The Lyrical Poetry of Music

Whether it’s the instrumentation, the melody, rhythm, or lyricism there is an undeniable force behind music. We can’t help but be drawn to it.

Some seek entertainment, some comfort, and others pain. As Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers mentions in Can’t Stop, “Music, the great communicator”. Music is a surreal art in which we communicate personal feelings, illuminating both parts of us we do and probably don’t always wish to see. Lyrical poetry, relayed through the instrumentation of music, explains a range of topics from joyous experiences to more painful and traumatic ones. All in all, music is a powerful art to hone for its purpose of communication and the purging of our own pent up emotions.

A concept I read by poet and author Gregory Orr, explains the human situation as such- our lives are constantly toying with order and disorder. The chaos in our environment, relationships, and our own minds makes up the disorder of one’s life.

Disorder can sometimes be good, like pleasant surprises or switching things up, but generally is bad. We have elements of order within our lives externally and internally, such as a to-do list or even the act of cleaning our room perhaps.

However, with lyrical poetry, including that which is found in popular music, we have the ability to use and arrange words to create order. Order is found once we have successfully expressed what truly weighs on our minds, in other words, what we were not revealing before. Songwriters do this exactly, but with carefully crafted sound accompanying it.

Artists who successfully combine lyrical poetry with rhythm and melody move us. For us as listeners, we relate and receive these messages, which has its own impact as well.

Everyone has an artist that has made them cry their eyes out before, and everyone also has a bop that makes their day a million times better. The mood and tone of music often reflects back on us. If you’re listening to sad music, chances are you are sad. I like to when I’m sad, but we just can’t be putting out those vibes if we are to have a spectacular decade. So, to sign off, I hope to cheer up everyone’s day with a happy, confident playlist to keep up a good attitude for the new decade! Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/52G02aH5RKP9eRlXeL1vQW?si=wMViOWINQCmzVgAgbDWJFA