By: Brandon

“How can you listen to this trash.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard this statement I would be rich. Music is one of the most important things in my life. However, like most, I have a style of music that I enjoy and I have styles of music that I would never listen to by choice. In my case, metal-core is my choice when creating a playlist to jam to. However, I also enjoy certain types of rap and pop. Regardless, no matter what kind of music you listen to, most of them have lyrics. Whether it’s one line repeated over and over, a story in the form of a melody, rap lyrics, or even lyrics screamed at the top of the vocalists lungs, they’re still words that have some sort of significant meaning to that vocalist or group.  Three lines that are very different but still are meaningful include, “We’re at war with the ones who protect and serve” Blue Wall, Issues. “God, I’m asking you to come change me. Into the man I want to be.” The Man I Want To Be, Chris Young. “It’s funny how someone else’s success brings pain.” Say Something, Timbaland ft. Drake. All three of these lyrics come from three very different genres and all can be meaningful to anyone who reads them. However, some people may not stick around long enough to listen to the message behind the song just from what genre the music comes from. I will admit, as I said, I would not play country by choice as something to jam to. However, if someone played it and I happened to be around, I wouldn’t tell them to turn it off or get out of range of the music just because it was country. I try and listen to the lyrics and see what the artist what the artist was feeling and the message behind the song.

If there is a song with significant meaning to the artist or listener, just try to feel the way the artist did when writing it and see how you feel about the song after that. You can even look up the lyrics and read them as the song plays. I found that this is a big help when trying to find the meaning of a song. It may help you find a new understanding of the song, listener, artist, or even the entire genre.