I think there is a fine line between the two. Although song lyrics sometimes have less freedom than actual poetry does. Poetry has no real length or rules, you can be more creative with poetry whereas lyrics have more of a set length of time (song) and/or meaning as they are also more commercial. Unless of course you are Joanna Newsom. In that case, you can do anything you want within a song.
One difference (in my mind) is the difference between delivery/reception.
A great deal of satisfaction comes from the structure of a poem on a page--the craft of form, (or none)--stanzas--line breaks--the overall shape of a poem on a page as a piece of art by itself--as a thing. Poetry can startle, entice or annoy a reader at first glance just from the print on the page! Poetry (for reading), then, is meant for the eyes, then ears, mind and heart.
Song lyrics are meant to be heard and on the page are not dependent on tightness (or looseness) of form--construction of song lyrics on a page matters less than the musicality because the art is meant for the ears (not the eyes). When reading song lyrics, they often seem flat compared to the feelings generated from hearing/experiencing them. Song lyrics come in through the ear and move into the heart/mind.
Spoken word (oral/aural) poetry is somewhere in between--still with structure on the page, but maybe its first priority is to come in through the ear, but....
Lyrics is spoken (or sang) but poetry is mostly read from a paper. The difference is that you may understand or relate to the person who wrote the text more if you can hear his/hers version of it (the prouncation, the tone is very important, it may clear out sarcasm)
I think there is a fine line between the two. Although song lyrics sometimes have less freedom than actual poetry does. Poetry has no real length or rules, you can be more creative with poetry whereas lyrics have more of a set length of time (song) and/or meaning as they are also more commercial. Unless of course you are Joanna Newsom. In that case, you can do anything you want within a song.
ReplyDeleteOne difference (in my mind) is the difference between delivery/reception.
ReplyDeleteA great deal of satisfaction comes from the structure of a poem on a page--the craft of form, (or none)--stanzas--line breaks--the overall shape of a poem on a page as a piece of art by itself--as a thing. Poetry can startle, entice or annoy a reader at first glance just from the print on the page! Poetry (for reading), then, is meant for the eyes, then ears, mind and heart.
Song lyrics are meant to be heard and on the page are not dependent on tightness (or looseness) of form--construction of song lyrics on a page matters less than the musicality because the art is meant for the ears (not the eyes). When reading song lyrics, they often seem flat compared to the feelings generated from hearing/experiencing them. Song lyrics come in through the ear and move into the heart/mind.
Spoken word (oral/aural) poetry is somewhere in between--still with structure on the page, but maybe its first priority is to come in through the ear, but....
Lyrics is spoken (or sang) but poetry is mostly read from a paper. The difference is that you may understand or relate to the person who wrote the text more if you can hear his/hers version of it (the prouncation, the tone is very important, it may clear out sarcasm)
ReplyDelete