotten older this Bob Seger verse runs through my head more often: "So many times I've seen chances disappear I hesitate and watch 'em slip away Like the time I fail to spend with the ones I love And it's gone as sure as yesterday"
I absolutely love their lyrics in Intervention: "Working for the church while your life falls apart. Singin hallelujah with the fear in your heart. Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home', Hear the soldier groan, we'll go at it alone.",
Here's one of my favorites. "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need". That is the meaning of life in just one sentence.
I think the real problem with the internet these days is that you can choose the truth you want to believe. Lol. There is too much information and people don't have the critical thinking skills to identify truth from lies. As one of my favourite artists says (not in English, this is a translation which is why it doesn't rhyme). Endless influx of information prohibits freedom of imagination, and seeks conformity of thought All these painful noises blind you, and Now it even infringes on freedom of thought All the controversy incessantly Triggers confusion in judgment uh Selfishness and greed have gone off the rails I close my eyes and it's easy, it’s all so obvious Opinions clearly split depending on what's to gain Everyone's been blinded by envy and jealousy Without realizing that they're putting shackles on each other
@@loftyradish6972 Is that a copyrighted ?? I could write a song around that, that's chorus 1 & 2, then I'd get a verse going, who is this favorite artist are they already a musician?? Can I get contact info to ask if I use those lyrics, not kidding.
In a couple of hours from now I will be singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with my brother and sister at an Uncle's funeral, 4 months after my Aunty passed away. While we were practicing on Wednesday I suddenly realised the 3rd verse could be my Uncle singing to my Aunty and I started crying. I asked out loud "How could someone write a song so beautiful?" Lyrics matter.
I just looked up those lyrics, that verse and yes, I can see how apt and meaningful they are (for you) and would be (for your uncle). I've known this song since 1969, when I was 17. The fact that only now, those lyrics have some meaning for me, wow. Lyrics not only matter; good lyrics are timeless. Thank you for sharing.
@@ohwellwhateverr black midi are better than most of these artists. So are Black Country New Road. So are Squid. So are Death Grips. Stop excusing your laziness in discovering new music with "b-but old music good". Youre just too lazy to curate your taste for yourself and have to have other people do it for you.
I always thought lyrics were supposed to be poetic. That’s why we learned poems in elementary school. Ask Sting! His lyrics are otherworldly. And yes Beyonce can sing with so much power and emotion , but I don’t get the vulgarity on Renaissance album being good.
Rick, this video inspired to me to get back to writing the best lyrics that I can. Your channel does a lot to encourage high quality art in our society. I really value your work!
And autotune it, when most cant actually sing, but thats pop music, its popular for a while and forgotten. Real talents do metal , some people think Tatiana Shmailyuk vocalist in band Jinjer adds effects to her voice with autotune, not knowing that growl has no pitch.
@@JGokuu Jinjer with Tati , not all folk cup of tea , but start with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and Dio as vocalist , Iron Maiden , the Trooper good start , Epica and Nightwish do symphonic metal , Sabaton does songs from historic battles , En Livstid I Krig , is from 30 year war 1618-48 , reason we have borders in Europe , We have near 5000 metal bands, i Finland , USA has 35 000, but population is 60 times bigger . There is choice for everyone.
"I'm an old guy yelling at clouds". LOL! Rick you are the BOMB! I love what you are doing on your channels. I appreciate music more (that's saying a LOT!) because of the education I am getting from you. Keep up the fantastic work/passion!
I literally just posted on a different Beato video that he’s giving old man yelling at clouds vibes. At least he sees it. There are many excellent current lyricists. Just listen to what you like and stop picking low-hanging fruit to complain about!
I believe Tom Waits made an entire career as "old guy yelling at clouds"! Actually, his lyric from 'Lucinda': As I kick at the clowns at my hanging As I swing out over the crowd I will search every face for Lucinda And she'll go off with me down the hill
@@alext3811 I've yelled at both AWS and Azure instances & more than a few CI builds. If I stub my toe, I'm looking for the log files that explain why I did it. And I'm in my 50s. No uncle jokes I promise.
This was the video I was thinking of. You know are lyrics like November Rain or Summer of 64, Brothers in arms just pointless now. As 80% of video viewers don't care.
In my opinion, profanity in songs should be RARE so that it retains its impact, and should never be used to try to sound big and clever like it is now. When it does appear, it should be used carefully and skilfully. Cleanin' Out My Closet by Eminem comes to mind. He's not swearing to sound cool in that song, he's swearing out his pain and betrayal in narrative-style lyrics. Very powerful in that context. I suppose swearing can also help a joke land in a mature comedy track, kind of like Thrift Shop by Macklemore. But half the songs on the radio have huge chucks of their lyrics missing because swear words are used as mindless filler. It's so frustrating.
How fortunate to have grown up in the 60’s/70’s - truly a golden era for musical creativity. And much of that with actual “bands” of musicians and lyricists. Imagine a group today that cannot only play the music but has 2 or 3 writers as members of the same band.
@@bernicerogers2383 Yes, elocution IS important; ask the British. When that gets boring, WE switch to Operas! Each era seemed to have its own either good, or bad, "style" as we termed it before the GENRE GENERATIONS. Surely many of us miss the writings of both Dylan and Leonard Cohen...but then THERE ARE many good songs that actually have a message, encompassing within and "riding upon" the wings of beautiful melodies... many more interesting melodies than many of the old three chord songs btw. We always felt that BANDS that used to like to save their instrument tracks did some really great singers a disservice; We remade a few, such as a classical version of Patsy Cline's beautiful lyrics; bands are still cutting corners reusing those old tracks, (that most people don't even recognize is being done ?) To Beyonce WE sing "Hollywood Diva" in French too. She'll never hear it though, especially since its ABOUT performers such as SHE. HOLLYWOOD DIVA--PARIS PERHAPS! (The Lady Wants to be On the Billboard!) NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY NOBODY SAID IT'D BE FAST NOBODY SAID THAT THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU...WAS ALWAYS GOING TO LAST. NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY, BUT SHE BELIEVED THAT IT COULD SO WITH HER NOSE IN THE AIR AND HER FEET ON THE GROUND, SHE WENT OFF TO H- O- L-L-Y WOOD! VERSE ONE: I GUESS YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD BE "SOME-ONE" YOUR SEN SA TIO NAL SELF YOU GOT TO BE UP THERE SCREAMING YOU MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF. VERSE ONE: NOW YOU'RE JUST A SIGN ON SUNSET, A- MILLION-- DOLLAR== FACE, IT'S TRUE... NOW YOU'RE IN THE RACE, BUT I DON'T LIKE YOUR PACE, I'M NOT WAITING FOR Y O U ! CHORUS NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY NOBODY SAID IT'D BE FAST NOBODY SAID THAT THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU...WAS ALWAYS GOING TO LAST. NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY,---BUT SHE BELIEVED THAT IT COULD SO WITH HER NOSE IN THE AIR AND HER FEET ON THE GROUND, SHE WENT OFF TO H- O- L-L-Y WOOD! Copyrighted 2016 By LyndaFaye I sat around in publishing offices with these guys complaining how their girlfriends were doing anything to get their pretty faces onto a billboard! Thought I'd write this "for them!" for Stan the Man at Irwin Pincas' office, for Bob Le-Fever, for allot of them! Working on the English version- The singers keep getting sore throats screaming it out! Yes, and Yes, Mr. Beato. I have a question for YOU and for those MALE PRODUCERS who said, " We could really do something with this song if you'd just change the lyrics to All Night Long." HA, and DUH, and Goodbye Mr. Producer: As You Have Totally Missed the POINT of the whole song!" Why is it love is never given to the one who needs it Love is only shown in the dark? Advice is never good until a person heeds it ,And there's so many broken hearts? Why is it everyone is telling you, that you've got spirit ;No one ever has the time to hear it ! Wouldn't it be nice if your computer cleared it...All Day Long ? Two: Why is it news is never made until the people read it? And news is never bad as it seems. All the things that are good, they seem to go unheard of; Until they're on a movie screen? Why does it always seem there' someone above you .Why can't you believe, that somebody loves you? Wouldn't it be nice to know that somebody loves you ,All day long. Bridge: Why is it love is never given to the one who needs it; Love is only shown in the dark? Everybody wants to have a smashing finish; But everyone's afraid to start? When you don't need a friend, they'll be out there to ride you; When you really need help, there'll be no one to guide you.! Wouldn't it be nice to know there's someone beside you All day long? Well I would like to know, what is the great big secret.. We're all makin' love, but no one can keep it? I'd like to give my love to those who need it.. All Day Long. Copyrighted 2016 by Lynda Faye Lynda Faye Originals @Bandcamp and Soundcloud "Stormy Day Blues' sung in three different genres "Listen to Your Heart, This Time' and "The Man I Almost Married," in French, English and Italian by Ana Marie Ceuca And for some FUN, 'Opera at its Worst!"
But when you do put effort into the lyrics like I do, no one pays any attention. I mean when I have something I want to write about, I'll write it once, throw that away, write it another way, throw that away, then write it third way, and throw that away. By the fourth time it's a progression like the way Johnny Rotten says "In sensurround sound and a two inch wall" instead of "on television." I put these lyrics in songs and make music videos on my channel...but nobody says, hey those are great lyrics. That's why so many people get away with crap.
@@thepagecollective I at least try to put effort into my lyrics as well, and people I considered friends shamed me for it. Those same people make music with meaningless lyrics and put heavy emphasis on “vibes”. People love mediocrity and hate effort now and it’s sad. Like it’s no wonder I’m starting to play video games more than making music, most of the scene is just passionless and sucks the passion right out of you. Like I really wanna get back into it, but I’d also rather have fun with other hobbies.
@@prilljazzatlanta5070 which I never do lol. I’m way too humble to people who give me reasons not to be. I don’t get what point you were trying to get across, I was just simply adding on to a convo you probably don’t relate to.
@@smaaron_j_46 oh sorry, i can see how that would look like i was attacking you. I actually was making a matter of fact / humorous statement about what amateur writers love to do. Not saying you do 😆
Some of the most pure poetry I have ever heard is the Simon and Garfunkel Old Friend/Bookends song. "Old friends, sat on a park bench like book-ends...." Incredible deep poetry in those few words. The concept of book ends, and the fact that there is likely volumes between them speaks of the lifetime of shared experiences of the old friends.
Modern pop music has devolved into just a beat. Nothing else is required. This is why I live where interesting, creative music is still alive and well, in the underground.
That’s too mainstream for my taste. I’m more into the underground of the underground. A bit more creative than people that listen to just mainstream underground.
@@TheSpicyLeg Rookie move. The real underground isn't even visible to those who dive beyond the underground. If you want to find genuinely creative music, you have to treat the mainstream as the underground and realise that the underground is actually an attempt to stop you from seeing the actual creativity in the mainstream.
We should just keep _digging_ than just going _underground_ to find _deeply_ moving music. Otherwise the _depth_ of creativity might end up in an unknown isolated _basement_ never to see the light of day. 😂 Keep finding good music folks
I feel the same way! I listen to modern music and think what happened to lyrics? When the kids I know love Taylor Swift I go on-line to read the lyrics and want to cry. I guess I'm stuck in the days of 30's and 40's of rhymes and repeatable words! Even nonsense songs make me smile!
7:45 those little "whoo!" chorus lines are designed so when a bunch drunk people who cant sing or remember words hear it in a bar they can just scream "whoo!" It's social engineering. The basement tornado references are probably because they did a focus group and found out most of her fans are in Oaklahoma Kansas etc.The whole song is basically a commercial.
Or it's about how songs get licensed for films and TV - since that became a more important revenue stream for a bunch of artists, I wonder if there's a subtle pressure to play to that. Be interesting to see if this winds up soundtracking a bunch of shows that have, like, the tornado episode, the "pluckily coping through disaster" scene...
@@jordanwilliams8040Except for Ric Flair: the stylin', profilin', limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' son of a gun! WHOOOOOOO!
I know what you mean here but that isn't a new thing and it certainly isn't 'social engineering' lol. Countless songs over the years have a 'woohoo' in there
1963, Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen: A-well, everybody's heard about the bird B-b-b-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - bird is the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird, - well, a-bird is the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - well, a-bird is the word A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - well, a-bird is the word A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-don't you know about the bird? Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word! A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a- A-well, everybody's heard about the bird! Bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word A-well, a-don't you know about the bird? Well, everybody's talking about the bird A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word! A-well, a-bird! Surfin' bird! Well, a-don't you know about the bird? Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word! A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word
That's still WAY better than anything in the charts these days - Although despite my 60 years on this planet, the first time I ever heard that one was on Family Guy :D
I totally agree with you! And you are spot on about the development of pop lyrics. But they managed to write incredible simple and "brain dead" lyrics back in the days as well: "There she was just a-walkin' down the street, singin' 'Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do'" (Manfred Mann) "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah You think you've lost your love Well, I saw her yesterday It's you she's thinkin' of And she told me what to say" (The Beatles) But even these lyrics are not as bad as some of the lyrics of today.
THANK YOU!! I've been thinking the same thing! For years I've stopped listening to the radio for just this reason. Its boiled chicken. No soul, no heart no nuthin '
I’ve started listening to country music instead of “pop”. Haven’t listened to pop in decades because of it. I just assumed it was because I had become an old f#&k.
For a while, I thought that I just didn't like new music because I was old, and that seems common. But all 3 of my kids have confirmed that most new music sucks. I actually do listen to new music, but more of the underground variety, not what's played on the radio.
Overhead the albatross Hangs motionless upon the air And deep beneath the rolling waves In labyrinths of coral caves The echo of a distant time Comes willowing across the sand And everything is green and submarine Strangers passing in the street By chance, two separate glances meet And I am you and what I see is me And do I take you by the hand And lead you through the land And help me understand the best I can?
"And through the window in the wall/ Come streaming in on sunlight wings/ A million bright ambassadors of morning" . One of the most beatiful metaphors I've ever read...
Mr Beato, please keep teaching us and younger generations about what they have never listened, learned, been exposed. I’m 47 years old and had the fortune of growing up listening late 70’s, early 80’s and I can see the destruction of music industry. Keep going, Mr Beato! You rock!
Dang man, I’m not even old and I feel this way. So much of modern music is cookie cutter crap. Especially country music. Thank god for people like Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs and Zach Bryan
Mark Knopfler is mostly praised for his guitar playing, but his lyrics are absolute gold too: There's frost on the graves and the monuments But the taverns are warm in town People curse the government And shovel hot food down Lights are out in the city hall The castle and the keep The moon shines down upon it all The legless and asleep My degree was in English Lit and I swear I could write whole essays on everything that's going on in just that one stanza.
Ugh the poetry, rhetorical devices, and symbolism in that one verse---absolutely genius. You don't even have to go that far back to find better lyrics than today. Heck, even Viva La Vida tops all new music by miles lyrically 😂
That reminds of Jimi Hendrix's Wind Cries Mary: After all the jacks are in their boxes And the clowns have all gone to bed You can hear happiness Staggering on down the street Footprints dressed in red And the wind whispers "Mary" A broom is drearily sweeping Up the broken pieces Of yesterday's life Somewhere, a queen is weeping Somewhere A king has no wife And the wind, it cries "Mary"
Agreed. What are your thoughts on Shane MacGowan, Gord Downey, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen? Honorable mention to Sting as well. Eddie Vedder lyric ever interest you?
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..... These are lyrics that you never forget, recalling them, even without the music, makes you stop in your tracks.
@@PaulFormentos they made a 'deal' with the phrase "I Said Something Wrong"? What kind of deal can you make with a lyric phrase? I've never heard of that.
There's songs that I might not have heard in 40 years but as soon as I hear the song I can try to sing along with it (I no the words but can't carry a tune). Those are great lyrics that can stick in my mind stick in my mind but it can't remember where I left my glasses 5 minutes ago.
Deep meanings, much like cleansing creams, are sometimes overlooked, because people can't seem to "read between the lines." too? When that gets boring, WE switch to Operas! Each era seemed to have its own either good, or bad, "style" as we termed it before the GENRE GENERATIONS. Surely many of us miss the writings of both Dylan and Leonard Cohen...but then THERE ARE many good songs that actually have a message, encompassing within and "riding upon" the wings of beautiful melodies... many more interesting melodies than many of the old three chord songs btw. We always felt that BANDS that used to like to save their instrument tracks did some really great singers a disservice; We remade a few, such as a classical version of Patsy Cline's beautiful lyrics; bands are still cutting corners reusing those old tracks, (that most people don't even recognize is being done ?) To Beyonce WE sing "Hollywood Diva" in French too. She'll never hear it though, especially since its ABOUT performers such as SHE. HOLLYWOOD DIVA--PARIS PERHAPS! (The Lady Wants to be On the Billboard!) NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY NOBODY SAID IT'D BE FAST NOBODY SAID THAT THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU...WAS ALWAYS GOING TO LAST. NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY, BUT SHE BELIEVED THAT IT COULD SO WITH HER NOSE IN THE AIR AND HER FEET ON THE GROUND, SHE WENT OFF TO H- O- L-L-Y WOOD! VERSE ONE: I GUESS YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD BE "SOME-ONE" YOUR SEN SA TIO NAL SELF YOU GOT TO BE UP THERE SCREAMING YOU MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF. VERSE ONE: NOW YOU'RE JUST A SIGN ON SUNSET, A- MILLION-- DOLLAR== FACE, IT'S TRUE... NOW YOU'RE IN THE RACE, BUT I DON'T LIKE YOUR PACE, I'M NOT WAITING FOR Y O U ! CHORUS NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY NOBODY SAID IT'D BE FAST NOBODY SAID THAT THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU...WAS ALWAYS GOING TO LAST. NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY,---BUT SHE BELIEVED THAT IT COULD SO WITH HER NOSE IN THE AIR AND HER FEET ON THE GROUND, SHE WENT OFF TO H- O- L-L-Y WOOD! Copyrighted 2016 By LyndaFaye I sat around in publishing offices with these guys complaining how their girlfriends were doing anything to get their pretty faces onto a billboard! Thought I'd write this "for them!" for Stan the Man at Irwin Pincas' office, for Bob Le-Fever, for allot of them! Working on the English version- The singers keep getting sore throats screaming it out! Yes, and Yes, Mr. Beato. I have a question for YOU and for those MALE PRODUCERS who said, " We could really do something with this song if you'd just change the lyrics to All Night Long." HA, and DUH, and Goodbye Mr. Producer: As You Have Totally Missed the POINT of the whole song!" Why is it love is never given to the one who needs it Love is only shown in the dark? Advice is never good until a person heeds it ,And there's so many broken hearts? Why is it everyone is telling you, that you've got spirit ;No one ever has the time to hear it ! Wouldn't it be nice if your computer cleared it...All Day Long ? Two: Why is it news is never made until the people read it? And news is never bad as it seems. All the things that are good, they seem to go unheard of; Until they're on a movie screen? Why does it always seem there' someone above you .Why can't you believe, that somebody loves you? Wouldn't it be nice to know that somebody loves you ,All day long. Bridge: Why is it love is never given to the one who needs it; Love is only shown in the dark? Everybody wants to have a smashing finish; But everyone's afraid to start? When you don't need a friend, they'll be out there to ride you; When you really need help, there'll be no one to guide you.! Wouldn't it be nice to know there's someone beside you All day long? Well I would like to know, what is the great big secret.. We're all makin' love, but no one can keep it? I'd like to give my love to those who need it.. All Day Long. Copyrighted 2016 by Lynda Faye Lynda Faye Originals @Bandcamp and Soundcloud "Stormy Day Blues' sung in three different genres "Listen to Your Heart, This Time' and "The Man I Almost Married," in French, English and Italian by Ana Marie Ceuca And for some FUN, 'Opera at its Worst!"
Actually just listened to “ Across the Universe “ yesterday ( while driving) , and it makes you feel something other worldly, and now that you went through the lyrics, which I never dissected as you just did, It’s so powerful. I know it’s different time and classic rock , band music, is going away, but I 1 million percent agree that lyrics matter. Artistry/ poetry is being erased from the music industry. It’s sad. That Tom Waits quote below is great. Tom Waits has a song “ Filipino box spring Hog” that is kind of playful, non sensicle. But still light years ahead of the lyrics today. I live in the Philippines now, so it makes me laugh, but man….. people have lost all creativity and it sucks
When creating a movie, the most important thing is the script and then everything else. But a friend pointed out to me that, unfortunately, the funding is the most important part...
Rhyming "baby" with "baby" is a genius move I could never had thought of. Nothing but pure and raw intelligence in that song, clearly. APPARENTLY A VERY IMPORTANT-TO-ADD NOTE: This is a joke. I genuinely thought the hyperbolic language and "rhyming baby with baby" part would get that across but apparently not. My bad I guess.
Rachel Platten got there years ago rhyming song with song and song. She even eventually threw in a strong as well. Genius. This is my diss comment. Bring back respect comment. Get one more like comment. Remember the days of bit torrent? It's very moreish.
The problem is not a lack of talented artists--it's that the "industry" is only concerned with maximizing profits, therefore not willing to let a few oddballs who don't fit the template go out there and fail. At any time in history, 98% of art is so-so or worse, and 2% is exceptional. We're not living in any kind of special era of banality. Support your local artist who plays at the neighborhood dive!!!!!
Thing is, if there were underground bands with the same talent and writing as Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, don’t you think they would be noticed by now? No question, my generation (I’m 38) can’t hold a candle to what was musically coming out from 1968-1978. And it has only declined since I was a young man
I WOULD agree, except there was once greatness on the radio. There was once still a great unknown to mining society's desires. People's tastes have changed, and the industry has the comfort of knowing exactly what people want now that services like Spotify exist. Turns out the people like garbage, which perfectly fits the profile of about 98% of music being so-so at best. No one with a budget will ever take a chance on music again. Those who seek quality over vibe are a dying breed.
Qoute from George Orwell regarding popular music . The tune had been haunting London for weeks past. It was one of countless similar songs published for the benefit of the proles by a sub-section of the Music Department. The words of these songs were composed without any human intervention whatever on an instrument known as a versificator. But the woman sang so tunefully as to turn the dreadful rubbish into an almost pleasant sound.”
I'm driving right now, but I pulled over just to post that the greatest lyrics that come to mind. The first two are Rob Stewart songs which tell an entire story, and Randy, you're a fine girl. I love the crescendo of the middle eight, as he says and Brandy does her best to understand. Goosebumps butterflies in my stomach. The lyrics are so good
I'm feeling numb about this first song and then you started reading the lyrics to Across the Universe! Goosebumps!!💖 Now I'm feeling alive! Isn't that the difference between the two? "Lyrics DO matter. But they don't matter to most people." - Rick Beato 💯 word. That sums it up right there.
Rick singing Across the Universe blew me away. It doesn't matter how good or bad a singer you are when you have words to sing like those. Everybody can find there own peace and meaning in them.
or even a more relatively modern approach. take 'visions' by bring me the horizon, a metal/deathcore band. "I couldn't see a thing 'til I shut my eyes. I never knew a thing 'til I lost my mind. I would sell my soul to know it all, But I held the keys all this time"
Finally, I just come across your UA-cam videos, man oh man. ,,,it's so sad about the fall of vinyl and and how we listen to music those days, love your show.✌️
Out of all the thousands of songs I've listened to, I never ever would've expected Death Metal to drop gems like these on me: "Passion is a poison laced with pleasure bittersweet" "Shallow are words from those who starve, for a dream not their own to slash and scar" Then again, these songs are approaching 30 years of age...
Are those lyrics that Chuck Schuldiner wrote for Death? Seems like he always had a way with words as well as a good way of delivering them, the latter of which especially is something that far too many modern vocalists lack.
the movie "Demolition man" there is a scene where people listen to terrible child lyrics and that song were number one hit. We are heading to this future.
Total nonsense. People have been saying that since began. They said it in the 40's. They said it in the 50's. They said it in the 60's. And people like to act like it's getting worse. It's not. It's the same. If you don't believe me just listen to purple people eater and Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Polka Dot Bikini. And contrarily-wise if you think music used to be really bad in the times before radio just read the ENTIRE lyrics to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and marvel at the genius of the lyrics.
@@darinherrick9224You're comparing nursery rhymes and novelty hits of the past to current songs that pass themselves off as art. There's no poetry in music anymore. All they want today is a hook and a few keywords.
@@darinherrick9224 Both of those examples were basically "ditties". Something fun to sing to to or with your kids like "Banana fanna fo fanna" and basically the entire stretch of time that was Doowop and Scat. At least they used words and they weren't talking about how much cocaine they could snort in the back of their $600,000 'rari with naked "bitches" hanging off their arms and all the wild nasty sex they were able to have with them because of the obscene amount of money and "power" they can throw around, and its almost always framed in a way that says "Look at me, this is what I gained by making this kind of music, and you could have it too." By comparison an artist like Eminem wrote a lot about these things too, but almost all of his songs want you to see how ugly and shameful that world is, and he wants you to feel bad about every glorifying it as he intersperses songs like this with ballads lamenting his botched marriage and devotion to his kid with god tier lyrical mastery. There's nothing really obscene about "Purple People Eater", and nothing really preachy. I don't have to think about my kids getting the idea that snorting obscene amounts of cocaine and treating women like garbage is somehow and most kids aren't dumb enough to go around eating their friends. If you excuse me Im going to go listen to a song about moving the the country and eating a lot of peaches and take it waaaay too seriously so we have something in common.
Ah, the lyric that was purposefully written to be uninterpretable in response to someone telling John Lennon that Beatles’ lyrics were being analyzed in schools. Go, Johnny!! And yet, the human mind can’t produce truly randomly, so we can still pull out nuggets of meaning hiding in Walrus.
When you write the catalog of meaningful lyrics they did putting something creative and beautiful in the world you have a get of jail free card. Surprised you didn’t know that; but you’re probably young. I’ll give you break
As I sit in my “Beatles/60’s” room and listen to you read the lyrics to “Across the Universe”, I am reminded how lucky I am to have lived that period…!!!!
@@tabularasa0606 Dunno, t. Not disagreeing, but in a clinical nutrition MPhil I did, I found lots of nutrient intake variables were highly skewed, with a long tail at the 'good' end. And income/wealth means are tugged so hard by a small number of colossal earners and owners that median values are often more illuminating. Like I said, I'm not contesting - just wondering. I'm not a demographer, and you could easily be better informed than I am. All best. (MPhil is a sort of UK mini-PhD, you'll be excited to learn. Or not learn.)
I'm 37 now and was 14 when I got into Pink Floyd, which was about 30 years after their hay-day. One thing that stuck out to me as a youth and even more today is the depth of wisdom in the lyrics in songs like "Time". What gets me even more now is to think that these songs were written by guys who were still in their youth.
Great lyrics are forever. Roger Waters= master lyricist. Time was written by someone who’s age then I would consider a kid now... Yet the song will forever be relevant.
Roger Waters was a brilliant lyricist. My favourite is 'when the tigers broke free' about the death of his father in WW2. Each section sets up a feeling and punctures it in the final line with an ultra sarcastic cynical stab. I'm so disillusioned that he became an apologist for Putin in the Ukraine war. There is more to peace than the lack of war & if you want the luxury of pacifism, know that it can require someone else to commit violence in your place. Oh well. Best not to have heroes.
Some songs are for fun and for parties, while others are for meaning and introspection. "Blue" from Eiffel 65 or "Around the World" by Daft Punk aren't known for the depth of their lyrics, but rather for the catchiness and vibes of the song. They're fun to dance to and that's okay. You still have artists who make great songs with deep, rich lyrics and they have their place. Also, we can't act like all songs of the past had great lyrics or like songs weren't made just for fun before, "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen being a great example.
Yesss thank you for saying this. I DO feel like Rick sometimes gets a bit carried away with his opinions without thinking them through, and on this video I also have to disagree with him. As you said, songs are made for difference purposes, and why is that a problem? It's the complete same as in the 60's. A lot of songs from the same era as the Beatles, are basic love songs with really simple lyrics like "I Love you, you love me". Even the Beatles themselves, when they were at the top of their popularity with the teenage audience, wrote songs with that kind of text. And what is even Ricks wish? That every song on the Spotify top 10 sounds and has lyrics like a Beatles or Joni Mitchell song, like, that has never been the case for pop-charts from 60's as well as present day. And if you go a little beyond the top 10, I feel like there's tons of music with great and deeper lyrics. Even in the top 10's I think you can find artist for example like Billie Eilish, Tame Impala, Coldplay with Yellow, Joji has interesting lyrics. Damon Albarn as well is a great lyricist. So I don't really understand what Rick is on about in this video. Yes I DO agree that the lyrics on Lovin on Me, and that Beyonce song isn't very inspiring, but is it really that important for the purpose of those songs?
@@Jesperhaugsted Perhaps the issue is that we're so used to hearing crap now that it wears people's patience down. And personally, I think that there's a difference between lyrics that are simple and catchy (like 'Picture Book' by The Kinks) and plain meaningless and/or idiotic (like too much of the stuff on the charts today).
Agree, I write songs, some are from the heart, some are about chasing chicks, I've even done about my Dog chasing Squirrels, that wasnt a love song, whatever, they should all sell the song.
@@Jesperhaugsted 100% agree. People will likely prefer simple songs they can listen to on their way to work, that’s what radio is. Beautifully written music will always exist, but may not be topping the charts and that’s okay.
I wrote lyrics for my former band Kashmir in the period 1986 - 1988. Songs and Lyrics like "The Sherpas" "Wanted or denied" "Fabel" are still unique today. I wrote a song called Nightingale in 1987 before Leonhard Cohen came up with a song with the same title 9 years later.
The Dangling Conversations - Paul Simon, pure poetry It's a still life watercolor Of a now-late afternoon As the sun shines through the curtain lace And shadows wash the room And we sit and drink our coffee Couched in our indifference, like shells upon the shore You can hear the ocean roar In the dangling conversation And the superficial sighs The borders of our lives And you read your Emily Dickinson And I my Robert Frost And we note our place with book markers That measure what we've lost Like a poem poorly written We are verses out of rhythm Couplets out of rhyme In syncopated time (in syncopated time) And the dangling conversation And the superficial sighs Are the borders of our lives Yes, we speak of things that matter With words that must be said "Can analysis be worthwhile?" "Is the theater really dead?" And how the room is softly faded And I only kiss your shadow, I cannot feel your hand You're a stranger now unto me Lost in the dangling conversation And the superficial sighs In the borders of our lives
To quote Tom Waits "The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering."
Great quote!
Brilliant
"And a clock ticks out like a dripping faucet
'Till you're full of rag water, bitters and blue ruin
And you spill out over the side to anyone who'll listen.
I've seen it all,
I've seen it all through the yellow windows on the evening train."
Now THAT is a lyric (and only one of a thousand others milling around in his brain).
@@HarkenRoad Right on. Waits's entire "Rain Dogs" album is such a gem. Or rather, a treasure chest of gems: rock, pop, country, folk, ballads, broke-down New Orleans jazz, polka, Latin grooves, instrumentals, and even spoken-word pieces like the one you're quoting, from "9th & Hennepin". It's not fair that those songs, and supreme songwriters like Waits in general, won't get a wider audience, while meaningless lyrics like Jack Harlowe's song hit the top of the charts.
Tom Wait rules 😊
remember when before the internet everyone thought the lack of information is the reason for stupidity? Well, it isn’t.
No it isn't. It's a species that broadly lacks the ability to process a tidal wave of information, half of which is garbage. I'm starting to think they just give up on processing all together.
I never agreed with that, but it was a very popular view. You need wisdom to deal with information. Otherwise, it can be worse than no information.
😂so true.
Fantastic comment.
Ooooh, I member.
"Lyrics do matter, but they don't matter to most people." Well said. Couldn't agree more.
I dont really hear lyrics very well, I never understand what the lyrics are actualy saying unless I go look it up. To me they are just kind of another instument that adds a melody and structure to the song. Must be a me thing because I mishear people a lot but my general hearing is fine
@@gamesmaster1060 Many times doggerel is exactly what was intended. Paul Simon did this a lot and it worked really well for him. Good sounds sound good.
Damn dude, where have you been all my life?! I'm totally the same, and also hate watching movies without subs (can't do it actually). Otherwise, my hearing is ok. My mom (if I remember correctly) has a prob like that as well. Do you know what could be the problem? Are our brains like slow or something? I hate it :(@@gamesmaster1060
@@gamesmaster1060... I don't understand a lot of lyrics either. I think my hearing is slightly impaired because I don't often understand dialog in movies too.
But I love music 🎶
Gamesmaster, ive been a musician for a tad over 5 decades now and have always had the same issue, i just don’t understand the vocals unless ive heard the tune a million times. They are just another melody line.
Rick Beato - The ambassador for good music that fights for the preservation and heritage of good music, taste and culture. Thank you for your energy!
Three things: Don Quixote pointlessly battling windmills and "effortless...attempt..." painting a negative view on RB's POV combined with 53 TsU? Do we understand what is being communicated here?
@@galaxybeing1954 OK ... True. Better?
Hey-ya by Outkast said it best: "yall dont wanna listen to me you just wanna dance".
Outkast**😭😭
But hell yeah andré
@@SXLXMXN. my bad
That's actually a very clever song when you look Into it
@@LiamArdo89 yeah it talks about break up and loss of love for someone then calls out the listener for not paying attention to the lyrics and just jams out at the end
The issue here is that there is no message to send , and whatever message there is, is superficial .
Maybe Twist and Shout have a greater meaning, then...
It's a reflection of how superficial our culture has become.
"The way you make me feel
You really turn me on
You knock me of of my feet
My lonely days are gone"
Michael Jackson,
King of pop
Is that really so much better?
Reinaldo Quintero, you are an inspiration for your people and I always remember when I met you in 2004. Your early designs of jiggly girls were amazing. I hope you are succeeding in your path as an artist. ❤
@@bioshin thank you my friend!
“Lyrics do matter but they don’t matter to most people.” That sentiment is so profound I feel it transcends music.
Ah yes, compare jack Harlow to one of the best lyric and songwriters to ever walk this planet.
What's next are we going to compare Chopin to Eazy-E?
You take two songs, written by two people, for two completely different reasons, for two completely different fan bases, from two different countries .
Jack Harlow is a club artist, more entertainment than music. John Lennon is just an artist through and through. This comparison of what's going to be played in a club where people are there to dance, get drunk, and try to get laid vs what you would put on your record player and listen to it over a nice glass of whiskey at 7:30pm on a Thursday. It's not the same and we need to treat it as such.
Yeah the lyrics are whack, so is Future, Drake, 21 Savage, ect .... It's so whack that they control the top 10 songs played at any given moment for years now. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's trash.
Pretty disappointing take from you to be honest.
@@xzaviertariq5692 Pretty disappointing take from me? My brother in Christ, when have I ever not held such a high standard?? Just because people want to get drunk and listen to actual garbage doesn’t mean it should go without criticism. The defense of “oh it’s written for different people” is the weakest one ever thought of.
Let me understand you. The justification for the writing is the audience and regardless of its meaning or lack there of, if it has an audience it holds some inherent value. Have you ever stopped to wonder how many millions of people supported Hitler?
Oh yes, I went there.
The existence of an audience is the VERY REASON this level of criticism is needed. Just because you can be “entertaining” doesn’t mean what you say shouldn’t be judged or critiqued. People who have a platform have a responsibility to what they say to the crowds listening.
Now, I do see your point and I agree to an extent. Comparing Jack Harlow to John Lennon is almost as wild as comparing him to Hitler……..or is it? The Beetles were the one of biggest band when they first hit radios. However, large groups of people thought their music was bad. Why? Because they said it was made to be played in a clubs “where people are there to dance, get drunk, and try to get laid”. It was rock and roll and it was devils music. Nowadays we consider the Beetles easy listening but go check the tape.
The point I think Rick, and subsequently I are trying to make is even though it’s a party, drinking song, it should still be a song. And songs have real lyrics.
@@xzaviertariq5692 I also realize you didn’t mean this comment to me, but still hold this L for me real quick.
@xzaviertariq5692 I'd love to hear your thoughts on Ren. Lyrically, he is very much like John Lennon. He's multi talented. A poet, I would say. I watched a bunch of his street performances, and he has no need for auto tune. 👏👏👏
The Beatles were something "new" to a lot of people, and most people, even today, don't like change. The Bible Belt really didn't care for them, to say it lightly. Jack Harlow is OK, but it's doubtful he will be memorable for decades. I still listen to a lot of 80's and 90's music, and I don't feel like he will be a thought, compared to some of those artists. I read the name Eazy-E, and that is a great example of an artist that people still mention. Snoop and Dre are still a huge part of the industry. Dr. Dre released a 30 year re-release of The Chronic, and everything, ($5k pieces even) sold out immediately. Snoop is everywhere. Eminem, just dropped new music. Ren is the only one I have heard that can rap and rhyme like him, like one of those speed read commercials at the end of everything back then...but I've never heard a single track that was as boring and sad as Texas Hold Em. She sounds bored. Like "fine, I'll do it." And please put on some clothes. Kristen Stewart wore something equally as horrible and the Oscars were a nightmare of fashion accidental exposures (or were they?). I agree, Jack Harlow is for a different audiences. It's pop. That being said, compare Post Malone, who is in the same category. Jack doesn't compare. He's out there doing things, and is very versatile. I hope Beyonce decides to leave country music in her past. She's so capable, but not versatile, and is great on her own lane.
Rick you are spot on. Love your trasparency and candor. I have attempted to write lyrics (unsuccessfully) and even my rubbish is orders of magnitude better than some of the pathetic excuses for lyrics that pass today.
I was once at an acoustic open mic night in a little venue when a young lady sang "Across the Universe" accompanying herself on her acoustic guitar kind of like you just did, Rick. She sang it sweet and simply, and I thought to myself, "this is so beautiful even when just sung by someone with just an acoustic guitar." She flubbed the second chorus a little and made an embarrassed face, and someone in the audience began singing the chorus along with her to help her; that got her back on track and then the whole audience began singing impromptu along with her for the rest of the song. In that communal setting of people who all loved acoustic guitar, the Beatles, and John Lennon, the sound of everyone singing together this beautiful song was a almost a spiritual experience, with the chorus expressing something universal, and uplifting. It was one of the most profound moments of collective joy and togetherness I have ever felt at a performance.
Wow! The thing I so much like about this was the fact that decent people were there wanting the singer to succeed and then moved by a collective unconscious they brought it to the conscious and all joined in. The young lady will never forget that night and how an audience is there wanting you to be your best!
Thank you for sharing that story! Nice! (a joke based on Rick's comment in the video)
Beautiful...
I was was at an acoustic open mic night in a little venue when a young lady sang "Why Don"t We Do it in the Road" the whole audience joined in. It was one of the most profound moments of collective joy and togetherness I have ever felt at a performance.
@@scottdevitte4209 i mean that's just a segway track off the white album, unintended for commercial anything and more a joke than anything... if you were trying to make a point about mediocrity pervading all artists, you didn't succeed. 🤷♂
This is a prime example of passive listening VS active listening. A lot of songs with less meaningful lyrics can be insanely popular if people just vibe with the song and constantly play it in the background over and over. But if you want to actively listen and focus on a song with more intent and be immersed, songs with depth and profound songwriting will always win AND leave a lasting impression forever.
this is a super solid take. much more open minded than rick and arguably more correct when put into practice. something to consider however is that to gauge musicality, you must look beyond lyrics. rhythm and melody are languages in and of themselves, and they won't speak directly to you unless you let them do so. this is where stuck up old people like rick come off as ignorant lmao. i've never derived more enjoyment out of a song than when i really sit down and listen to every part of it interacting with every other part of it, which is how music should be enjoyed instead of comparing it
This is also why streams will never indicate how good a song truly is, since, because our generation uses music more like a background thing, the simpler songs will be streamed many times more than the ones you actually have to focus listening too.
Lmao I was not expecting to see you there M3RK. When are you gonna make more music man? I know gaming is the meme, but its nice to see you shred man.
A very good point. Even my vibing music is more complex but I can see how that appeals to people.
Agreed, OP. That’s why I love Alice in Chains. Tough to find lyrics that convey human emotion better than them.
"Old man yelling at clouds."
I felt that.
😂😂😂 Me too
This one line is better than the lyrics he read.
At least he won't be around to live in the pod and eat ze bugs.
It sounds so familiar, I must be yelling at clouds too.
me too - do it every day
A good lyric (or turn of phrase) against a beautiful melody can move heaven and earth.
100% agreed . .
6:00 his breakdown of beyoncé's country just shows that the lyrics are god-awful. It was produced by too many people, and in my own opinion it's just pastiche for beyoncé because she's conquered the world and has nothing left to achieve. So she actually has to go down now and sideways and pretend that country music. So she throws a lot of cliches out there which wouldn't have happened. If it was an authentic lived experience. Maybe I'll do a Japanese koto song and I'll just throw in every meme and turn that I think are vaguely Japanese
The saddest part is there are some really talented song writers and great songs being made now that won't even get anywhere near the top 40 because they will never get the exposure they deserve
Absolutely true
They're easier to find than ever. Right here on UA-cam you can find tons of awesome bands just waiting to be discovered. You don't have to be chained to the radio hoping they'd play your favorite song anymore
exactly. because their type of music doesn't "sell" . :( it's horrible how the music world has become. it's always had its issues but in the last 20 or so years it's just gotten beyond rotten.
@@EphemeralProductions Sleep Token
They're awesome. And they do not sound like Imagine Dragons.
@@jasonekratzglad you mentioned him, God of Wine has been a favorite of mine
I love how rick has the balls to say when something is not only bad, but complete trash. We've reached a point where any type of criticism is badly viewed and tbh in so many cases the criticism is what makes something better in the long run. We need more people like this and maybe the music industry will go back to caring about the songs they make and what is actually in them.
Not as long as the must for a steady rising dividend rules this world.
Not as long as we believe that money is based on demand and offer.
Rick is not afraid to say The Emperor has no clothes.
yeah, people always want to say art is subjective, but no, there is stuff thats objectively bad. Even if you don't like rap/hiphop just compare the lyrics of modern songs to stuff from 20 years ago. Even if you hate the message in that stuff at least it makes sense.
Indeed, not all trash should be "recycled"!!
yes everyone is so easily triggered nowadays so ppl avoid speaking the truth
Lyrics matter to me. I spend an inordinate amount of time working on them for songs no one will ever hear.
Me too man but don’t ever let that get you down. I make music and regardless of others hearing I love those songs and I enjoy making them. That’s all that matters
Me too
But there’s zero music on your channel so how would we ever hear them?
@@Sonny_K what? How silly is that comment. UA-cam is one of the big platforms and he’s using it to comment about his music. I’ve just clicked his channel to have a listen as I love to support other musicians but there’s nothing there.
@@Sonny_K I think what you’ve done is read an observation as an attack. It’s not meant to be negative just that he’s got a platform here he could direct other musicians and music followers to his music.
That said... there is "Surfin' Bird" which went to #4 in '63; "Wooly Bully" went gold in '64 while "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" went to #1 in the US and the UK that year. "Hully Gully" spawned a dance craze in '59. So dippy lyrics have always been with us as well.
And, any Bernie Taupin lyrics.
The difference is they were comic relief and approaching satire and not masquerading as bona-fide timeless scores. Other examples of that are "Please mister Custer' , "Theyre coming to take me away", "Hello muddah hello faddah" just to name a few. However even those had lyrics painted a word picture and made you laugh. The song that Rick is talking about does neither. It is just stale Pablum. But hey if that moves somebody I guess its subjective.
Surfin bird by the "*the trashmen*"
I think of it as fast food. It’s ok on occasion. But if your diet is nothing but fast food, then we have a problem. These kids only listen to this stuff. Some of them never experience a proper meal if you know what I mean. They’re unable to appreciate it because their taste palette is heavily skewed.
Those songs still have better lyrics than the example given at the start of the video, or even the Beyoncé song.
To add to that, I find when one person writes the lyrics, it tends to mean something. But when a committee writes lyrics, it tends to be a cluster f*.
Well it has been suggested that a committee is an entity with x number of arms, y number of legs and no brain.
Just a modge podge of cliche's
💯!
Similar to Screenplays by Committee Grinding through Focus Groups to come up with something that will guarantee Box Office ameliorate the Public 🏞️ Maybe that's why MCU has lost it's evanescent sheen as of late!
There have been some great songwriting teams who worked together on lyrics, but I guess they're usually composed of two people which couldn't be described as a committee.
“It doesn’t matter what I say, as long as I sing it with inflection”. Hook by Blues Traveler in 1994. 30 years ago and they totally nailed it. Amazing song, amazing music, amazing band
Haha yes, The Hook is basically the song version of Rick's rant video here 😁 The irony though, is that The Hook is actually very well written 😉
@@vallaindigitalPop music really wasn't that bad back then, compared to today.
Why you wanna give me the run-around?
@charlienyc1 It's a surefire way to speed things up
@@charlienyc1 I like coffee and I like tea.
I love that line from Queen‘s Show Must Go On: „My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies, fairytales of yesterday will grow but never die. I can fly my friends“
Great song, possibly Queen's best song.
And then the drum roll and the full band stop great song
That part was added in to the song by Brian May I believe. Great song.
If I remember correctly, this song was written when Freddie Mercury was dying of AIDS, and was deliberately placed as the last song of the album, for the biggest effect. Even though it was Brian May who wrote it. What a powerful message that even when you've lost a loved one, their memory will never die, and you just have to keep going on.
Wow that's super corny and lame.
Melodies can send a song to number one but the song will soon be forgotten. Good melodies with good lyrics become timeless. It's the melody that catches the attention and it's the lyrics that make it memorable.
It boggles my mind when I talk to someone about a song's lyrics and they respond, " I never knew what that song was about." But its seems to be the majority of people don't listen to most of the lyrics.
U2 fans used to tell Bono about playing "One" at their wedding - which tells you that people aren't paying attention to the lyrics beyond one or two words.
I don't think most people could tell that the words to Billie Jean actually tell a sad story. Yet most of them would try to sing along anyway
@@JoeFrickinFriday It's my Cover Band's set, I'm not a big fan of U2, but like that song, seems to resonate with people, I also sing Freebird, and I think the lyrics are banal tbh, but an excuse to get to the solo
I have a friend who will listen to the same song over and over but when it really comes down to it They couldn’t tell you one sentence in that song. It’s crazy
I mean, most Lyricists are going to tell you their lyrics are up for interpretation for a reason. Seems kinda smug to say "doesn't know what the lyrics are about", no?
If someone feels a certain feeling, or interprets a song differently, who are you to tell them they are wrong. I certainly got a different message from listening to Rage Against The Machine than my contemporaries. I clearly even got a different message than the songwriters themselves meant, in hindsight.
Rick, I love this slightly more direct, no sugar coating approach that you did in this video. You should do this more often.
he does though. But only when he gets fed up lol
He has had and will continue to have epic rants from time to time, all part of the man.
@@segueoyuriand thats why we love him 😅
He's the curmudgeonly uncle we all love to hear moan..
Mainly, because we all know he's right!
@@MOSMASTERING in my case, mainly because he knows what he's talking about, as opposed to most people.
@@segueoyuri yes, he has decades of experience as a producer and musician. He's very friendly, must have been fun to work with.
Of the top youtube production channels, he is the most approachable. Audio Animals,, Mixbus TV for example... I don't get great or fun vibes from them.
Thank you, Rick, for once again reminding me why I don’t listen to top 40 radio. Having grown up on country music in particular, this brings to mind a George Jones quote on the power of a well-written country song: “when you’re happy, you enjoy the music. When you’re sad, you understand the lyrics.”
why would you ever listen to the radio that's on you
@@aliceliddell8413that’s kind of a stupid question
LMAO who listens to radio anyway
Rick I love how you're such a boiling vat of enthusiasm! I almost feel like I understand music a little bit better every time I watch one of your videos.
My artist cousin has built a number of miniature visualizations of Beatles songs, and Across the Universe is one of the most recent. They're like little dioramas with moving parts and a small player inside with tiny speakers. He's a long time Beatles fan, I think he's about 68 now. My brother builds the electronics.
Thank you for doing these videos!
“It doesn’t matter what I say
As long as I sing with inflection “- Blues Travelers
Glad somebody said it.
I had a coworker who would recite lyrics as though telling a story. This one and Rodeo by Garth were the two I enjoyed most.
Hook. Great song.
Blues Traveler.
I would have said "It doesn't matter what I say / As long as I sing with conviction". My genre of choice is extreme metal, but I'll step outside that and contrast Amy Winehouse with Taylor Swift. I often refer to Swift as "The Anti-Winehouse" because she sings with neither conviction or good lyrics.
Ya..
Lyrics matter for the mind. Melody matters for the soul. Rythym matters for the body. Love ya Rick!
Damn this is so real
Couldn't have put it better
And harmony is the glue that connects all three
That first song was definitely for the body
I would offer that lyrics matter for the soul. Melody for the mind, and rythym for the body. Could be perspective but either way its real.
There were bad songs in 1968 too.
I think the difference is what is being chosen for play on the radio
Exactly. Radios are notorious because of their horrendous decisions of what they play.
You have to take into account that streaming is what’s dictating what’s popular now. Unfortunately streaming is decided more democratically than the radio ever was. This was our doing, not theirs.
Yeah crap gets put up front from the big companies, the young haven't got a clue.
I already had this type of thinking because is like cherry picking from the old and the new, there were bad and good music as now there is bad and good music, HOWEVER, pack everthing old and put in the bag "old" and pack everything new in the bag "new", now put a filter to drain everything bad from the bags and tell me which bag will be fuller, the bag " new", would be a miserable bag compared to the bag "old".
And the music around them, as well as delivery. You can make crappy songs sound great if you do it right.
You are 100% correct. Lyrics are at the center of a song, so it stays in time. Without good lyrics, a song fades away like a boat without an anchor.
This is hilarious, when I saw the thumbnail I said to myself “my favourite old man yelling at clouds” and excitedly clicked. Never change Rick, we love you.
😂😆
I have written for publishers for years now, and I have found over the decades that I have to dumb down my lyrics. I'm yelling at the clouds with you, my friend.
How prevalent is AI?
Wow. I was just thinking that was in rap only. It's actually across the board. I don't like anything new when it comes to pop
You cannot be saying that while using a Logic pfp😭😭😭😭
Depends on the audience but overall people have developed a mistrust of unnecessarily big words. "I'm sitting by the lake" - Gojira works better than "I recline, surveying the sparkling reservoir" - Nobody.
This is reflected in reading levels, at least in the U.S. As someone who has worked on educational materials, I've noticed our collective vocabulary seems to diminish as we spend more time online, and we have to keep lowering expectations in reading comprehension for students or they won't pass standardized tests. And when the novelty of an unusual word reaches the right audience nowadays it goes viral, for example, the word "demure" went viral in 2024.
The oversimplified lyrics appear to be a bigger issue with the most mainstream bands. But metal and goth genres are examples where the vocabulary is interesting and paints an articulate story. The boring and simple lyrics annoy me so much I started a couple of playlists on Spotify for songs that have "SAT words" in them.
Across The Universe...My childhood lullaby that still feels like a warm hug. I couldn't help sing along. Such a beautiful song.
A lot of people I've met have extreme trouble recognizing rhyme schemes that don't end at the end of a phrasing (as in the end of a spoken line/stanza), let alone trying to recognize compounding rhymes (rhymes that can happen within a single line or stanza) or something that's not a visible pattern (w-orn, m-orn, t-orn, etc). 100% agree that on paper it can look bad but depending on annunciation, dialect and other things it can rhyme but a lot of pop lyrics can be braindead. I honestly think a lot of people don't try to learn new words or even understand the language they use every day to even a basic understanding (I get told more often than not that I use "fancy" words, but honestly I just like learning new ones even if I have trouble remembering them from time to time).
*enunciation.
Annunciation is about an announcement, and specifically the Archangel Gabriel telling the Virgin Mary she'll be pregnant with God's child.
I make the correction since we're talking about being intentional with words 😉
Part of why I love the indie folk scene is they often still have great poetry and storytelling in the lyrics. Artists like Lord Huron and Gregory Alan Isakov have lovely lyrical skills.
Songs like La Belle Fleur Sauvage and Louisa use clever metaphors to spice up the love song genre. Long Lost has incredible poetic imagery. The Stable Song and What Do It Mean are rich with emotion and have some clever metaphors.
“Her colors change to mark the passing of the days. No earthly sight could match the beauty she displays.”
“You know I’d given up on living til I met you girl, then you came into my life with come hither in your eyes. Pulling me up out of the grave, what a nice surprise. I die when our nights end, but I only stay dead til I see you again.”
“Leave me where the light pours down through the trees like rain. Let it wash over me like a flood, let it ease my pain. Let it drown me.”
“So much to say, but my words mean nothing; a life spent talking when my epitaph would do. Wasting my days with my mind on the future and my past like chain that won’t ever let me go.”
“Turn these diamonds straight back into coal.”
Yes! I love lord Huron! I don’t listen to the other guy but I have heard of him and really would like too! I was just thinking, that he would probably like Hozier too, because he has such poetic meaningful lyrics! 👍
La Belle Fleur Sauvage is beautiful, completely agree
@@1Music1makes1me1happy1 I would highly highly recommend anyone listen to Gregory Alan Isakov
Lord Huron has masterful lyrics. Their lead singer is a wordsmith and their songs are so rich in character because of it!
I’m just here to say that the stable song, the version that is done with the Colorado symphony, is absolutely an amazing piece of art. That may be one of the greatest things to be released in the 21st-century. This is why I love videos like this, but as a 35-year-old I cringe when people say, this generation music sucks. No, people are lazy, and the record industry can’t benefit off of these people. But here’s another perspective, do we really want these artists to be the biggest thing in the world? Look at how the record labels exploited grunge, you haven’t really seen a decent rock movement since then, except for nu metal, which, yeah I don’t really need to explain the downfall of that one.
"Don't bore us, get to the chorus."
I really hate that quote, but that's modern pop music for ya.
I dont think that applies here. You can be succinct and have short verses that are poetic and poignant, still arriving at the chorus quickly.
Modern pop music has choruses?
@@FPSBuzz what I meant by that is the hook is in the chorus and what everyone sings along to, leaving the verses as a kind of pointless filler.
@@frankmarsh1159 not very good ones!
Tom Petty and Mike Campbell used that recipe, and they still wrote decent lyrics.
this is why I can't listen to most music in the charts today, I'm really flexible on music style and all but the lyrics are just so cringe
tell em, sabine.
Oh hello there and agreed 😆
100%. I often have trouble understanding the lyrics and always have, but sometimes when I finally do I'm shocked at how bad they are.
Was not expecting to see you here
rachmaninoff & mahler >>
Absolutely agree with "Lyrics do matter, but they don't matter to most people"! Right to heart! Don't mind Rick, I'm 63 and think the same as you do! We're not alone!👍👍😎😎
"And the public wants what the public gets'.
The Jam, Going Underground.
Any Joni lyrics are weep inducing.
@@Gzoratto And without the need to rap about choking her girlfriend.........
I don't get what his society wants
Great to see a lyric from The Jam on this channel’s comments.
Now that’s a Song.🤘
Arcade Fire wrote one of my favorite lyrical lines : “If I could have it back, all the time that I wasted, I would only waste it again”. Beautiful and bittersweet
Dig it. Sometimes a line or two strikes a chord (no pun intended). As I've gotten older this Bob Seger verse runs through my head more often:
"So many times I've seen chances disappear
I hesitate and watch 'em slip away
Like the time I fail to spend with the ones I love
And it's gone as sure as yesterday"
One of the last great bands!
I absolutely love their lyrics in Intervention:
"Working for the church while your life falls apart.
Singin hallelujah with the fear in your heart.
Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home',
Hear the soldier groan, we'll go at it alone.",
@@pedrobaaijens4132 love that song too! Powerful
@@richlisola1agreed!
It's not yelling at the clouds as long as one young aspiring songwriter hears you and takes it to heart.
True, It puts down all the people still learning to write songs.
Well said
he is not reviewing young aspiring artists, obviously they are gonna be bad
@@evilbabaroga Anyone who looks up to Rick can take it to heart.
@evilbabaroga worse than what's in today's top ten?
I had not listened to Across The Universe in years. Brought me to tears. Long live John’s music.
Same here
as soon as he whipped it out I was like "um, that's a high bar to reach lyrically"
Your passion sprinkled with a pinch of anger spice on this topic is exactly how I feel about it. Spot on.
"It's so anemically bad!.." sums it up perfectly.
Here's one of my favorites. "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need". That is the meaning of life in just one sentence.
"Well, nothing I do don't seem to work. It only seems to make the matters worse, oh, please"
I remember that song from Weird Al
Written by Jimmy in excelsior Mn
Is that the same guy who wrote “we all need someone we can cream on” and “Sing this song altogether”? That lyrical genius?
@@Corvusripper343try Rolling Stones.
I'm in tears man... The poetry in across the universe, I have an anxiety disorder, it brings me peace.
"In this day and age with the internet, ignorance is a choice.
And people are still choosing ignorance."
I think the real problem with the internet these days is that you can choose the truth you want to believe. Lol. There is too much information and people don't have the critical thinking skills to identify truth from lies.
As one of my favourite artists says (not in English, this is a translation which is why it doesn't rhyme).
Endless influx of information prohibits freedom of imagination, and seeks conformity of thought
All these painful noises blind you, and
Now it even infringes on freedom of thought
All the controversy incessantly
Triggers confusion in judgment uh
Selfishness and greed have gone off the rails
I close my eyes and it's easy, it’s all so obvious
Opinions clearly split depending on what's to gain
Everyone's been blinded by envy and jealousy
Without realizing that they're putting shackles on each other
Option Paralysis
@@loftyradish6972 Is that a copyrighted ?? I could write a song around that, that's chorus 1 & 2, then I'd get a verse going, who is this favorite artist are they already a musician?? Can I get contact info to ask if I use those lyrics, not kidding.
who said this?
@@loftyradish6972
The internet has moved people from deep thinking into quick information. It is information obesity
In a couple of hours from now I will be singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with my brother and sister at an Uncle's funeral, 4 months after my Aunty passed away. While we were practicing on Wednesday I suddenly realised the 3rd verse could be my Uncle singing to my Aunty and I started crying. I asked out loud "How could someone write a song so beautiful?" Lyrics matter.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Peace be with You and Your Family.
I'll be playing that song at a funeral on Saturday. 😢
Lyrics don't matter if you are more concerned with shaking your butt instead of listening and reading the music...
I just looked up those lyrics, that verse and yes, I can see how apt and meaningful they are (for you) and would be (for your uncle). I've known this song since 1969, when I was 17. The fact that only now, those lyrics have some meaning for me, wow. Lyrics not only matter; good lyrics are timeless. Thank you for sharing.
I'm a 35 year old songwriter, and I completely agree Rick! Its not because you're old, it's because you're WISE and you understand quality lyrics
Crazy in love is such a well written song, you'd think artists would get better with time instead of worse.
I’m 27 and only listen to dead people or new music from bands who’ve been around for decades. *New* music is in a sorry state.
@@ohwellwhateverr black midi are better than most of these artists. So are Black Country New Road. So are Squid. So are Death Grips. Stop excusing your laziness in discovering new music with "b-but old music good". Youre just too lazy to curate your taste for yourself and have to have other people do it for you.
Rise Against? Spritbox? Bad Omens?
I always thought lyrics were supposed to be poetic. That’s why we learned poems in elementary school. Ask Sting! His lyrics are otherworldly. And yes Beyonce can sing with so much power and emotion , but I don’t get the vulgarity on Renaissance album being good.
Rick, this video inspired to me to get back to writing the best lyrics that I can. Your channel does a lot to encourage high quality art in our society. I really value your work!
It’s easier and cheaper to peddle trash.
I'm glad they're still some amazing newer bands but they're really small!!!!
And autotune it, when most cant actually sing, but thats pop music, its popular for a while and forgotten.
Real talents do metal , some people think Tatiana Shmailyuk vocalist in band Jinjer adds effects to her voice with autotune, not knowing that growl has no pitch.
@@pete_lindUgh i hate metal
@@JGokuu Jinjer with Tati , not all folk cup of tea , but start with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and Dio as vocalist , Iron Maiden , the Trooper good start , Epica and Nightwish do symphonic metal , Sabaton does songs from historic battles , En Livstid I Krig , is from 30 year war 1618-48 , reason we have borders in Europe , We have near 5000 metal bands, i Finland , USA has 35 000, but population is 60 times bigger . There is choice for everyone.
@@pete_lindsaying “real talents do metal” just makes it seem like you think metal is the only genre that takes skill, which is just dumb 😭
"I'm an old guy yelling at clouds". LOL! Rick you are the BOMB! I love what you are doing on your channels. I appreciate music more (that's saying a LOT!) because of the education I am getting from you. Keep up the fantastic work/passion!
I literally just posted on a different Beato video that he’s giving old man yelling at clouds vibes. At least he sees it.
There are many excellent current lyricists. Just listen to what you like and stop picking low-hanging fruit to complain about!
I believe Tom Waits made an entire career as "old guy yelling at clouds"! Actually, his lyric from 'Lucinda':
As I kick at the clowns at my hanging
As I swing out over the crowd
I will search every face for Lucinda
And she'll go off with me down the hill
@@ChrisFineganTunes It's not low hanging fruit if that song is getting dozens of millions of listens on music streaming services...
It isn't even older people, I'm 20 and feel the same way. Although might be fitting for someone with a degree in IT to be yelling at the clouds.
@@alext3811 I've yelled at both AWS and Azure instances & more than a few CI builds. If I stub my toe, I'm looking for the log files that explain why I did it. And I'm in my 50s. No uncle jokes I promise.
The fact modern lyrics can be chalked up to trigger words invoking vulgarities is my greatest reason why modern lyrics suck
This was the video I was thinking of.
You know are lyrics like November Rain or Summer of 64, Brothers in arms just pointless now.
As 80% of video viewers don't care.
i believe it has to do mostly with the genre but i get your point, also not everyone is trying to write songs in shorthand
Ever read the lyrics of "In a godda Davida"?
Also theyv mastered frequencies that are very hypnotic and controlling...ppl dont understand power of frequency.
In my opinion, profanity in songs should be RARE so that it retains its impact, and should never be used to try to sound big and clever like it is now. When it does appear, it should be used carefully and skilfully. Cleanin' Out My Closet by Eminem comes to mind. He's not swearing to sound cool in that song, he's swearing out his pain and betrayal in narrative-style lyrics. Very powerful in that context. I suppose swearing can also help a joke land in a mature comedy track, kind of like Thrift Shop by Macklemore. But half the songs on the radio have huge chucks of their lyrics missing because swear words are used as mindless filler. It's so frustrating.
How fortunate to have grown up in the 60’s/70’s - truly a golden era for musical creativity. And much of that with actual “bands” of musicians and lyricists. Imagine a group today that cannot only play the music but has 2 or 3 writers as members of the same band.
There was a lot of junk then, but there were A&R guys mining the gold. Now listeners have to min their old gold.
"An old guy yelling in the clouds!" You just gave me my motto. Words matter!
They do, which is why I need to point out it's yelling AT clouds. It's a Simpsons reference to the grandfather pointlessly complaining.
I thought he said "yelling at clowns"! 😂
I'd rather yell at pigeons. That way, I have an audience to enjoy my ranting.
@@bernicerogers2383 Yes, elocution IS important; ask the British.
When that gets boring, WE switch to Operas!
Each era seemed to have its own either good, or bad, "style" as we termed it before the GENRE GENERATIONS.
Surely many of us miss the writings of both Dylan and Leonard Cohen...but then THERE ARE many good songs that actually have a message, encompassing within and "riding upon" the wings of beautiful melodies... many more interesting melodies than many of the old three chord songs btw. We always felt that BANDS that used to like to save their instrument tracks did some really great singers a disservice; We remade a few, such as a classical version of Patsy Cline's beautiful lyrics; bands are still cutting corners reusing those old tracks, (that most people don't even recognize is being done ?)
To Beyonce WE sing "Hollywood Diva" in French too.
She'll never hear it though, especially since its ABOUT performers such as SHE.
HOLLYWOOD DIVA--PARIS PERHAPS! (The Lady Wants to be On the Billboard!)
NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY
NOBODY SAID IT'D BE FAST
NOBODY SAID THAT THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU...WAS ALWAYS GOING TO LAST.
NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY,
BUT SHE BELIEVED THAT IT COULD
SO WITH HER NOSE IN THE AIR AND HER FEET ON THE GROUND,
SHE WENT OFF TO H- O- L-L-Y WOOD!
VERSE ONE:
I GUESS YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD BE "SOME-ONE"
YOUR SEN SA TIO NAL SELF
YOU GOT TO BE UP THERE SCREAMING
YOU MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF.
VERSE ONE:
NOW YOU'RE JUST A SIGN ON SUNSET,
A- MILLION-- DOLLAR== FACE, IT'S TRUE...
NOW YOU'RE IN THE RACE, BUT I DON'T LIKE YOUR PACE,
I'M NOT WAITING FOR Y O U !
CHORUS
NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY
NOBODY SAID IT'D BE FAST
NOBODY SAID THAT THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU...WAS ALWAYS GOING TO LAST.
NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY,---BUT SHE BELIEVED THAT IT COULD
SO WITH HER NOSE IN THE AIR AND HER FEET ON THE GROUND,
SHE WENT OFF TO H- O- L-L-Y WOOD!
Copyrighted 2016 By LyndaFaye
I sat around in publishing offices with these guys complaining how their girlfriends were doing anything to get their pretty faces onto a billboard! Thought I'd write this "for them!" for Stan the Man at Irwin Pincas' office, for Bob Le-Fever, for allot of them!
Working on the English version- The singers keep getting sore throats screaming it out!
Yes, and Yes, Mr. Beato. I have a question for YOU and for those MALE PRODUCERS who said, " We could really do something with this song if you'd just change the lyrics to All Night Long." HA, and DUH, and Goodbye Mr. Producer: As You Have Totally Missed the POINT of the whole song!"
Why is it love is never given to the one who needs it
Love is only shown in the dark?
Advice is never good until a person heeds it
,And there's so many broken hearts?
Why is it everyone is telling you, that you've got spirit
;No one ever has the time to hear it !
Wouldn't it be nice if your computer cleared it...All Day Long ?
Two:
Why is it news is never made until the people read it?
And news is never bad as it seems.
All the things that are good, they seem to go unheard of;
Until they're on a movie screen?
Why does it always seem there' someone above you
.Why can't you believe, that somebody loves you?
Wouldn't it be nice to know that somebody loves you
,All day long.
Bridge:
Why is it love is never given to the one who needs it;
Love is only shown in the dark?
Everybody wants to have a smashing finish;
But everyone's afraid to start?
When you don't need a friend, they'll be out there to ride you;
When you really need help, there'll be no one to guide you.!
Wouldn't it be nice to know there's someone beside you
All day long?
Well I would like to know, what is the great big secret..
We're all makin' love, but no one can keep it?
I'd like to give my love to those who need it..
All Day Long.
Copyrighted 2016 by Lynda Faye
Lynda Faye Originals @Bandcamp and Soundcloud
"Stormy Day Blues' sung in three different genres
"Listen to Your Heart, This Time' and
"The Man I Almost Married," in French, English and Italian by
Ana Marie Ceuca
And for some FUN, 'Opera at its Worst!"
That's always my test for lyrics: If I can read them without the music and melody and they're not cringe inducing, then they're good lyrics.
But when you do put effort into the lyrics like I do, no one pays any attention. I mean when I have something I want to write about, I'll write it once, throw that away, write it another way, throw that away, then write it third way, and throw that away. By the fourth time it's a progression like the way Johnny Rotten says "In sensurround sound and a two inch wall" instead of "on television." I put these lyrics in songs and make music videos on my channel...but nobody says, hey those are great lyrics. That's why so many people get away with crap.
@@thepagecollective I at least try to put effort into my lyrics as well, and people I considered friends shamed me for it. Those same people make music with meaningless lyrics and put heavy emphasis on “vibes”. People love mediocrity and hate effort now and it’s sad. Like it’s no wonder I’m starting to play video games more than making music, most of the scene is just passionless and sucks the passion right out of you. Like I really wanna get back into it, but I’d also rather have fun with other hobbies.
@@smaaron_j_46people also tend to not care much for you telling them how good your lyrics are
@@prilljazzatlanta5070 which I never do lol. I’m way too humble to people who give me reasons not to be. I don’t get what point you were trying to get across, I was just simply adding on to a convo you probably don’t relate to.
@@smaaron_j_46 oh sorry, i can see how that would look like i was attacking you. I actually was making a matter of fact / humorous statement about what amateur writers love to do. Not saying you do 😆
Some of the most pure poetry I have ever heard is the Simon and Garfunkel Old Friend/Bookends song.
"Old friends, sat on a park bench like book-ends...."
Incredible deep poetry in those few words. The concept of book ends, and the fact that there is likely volumes between them speaks of the lifetime of shared experiences of the old friends.
Agreed, OP. Best song of the 20th century by my estimation.
@@matturner6890Try "Johnny The Fox"/Thin Lizzy
Phil Lynott was amazing💯(and the dueling guitarists).Period. Fuel stop.
@@samrapheal1828 oh yea, don't get me going on how underrated they are!
I was think of Paul Simon all the time during his rant, because Paul has such amazing deep and profound lyrics. A shame that Rick didn't mention them.
Probably the saddest song I've ever heard as well. Beatiful string arrangements there.
To paraphrase his words: "Emotional connection before making out matters, but to most, it does not."
“Lyrics matter. But they don’t matter to most people.” That actually says a whole lot
Especially because he didnt even try to understand here
Modern pop music has devolved into just a beat. Nothing else is required. This is why I live where interesting, creative music is still alive and well, in the underground.
I hear ya man. I like lyrics that don’t fool around. No rhyme a dime crap. Take the way Lemmy wrote for example, he got in and then got out. Perfect.
That’s too mainstream for my taste. I’m more into the underground of the underground. A bit more creative than people that listen to just mainstream underground.
@@TheSpicyLeg Rookie move. The real underground isn't even visible to those who dive beyond the underground. If you want to find genuinely creative music, you have to treat the mainstream as the underground and realise that the underground is actually an attempt to stop you from seeing the actual creativity in the mainstream.
We should just keep _digging_ than just going _underground_ to find _deeply_ moving music. Otherwise the _depth_ of creativity might end up in an unknown isolated _basement_ never to see the light of day.
😂
Keep finding good music folks
open your third eye, open your third eye, OPEN YOUR THIRD EYE!!
I feel the same way! I listen to modern music and think what happened to lyrics? When the kids I know love Taylor Swift I go on-line to read the lyrics and want to cry. I guess I'm stuck in the days of 30's and 40's of rhymes and repeatable words! Even nonsense songs make me smile!
There have always been terrible lyricists and great lyricists. The seventies, eighties and nineties all have songs with horrible lyrics.
Listen to Aurora's lyrics FFS ! Use her music as an example of what is being written today, @RickBeato
@@simianmoonstudios Or Jason Isbell.
Or Waxtahatchee
Exactly...right said fred vs the cranberries
exactly. john lennon also wrote i am the walrus but rick isn't complaining about that
7:45 those little "whoo!" chorus lines are designed so when a bunch drunk people who cant sing or remember words hear it in a bar they can just scream "whoo!"
It's social engineering. The basement tornado references are probably because they did a focus group and found out most of her fans are in Oaklahoma Kansas etc.The whole song is basically a commercial.
Or it's about how songs get licensed for films and TV - since that became a more important revenue stream for a bunch of artists, I wonder if there's a subtle pressure to play to that. Be interesting to see if this winds up soundtracking a bunch of shows that have, like, the tornado episode, the "pluckily coping through disaster" scene...
No one should ever say "whoo"
@@jordanwilliams8040Except for Ric Flair: the stylin', profilin', limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' son of a gun! WHOOOOOOO!
@@jordanwilliams8040 Duck Tales...
I know what you mean here but that isn't a new thing and it certainly isn't 'social engineering' lol. Countless songs over the years have a 'woohoo' in there
1963, Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen:
A-well, everybody's heard about the bird
B-b-b-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - bird is the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird, - well, a-bird is the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - well, a-bird is the word
A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - well, a-bird is the word
A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-
A-well, everybody's heard about the bird!
Bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-bird, bird, bird - b-bird's the word
A-well, a-don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody's talking about the bird
A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word!
A-well, a-bird!
Surfin' bird!
Well, a-don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well, a-bird, bird - b-bird's the word
exactly! dumb lyrics have been around as long as songs have. People only remember the good songs and omit all the ridiculous ones from their memory.
I think this song was made to make fun of the bird dance. Not to be a good song.
😂Peter Griffin's favourite song
Ok but at least they are coherent to the band name
That's still WAY better than anything in the charts these days - Although despite my 60 years on this planet, the first time I ever heard that one was on Family Guy :D
I totally agree with you! And you are spot on about the development of pop lyrics. But they managed to write incredible simple and "brain dead" lyrics back in the days as well:
"There she was just a-walkin' down the street, singin'
'Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do'" (Manfred Mann)
"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You think you've lost your love
Well, I saw her yesterday
It's you she's thinkin' of
And she told me what to say" (The Beatles)
But even these lyrics are not as bad as some of the lyrics of today.
THANK YOU!! I've been thinking the same thing! For years I've stopped listening to the radio for just this reason. Its boiled chicken. No soul, no heart no nuthin '
Right there with you!
I’ve started listening to country music instead of “pop”. Haven’t listened to pop in decades because of it. I just assumed it was because I had become an old f#&k.
For a while, I thought that I just didn't like new music because I was old, and that seems common. But all 3 of my kids have confirmed that most new music sucks. I actually do listen to new music, but more of the underground variety, not what's played on the radio.
We need more old men yelling at clouds!
Lyrics that still touch me to this day, “ The Desert is an ocean with its life underground and the perfect disguise above…” is absolute perfection.
For years I thought it was....This skies 😊
Great song. America right?
Nice
That whole song rips conceptually and lyrically
@@jonathanstout9920 yes, A Horse With No Name!
It's difficult when you grew up during a time when most new music didn't suck. I feel ya'.
I'm yelling at the same cloud, Rick.
same
Same here but f them clouds.
I'm an old man but I stopped yelling at the clouds. Life is to short to be so negative all of the time. Knock it off and quit acting foolish.
"If you look closer it's easy to trace the tracks of my tears."
“So take a good look at my face….you’ll see my smile looks out of place…”
"Just like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my sadness hid."
Always reminds me of Platoon
@@karenpyra5200 "my smile is my make-up/I wear since my break-up with you...."
Overhead the albatross
Hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine
Strangers passing in the street
By chance, two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can?
So I throw the windows wide and call to you across the sky
Wonderful work by Roger Waters.
"And through the window in the wall/
Come streaming in on sunlight wings/
A million bright ambassadors of morning" . One of the most beatiful metaphors I've ever read...
Echoes 😊.
And no one showed us to the land and no one knies the where’s or why’s, but something stirs and something tries and starts to climb towards the light
"He won't show his emotions and dance with her."
That is the length and breadth of our story.
Mr Beato, please keep teaching us and younger generations about what they have never listened, learned, been exposed. I’m 47 years old and had the fortune of growing up listening late 70’s, early 80’s and I can see the destruction of music industry. Keep going, Mr Beato! You rock!
What would we do without Rick exposing us to The Beatles! We wouldn't know about lyrical masterpieces like "Love me Do".
And here is a quote from my father that I e never forgotten. “In all things, you will always get exactly what you are willing to accept.”
That's a great quote. So true
What does that say about today's young music listeners? Yikes.
Too good
Well sir, your dad just blew my mind. So true. With that, I'm going to go re-learn to play Across The Universe.
"I'm an old guy yelling at clouds." Hahahah! That may be true, but you're not alone!
Sounds like a valid lyric lol😂
Dang man, I’m not even old and I feel this way. So much of modern music is cookie cutter crap. Especially country music. Thank god for people like Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs and Zach Bryan
Even your worst is a hundred times better than anything out there today! Keep up the great work.
Mark Knopfler is mostly praised for his guitar playing, but his lyrics are absolute gold too:
There's frost on the graves and the monuments
But the taverns are warm in town
People curse the government
And shovel hot food down
Lights are out in the city hall
The castle and the keep
The moon shines down upon it all
The legless and asleep
My degree was in English Lit and I swear I could write whole essays on everything that's going on in just that one stanza.
I certainly don't dislike Dire Straits...but I love Mark Knopfler...if that makes any sense?
Ugh the poetry, rhetorical devices, and symbolism in that one verse---absolutely genius.
You don't even have to go that far back to find better lyrics than today. Heck, even Viva La Vida tops all new music by miles lyrically 😂
That reminds of Jimi Hendrix's Wind Cries Mary:
After all the jacks are in their boxes
And the clowns have all gone to bed
You can hear happiness
Staggering on down the street
Footprints dressed in red
And the wind whispers
"Mary"
A broom is drearily sweeping
Up the broken pieces
Of yesterday's life
Somewhere, a queen is weeping
Somewhere
A king has no wife
And the wind, it cries
"Mary"
Agreed. What are your thoughts on Shane MacGowan, Gord Downey, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen? Honorable mention to Sting as well. Eddie Vedder lyric ever interest you?
Love Over Gold is another great one
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..... These are lyrics that you never forget, recalling them, even without the music, makes you stop in your tracks.
also Paul regrets the Deal he and John made with the lyric "I Said Something Wrong"
@@PaulFormentos they made a 'deal' with the phrase "I Said Something Wrong"? What kind of deal can you make with a lyric phrase? I've never heard of that.
Was it supposed to be "I said something's wrong", with an "s" ?
There's songs that I might not have heard in 40 years but as soon as I hear the song I can try to sing along with it (I no the words but can't carry a tune). Those are great lyrics that can stick in my mind stick in my mind but it can't remember where I left my glasses 5 minutes ago.
@@jameseverett9037 Yeah they said we give you our souls for fame
And there is that beautiful line from Eleanor Rigby...' wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door' magnificent.
Deep meanings, much like cleansing creams, are sometimes overlooked, because people can't seem to "read between the lines." too?
When that gets boring, WE switch to Operas!
Each era seemed to have its own either good, or bad, "style" as we termed it before the GENRE GENERATIONS.
Surely many of us miss the writings of both Dylan and Leonard Cohen...but then THERE ARE many good songs that actually have a message, encompassing within and "riding upon" the wings of beautiful melodies... many more interesting melodies than many of the old three chord songs btw. We always felt that BANDS that used to like to save their instrument tracks did some really great singers a disservice; We remade a few, such as a classical version of Patsy Cline's beautiful lyrics; bands are still cutting corners reusing those old tracks, (that most people don't even recognize is being done ?)
To Beyonce WE sing "Hollywood Diva" in French too.
She'll never hear it though, especially since its ABOUT performers such as SHE.
HOLLYWOOD DIVA--PARIS PERHAPS! (The Lady Wants to be On the Billboard!)
NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY
NOBODY SAID IT'D BE FAST
NOBODY SAID THAT THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU...WAS ALWAYS GOING TO LAST.
NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY,
BUT SHE BELIEVED THAT IT COULD
SO WITH HER NOSE IN THE AIR AND HER FEET ON THE GROUND,
SHE WENT OFF TO H- O- L-L-Y WOOD!
VERSE ONE:
I GUESS YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD BE "SOME-ONE"
YOUR SEN SA TIO NAL SELF
YOU GOT TO BE UP THERE SCREAMING
YOU MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF.
VERSE ONE:
NOW YOU'RE JUST A SIGN ON SUNSET,
A- MILLION-- DOLLAR== FACE, IT'S TRUE...
NOW YOU'RE IN THE RACE, BUT I DON'T LIKE YOUR PACE,
I'M NOT WAITING FOR Y O U !
CHORUS
NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY
NOBODY SAID IT'D BE FAST
NOBODY SAID THAT THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU...WAS ALWAYS GOING TO LAST.
NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY,---BUT SHE BELIEVED THAT IT COULD
SO WITH HER NOSE IN THE AIR AND HER FEET ON THE GROUND,
SHE WENT OFF TO H- O- L-L-Y WOOD!
Copyrighted 2016 By LyndaFaye
I sat around in publishing offices with these guys complaining how their girlfriends were doing anything to get their pretty faces onto a billboard! Thought I'd write this "for them!" for Stan the Man at Irwin Pincas' office, for Bob Le-Fever, for allot of them!
Working on the English version- The singers keep getting sore throats screaming it out!
Yes, and Yes, Mr. Beato. I have a question for YOU and for those MALE PRODUCERS who said, " We could really do something with this song if you'd just change the lyrics to All Night Long." HA, and DUH, and Goodbye Mr. Producer: As You Have Totally Missed the POINT of the whole song!"
Why is it love is never given to the one who needs it
Love is only shown in the dark?
Advice is never good until a person heeds it
,And there's so many broken hearts?
Why is it everyone is telling you, that you've got spirit
;No one ever has the time to hear it !
Wouldn't it be nice if your computer cleared it...All Day Long ?
Two:
Why is it news is never made until the people read it?
And news is never bad as it seems.
All the things that are good, they seem to go unheard of;
Until they're on a movie screen?
Why does it always seem there' someone above you
.Why can't you believe, that somebody loves you?
Wouldn't it be nice to know that somebody loves you
,All day long.
Bridge:
Why is it love is never given to the one who needs it;
Love is only shown in the dark?
Everybody wants to have a smashing finish;
But everyone's afraid to start?
When you don't need a friend, they'll be out there to ride you;
When you really need help, there'll be no one to guide you.!
Wouldn't it be nice to know there's someone beside you
All day long?
Well I would like to know, what is the great big secret..
We're all makin' love, but no one can keep it?
I'd like to give my love to those who need it..
All Day Long.
Copyrighted 2016 by Lynda Faye
Lynda Faye Originals @Bandcamp and Soundcloud
"Stormy Day Blues' sung in three different genres
"Listen to Your Heart, This Time' and
"The Man I Almost Married," in French, English and Italian by
Ana Marie Ceuca
And for some FUN, 'Opera at its Worst!"
I didn’t like that song if that’s what it is. Couldn’t understand any of the words. Music today is total crap.
Actually just listened to “ Across the Universe “ yesterday ( while driving) , and it makes you feel something other worldly, and now that you went through the lyrics, which I never dissected as you just did, It’s so powerful. I know it’s different time and classic rock , band music, is going away, but I 1 million percent agree that lyrics matter. Artistry/ poetry is being erased from the music industry. It’s sad. That Tom Waits quote below is great. Tom Waits has a song “ Filipino box spring Hog” that is kind of playful, non sensicle. But still light years ahead of the lyrics today. I live in the Philippines now, so it makes me laugh, but man….. people have lost all creativity and it sucks
I had a writing coach who said that the first thing a poet needs (and most songs are a form of poetry) is something to say.
"I’m an old guy yelling at clouds…" 😂😂😂😂
I feel,that. I really do. Lol.
More profound than these lyrics
When creating a movie, the most important thing is the script and then everything else. But a friend pointed out to me that, unfortunately, the funding is the most important part...
But it does help to have a good movie to fund
Saying it how it is. Love the honest no bs perspective in this one. Where do we go from here Rick?
Rhyming "baby" with "baby" is a genius move I could never had thought of. Nothing but pure and raw intelligence in that song, clearly.
APPARENTLY A VERY IMPORTANT-TO-ADD NOTE: This is a joke. I genuinely thought the hyperbolic language and "rhyming baby with baby" part would get that across but apparently not. My bad I guess.
Who would've thought if you say the same word twice they rhyme??
To be fair he’s rhyming vanilla, killa, and stilla there, not the end rhyme.
It sounds like a Lil Wayne guitar solo. Someone should make a mashup out of them
I’m not saying it’s anything profound but you’re just completely ignoring the rhyme scheme… like are you blind or just like to get mad at stuff?
Rachel Platten got there years ago rhyming song with song and song. She even eventually threw in a strong as well. Genius.
This is my diss comment.
Bring back respect comment.
Get one more like comment.
Remember the days of bit torrent?
It's very moreish.
The problem is not a lack of talented artists--it's that the "industry" is only concerned with maximizing profits, therefore not willing to let a few oddballs who don't fit the template go out there and fail.
At any time in history, 98% of art is so-so or worse, and 2% is exceptional. We're not living in any kind of special era of banality.
Support your local artist who plays at the neighborhood dive!!!!!
actual correct take.
Frank Zappa talks about this in an interview on you tube.
Imagine if he had to listen to the corporatised pop drab of today?
Spot on facts!
Thing is, if there were underground bands with the same talent and writing as Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, don’t you think they would be noticed by now?
No question, my generation (I’m 38) can’t hold a candle to what was musically coming out from 1968-1978. And it has only declined since I was a young man
I WOULD agree, except there was once greatness on the radio. There was once still a great unknown to mining society's desires. People's tastes have changed, and the industry has the comfort of knowing exactly what people want now that services like Spotify exist. Turns out the people like garbage, which perfectly fits the profile of about 98% of music being so-so at best. No one with a budget will ever take a chance on music again. Those who seek quality over vibe are a dying breed.
Qoute from George Orwell regarding popular music . The tune had been haunting London for weeks past. It was one of countless similar songs published for the benefit of the proles by a sub-section of the Music Department. The words of these songs were composed without any human intervention whatever on an instrument known as a versificator. But the woman sang so tunefully as to turn the dreadful rubbish into an almost pleasant sound.”
Great post
Perfect quote, nice pull.
That was scarily prescient...
Scariest of all - the ant music in The Once and Future King.
Wow!
I'm driving right now, but I pulled over just to post that the greatest lyrics that come to mind. The first two are Rob Stewart songs which tell an entire story, and Randy, you're a fine girl. I love the crescendo of the middle eight, as he says and Brandy does her best to understand. Goosebumps butterflies in my stomach. The lyrics are so good
I'm feeling numb about this first song and then you started reading the lyrics to Across the Universe! Goosebumps!!💖 Now I'm feeling alive! Isn't that the difference between the two?
"Lyrics DO matter. But they don't matter to most people." - Rick Beato 💯 word. That sums it up right there.
Rick singing Across the Universe blew me away.
It doesn't matter how good or bad a singer you are when you have words to sing like those.
Everybody can find there own peace and meaning in them.
Rick sings like me when I play my own songs. "Woooow"...."Amaaaazing" :)
“So oftentimes it happens, that we live our lives in chains and never even know we have the key”…Eagles This lyric changed my life!
I love those. What's the song?
"Have the courtesy to get out of your own way"
@@1969FordF1OO It’s ‘Already Gone’ by the Eagles.
@@BJMauck Thank you! Never listened to much of the Eagles. I'll check out the lyrics this time
or even a more relatively modern approach. take 'visions' by bring me the horizon, a metal/deathcore band.
"I couldn't see a thing 'til I shut my eyes.
I never knew a thing 'til I lost my mind.
I would sell my soul to know it all, But I held the keys all this time"
Finally, I just come across your UA-cam videos, man oh man. ,,,it's so sad about the fall of vinyl and and how we listen to music those days, love your show.✌️
Out of all the thousands of songs I've listened to, I never ever would've expected Death Metal to drop gems like these on me:
"Passion is a poison laced with pleasure bittersweet"
"Shallow are words from those who starve, for a dream not their own to slash and scar"
Then again, these songs are approaching 30 years of age...
Death Metal lyrics can go in two directions. Deeply introspective or autopsy textbook.
@@llaeeZ Haha yeah, that checks out
My friend...those are exactly the kind of lyrics you would expect from Death Metal.
Are those lyrics that Chuck Schuldiner wrote for Death? Seems like he always had a way with words as well as a good way of delivering them, the latter of which especially is something that far too many modern vocalists lack.
@@eeyorehaferbock7870 Yup, both tracks are from TSOP. Probably a lot more quotable stuff on the other albums as well.
the movie "Demolition man" there is a scene where people listen to terrible child lyrics and that song were number one hit. We are heading to this future.
Total nonsense. People have been saying that since began. They said it in the 40's. They said it in the 50's. They said it in the 60's. And people like to act like it's getting worse. It's not. It's the same. If you don't believe me just listen to purple people eater and Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Polka Dot Bikini.
And contrarily-wise if you think music used to be really bad in the times before radio just read the ENTIRE lyrics to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and marvel at the genius of the lyrics.
@@darinherrick9224 At least they used actual sentences for their shlock back then. Now it's all practically mumble rap and word salad.
@@darinherrick9224You're comparing nursery rhymes and novelty hits of the past to current songs that pass themselves off as art. There's no poetry in music anymore. All they want today is a hook and a few keywords.
@@darinherrick9224you’re defending todays music?? 😂. Wow. You’re either some random teenager or Justin beiber manager.
@@darinherrick9224 Both of those examples were basically "ditties". Something fun to sing to to or with your kids like "Banana fanna fo fanna" and basically the entire stretch of time that was Doowop and Scat. At least they used words and they weren't talking about how much cocaine they could snort in the back of their $600,000 'rari with naked "bitches" hanging off their arms and all the wild nasty sex they were able to have with them because of the obscene amount of money and "power" they can throw around, and its almost always framed in a way that says "Look at me, this is what I gained by making this kind of music, and you could have it too."
By comparison an artist like Eminem wrote a lot about these things too, but almost all of his songs want you to see how ugly and shameful that world is, and he wants you to feel bad about every glorifying it as he intersperses songs like this with ballads lamenting his botched marriage and devotion to his kid with god tier lyrical mastery.
There's nothing really obscene about "Purple People Eater", and nothing really preachy. I don't have to think about my kids getting the idea that snorting obscene amounts of cocaine and treating women like garbage is somehow and most kids aren't dumb enough to go around eating their friends.
If you excuse me Im going to go listen to a song about moving the the country and eating a lot of peaches and take it waaaay too seriously so we have something in common.
Agree nothing even close to "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together"
Sing that 3 times fast! 😆
Ah, the lyric that was purposefully written to be uninterpretable in response to someone telling John Lennon that Beatles’ lyrics were being analyzed in schools. Go, Johnny!! And yet, the human mind can’t produce truly randomly, so we can still pull out nuggets of meaning hiding in Walrus.
When you write the catalog of meaningful lyrics they did putting something creative and beautiful in the world you have a get of jail free card. Surprised you didn’t know that; but you’re probably young. I’ll give you break
Or "Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye..."
I could never handle that line...sorry, Mr. Lennon!
That's what's great about that line it draws controversy.@@joycerichardson1810
As I sit in my “Beatles/60’s” room and listen to you read the lyrics to “Across the Universe”, I am reminded how lucky I am to have lived that period…!!!!
In which our protagonist learns that most people are dumb, and half of them are below average.
Only if you take 'average' to indicate the median, l, rather than the more usual mean. Many distributions are assymetric.
Please kick me. All best.
@@notreallydavid
But population statistics are rarely asymmetric.
@@tabularasa0606 Dunno, t. Not disagreeing, but in a clinical nutrition MPhil I did, I found lots of nutrient intake variables were highly skewed, with a long tail at the 'good' end. And income/wealth means are tugged so hard by a small number of colossal earners and owners that median values are often more illuminating.
Like I said, I'm not contesting - just wondering. I'm not a demographer, and you could easily be better informed than I am. All best.
(MPhil is a sort of UK mini-PhD, you'll be excited to learn. Or not learn.)
I'm 37 now and was 14 when I got into Pink Floyd, which was about 30 years after their hay-day. One thing that stuck out to me as a youth and even more today is the depth of wisdom in the lyrics in songs like "Time". What gets me even more now is to think that these songs were written by guys who were still in their youth.
Great lyrics are forever. Roger Waters= master lyricist. Time was written by someone who’s age then I would consider a kid now... Yet the song will forever be relevant.
It’s heyday.
I like hay day. Like back in the day when it was time to put the harvest in the loft.
Psychedelics gave some of them un-earned wisdom as kids- it also drove Syd insane, but that's the why they had the temperament about life at 25.
Roger Waters was a brilliant lyricist. My favourite is 'when the tigers broke free' about the death of his father in WW2. Each section sets up a feeling and punctures it in the final line with an ultra sarcastic cynical stab.
I'm so disillusioned that he became an apologist for Putin in the Ukraine war. There is more to peace than the lack of war & if you want the luxury of pacifism, know that it can require someone else to commit violence in your place. Oh well. Best not to have heroes.
Some songs are for fun and for parties, while others are for meaning and introspection. "Blue" from Eiffel 65 or "Around the World" by Daft Punk aren't known for the depth of their lyrics, but rather for the catchiness and vibes of the song. They're fun to dance to and that's okay. You still have artists who make great songs with deep, rich lyrics and they have their place. Also, we can't act like all songs of the past had great lyrics or like songs weren't made just for fun before, "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen being a great example.
Yesss thank you for saying this. I DO feel like Rick sometimes gets a bit carried away with his opinions without thinking them through, and on this video I also have to disagree with him. As you said, songs are made for difference purposes, and why is that a problem? It's the complete same as in the 60's. A lot of songs from the same era as the Beatles, are basic love songs with really simple lyrics like "I Love you, you love me". Even the Beatles themselves, when they were at the top of their popularity with the teenage audience, wrote songs with that kind of text. And what is even Ricks wish? That every song on the Spotify top 10 sounds and has lyrics like a Beatles or Joni Mitchell song, like, that has never been the case for pop-charts from 60's as well as present day. And if you go a little beyond the top 10, I feel like there's tons of music with great and deeper lyrics. Even in the top 10's I think you can find artist for example like Billie Eilish, Tame Impala, Coldplay with Yellow, Joji has interesting lyrics. Damon Albarn as well is a great lyricist. So I don't really understand what Rick is on about in this video. Yes I DO agree that the lyrics on Lovin on Me, and that Beyonce song isn't very inspiring, but is it really that important for the purpose of those songs?
@@Jesperhaugsted Perhaps the issue is that we're so used to hearing crap now that it wears people's patience down. And personally, I think that there's a difference between lyrics that are simple and catchy (like 'Picture Book' by The Kinks) and plain meaningless and/or idiotic (like too much of the stuff on the charts today).
Agree, I write songs, some are from the heart, some are about chasing chicks, I've even done about my Dog chasing Squirrels, that wasnt a love song, whatever, they should all sell the song.
That's true. Some songs are meant to be a hearty meal, while others are merely chewing gum.
@@Jesperhaugsted 100% agree. People will likely prefer simple songs they can listen to on their way to work, that’s what radio is. Beautifully written music will always exist, but may not be topping the charts and that’s okay.
I wrote lyrics for my former band Kashmir in the period 1986 - 1988.
Songs and Lyrics like
"The Sherpas"
"Wanted or denied"
"Fabel"
are still unique today.
I wrote a song called Nightingale in 1987 before Leonhard Cohen came up with a song with the same title 9 years later.
The Dangling Conversations - Paul Simon, pure poetry
It's a still life watercolor
Of a now-late afternoon
As the sun shines through the curtain lace
And shadows wash the room
And we sit and drink our coffee
Couched in our indifference, like shells upon the shore
You can hear the ocean roar
In the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
The borders of our lives
And you read your Emily Dickinson
And I my Robert Frost
And we note our place with book markers
That measure what we've lost
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm
Couplets out of rhyme
In syncopated time (in syncopated time)
And the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
Are the borders of our lives
Yes, we speak of things that matter
With words that must be said
"Can analysis be worthwhile?"
"Is the theater really dead?"
And how the room is softly faded
And I only kiss your shadow, I cannot feel your hand
You're a stranger now unto me
Lost in the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
In the borders of our lives
Any Simon & Garfunkel song fits here. But you chose a great option!
Oh, isn’t this wonderful! It puts me in mind of T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’. Bliss!