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Imagining Things

Are Lyrics or Music More Important to Writing Hit Songs?

November 28, 2022 by Klugmeister

The two friends—we'll call them Josh and Peter—were sparring over songwriting issues such as whether lyrics or music are more important when it comes to writing hit songs.

Both Josh and Peter were talented songwriters with numerous hits to their names. They'd known each other since they were teenagers, and respected each other's musicianship and songwriting abilities.

Josh recognized the importance of all aspects of a song's sound, melody, music, arrangement, etc., but he also believed lyrics were important and should be taken seriously. The message of a song mattered.

This image of three teen girls at a concert was created by Klugmeister using artificial intelligence software. The image does not depict real people. The image was reviewed by Klugmeister before posting on this web page.

But Peter wasn't convinced. He believed that if you could deliver a catchy tune to the public, they would it eat it up regardless of whether the lyrics were heartfelt or meaningful. He'd never tested his theory, but he ventured that the public might embrace a catchy song even if the lyrics were downright silly.

Josh had churned out about as many hit songs as Peter, but his songs weren't as iconic. Peter seemed to have the magic touch, almost like Mozart as depicted in the 1985 movie "Amadeus." In this analogy, Peter is like Mozart (in that he has mad talent but is not always serious), while Josh is more like the character Salieri, who is serious but doesn't have the songwriting "pixie dust" that seems to ooze from Peter's pores. In fact, it seems that everything Peter touches turns to musical gold.

It was Josh's turn to talk. He furrowed his brow—he had an idea. "Take the song 'My Generation' by The Who," Josh said. "It has a catchy guitar riff and a clever stutter effect from Daltry before the 'talkin' bout my generation' response. But it wouldn't be the same song without the message. Right?"

Peter replied, "I bet you could change the lyrics to 'talkin' bout my medication' and it would still be a hit." He smiled. Did he really believe that or was he just pulling Josh's chain?

Either way, Josh was shocked at the suggestion. "The kids would see through that. It wouldn't be cool. It would almost be like you were making fun of them."

"Lyrics are overrated," Peter insisted. "You could change '(I can't get no) satisfaction' to '(I can't get no) proper fractions' and it would still be a hit. Mick just wouldn't get laid as often."

They both laughed.

Josh thought it was a bit strange that Peter was taking the position that lyrics were unimportant to a song's popularity. Peter had written his share of meaningful lyrics and iconic songs.

And so the conversation between Josh and Peter ended, but the interchange had given Peter an idea to try the next time he and Josh got together to record new music.

Three Months Later

American teenagers Linda, Patricia, and Susan were listening to the radio. They began singing along with a new hit record:

You say, "Yes"
And I say, "No"
You say, "Stop"
And I say "Go, go, go"
Oh no

You say, "Goodbye"
And I say, "Hello...
Hello hello"
I don't know why you say "Goodbye,"
I say "Hello...
Hello hello"

Somewhere in England Peter wore a smirk on his face.