[seriousfun]

I don't want to start a fight as I am sure this will be a contentious discussion but I am real interested to hear how people feel on this poser.

Do you think lyrics or music are the most important part of a song or is it something else?

[habiTat]

I think the words are very important, the song has to be about something, and the more poetic the better.

However..

Without good music the words can't come alive. A good melody with suitable instrumentation is vital. A good lyric can be spoilt by poor music, likewise a poor lyric can be carried by good music..

So in conclusion, I'd have to say that the music is most important, very often you can hear a song and like it without properly listening to the words.

The best new choccy bar on the market won't sell if its wrapper is unappealing to the buyer.
The words are the chocolate, the music is the wrapper..

 

[terrysains]

I am of the opinion the music and the hook line are the most inportant and words come a poor third.
I have witnessed people listening and loving songs only knowing the hook line and the melody, mumbling alone then "AND IT'S HI HO SILVER LINING".... mumble mumble mumble..
People do not remember all the words as this is not so important to them...obviously their are exception to the rules, love songs that say what you want to say are all about the lyrics.
"I can feel it in my fingers I feel it in my toes". Number 1 for ever...
Terry Sains.

[Michael]

I think there's no easy answer to this...

It all depends. If you're looking to write a modern catchy pop song with lots of mass appeal, the I'd say the music is the primary factor here, and the lyrics play more of a secondary role. I don't mean to judge anything at all by saying that, and there are certainly exceptions to this, but just from taking a look at the current top ten singles in sales I would say that most of them are not meant to be lyrically clever, or have a deeper meaning.

If you aim to adress a more mature audience, you most likely won't get away with repetitive one-liners and catchy melody, but people will expect at least some sort of story or imagery in the lyrics.

Of course, it depends also a lot on the genre.

For me personally, the more important factor would be the music, for several reasons:
First of all, I am not very talented at writing lyrics, it just doesn't come to me as natural as the musical part of the songwriting process.
Furthermore, as a non-native English speaker, the first thing I pay attention to in the (predominantly English language) songs I listen to is the music, the arrangement. I really do appreciate a good set of lyrics that paint a nice picture, but I have to concentrate and pay attention closely to properly understand and interpret them, while I can judge and appreciate the musical qualities of a song while doing and concentrating on other things.
Lastly, for my personal taste, songs can be good and very enjoyable without having very good lyrics (or even any lyrics at all, there's a lot of great instrumental music out there), but for me even great and immensely clever lyrics are just words, unless combined with the fitting music and melody.
Again, that's just my 2 cents.

In the end it will be a the combination of both, as well as the choice of what kind of music to combine with what kind of lyrics that will give you a good song.

Very interesting discussion topic I think

[Saeed AlSuri]

First of all .. I must clear one thing songs are what I understand is words melodies in a tune ..

Instrumentals are tune without words .. I see many people refer the term songs to music pieces ..

So this put a side..

songs are to me is like a marriage .. the wife can be beautiful .. and the husband claver .. does it matter .. the couple are great .. 

but a successful marriage or not is a different thing ..

In my experience songs with good music only won't last long .. thats why we have many number one these day but .. none to remember .. still many great singers on to day are judged by old songs ..

I might add .. what all of you guys and gals thinks about the song Take me to the Moon .. lyrics are crazy but the song is still wonderful .. the husband is really clever .. don't you think ..

cheers ..

[S.T.C]

Ultimately the music is the most important factor...the melody....but there are songs that are word led , and then they are of equal importance.

For me with limited abilities/experience in creating music..i have to write words first...then see what happens when i use the guitar and sing them...

But from what can see..most great songs  have lyrics that speak to people : it could be  that there profound/poetic or emotional ...or just very catchy.

[tone]

It's a tough one, this.

In an ideal world I'd say they're of equal importance. A song is music and words combined, so in order to write a good song, you need good music and good words.

But then there's the more pragmatic part of me that realises that a good tune with bad lyrics is usually preferable to good lyrics with a rubbish tune.

And there you are back at square one :p

[Saeed AlSuri]

I totally agree with tone .. back to square one ..

[Boydie]

For me it is Melody, Melody, Melody, then lyrics

They are both important but the melody is the most important thing

I say this from a "pop" perspective but I think it holds true for most genres - even rap where the melody/rhythm are key

The goal is to have a killer melody AND lyric - but the question asks for an either or so I would go for melody

[S.T.C]

Also don`t confuse good lyrics with meaningful lyrics..songs lyrics don`t need to uplift or moralize ..they just have to be right for the melody  what ever the theme.

[Boydie]

Oooh - good point STC and great distinction between "good" and "meaningful"

[Sing4me88]

As someone who is solely a lyricist and devoid of complete musical talent I'd have to agree with Boyide. It's all about melody- well a large extent. I think in Pop the secret is to get some really catchy buzz words and lyrics essentially a killer hook to go with a belting melody. Eiffel 65 Blue anyone? Lyrics absolute rubbish yet a song that made so much money most songwriters on here would cry at the fact if they devoted enough time and thought to it!

As a lyricist I'm totally reliant on musicians and producers being able to marry my lyrics with their creativity. I don't just hand over lyrics - obviously I have a certain vocal melody in mind but then again I'm not a singer so my vocals have no pitch, range or timing so a certain degree of vision is needed even for this. I kinda feel - and I will stand corrected on this - that if you've got catchy Pop lyrics they should make writing the melody easier in terms of musical hook etc but I'd still say a lot of the time the melody makes or breaks it.

[Saeed AlSuri]

Now I'm really confused .. the question was about money ?? 

so this debate is for pros who work for living making songs .. in that case .. I'm not .. so its hard for me to comment .. 

Cheers

[Sing4me88]

Hey I'm no pro either - I wish I could make money from this but so far it eludes me even if that is my eventual aim. I was talking specifically in relation to Pop songs, and at that commercial Pop songs for the charts. I'm simply a lyricist but my aim is to get some songs worthy of commercial success off to labels, artists, publishers etc. I'm not what I consider a 'real' songwriter like some on here- I can't really do the emotional stuff and serious stuff but I'm not too bad at the trashy commercial Pop stuff you hear on the radio -I'm no Max Martin by any stretch of the imagination- so in terms of what I'm aiming to achieve its about great melody with simple, catchy lyrics with a few great hook lines. These are far from epic poetry but then again they don't need to be

[Neil C]

The question is surely to whom?
For both writer and the listener it that will be down to their personal viewpoint, some will be more focused on words, some on melody, rhythm etc. To me its about how the combined 'marriage' works and supports each other.. 

Neil