A lot of music— especially metal— is known for having lyrics that sound cool and evoke a specific feeling but that don’t actually have any coherence. Creek Mary’s Tears tells a specific message; but for the most part Nightwish’s lyrics don’t.

I feel like it’s wasted potential. After listening to Two for Tragedy over and over today, I feel like this song could have been way better if it actually told a story instead of just sounded nice. I understand the principle that having vague lyrics can leave songs open to interpretation, but I feel like a lot of these— like Nightwish— don’t really have the right words to provide a lot of room for meaningful interpretation.

  • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    Yeah, but there are major degrees there, particularly when looking at the potential for controversy.

    “I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus, goo goo g’ joob.” - The Beatles

    “Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses.” - Rage Against The Machine

    Both say something, but only one has a decent potential to alienate part of the audience. The eggman and the walrus are metaphors for the embryo transitioning over time into an old man, which is a universal experience that everyone can connect with. I would bet that both people who work forces and those who burn crosses aren’t fans of Rage Against the Machine’s song.

    That said, I would consider the rage song to be the better one of the two. Sometimes, if you’re going to make a tasty omelette, you have to be ok with losing some bacon to the dogs.

    • orphiebaby@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      Good point, but the Beatles specifically said in interview that they wrote “I Am the Walrus” to make no sense at all, in a mocking response to classrooms being asked to interpret The Beatles’ lyrics. It means nothing, just like most of Nightwish.

      • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        I was curious after reading your comment since the article I had seen earlier had identified the metaphor about aging, and I ran across a pretty in depth exploration of the song that paints a more complex picture. Looks like we’re both sort of right.

        https://archive.ph/lqLoQ

        Part of the song was designed to be nonsensical, but there are parts that are inspired by the death of a friend, two acid trips with John and Yoko, and John said some of the lyrics that originally didn’t make sense took on a new meaning when sewn into the final song.

        I could look for another example of a song without controversial messaging, but I think we both got the point that each other was getting at. Thanks for being an awesome person to discuss music with today!