›
To take part in discussions on talkSFU, please apply for membership (SFU email id required).

Song lyrics... or poetry?

Karmagrl
edited February 2007 in General
Musically I'm going through a sort of 60's phase right now, so I've been listening to a lot of Bob Dylan and Lou Reed. What I realised was that listening to this music has the same effect on me as reading certain types of poetry.

It's been bugging me, so I have to ask - what do you think distinguishes song lyrics from poetry? Is there any difference?

Also, how far would you go? I think Bob Dylan is widely accepted as a poet, but what about Pete Doherty? Or Morrissey? Or Scissor Sisters? Or the Spice Girls?

Comments

  • Malakaiii
    edited January 2007
    One of the major differences is the repetition that you'll see in songs doesn't usually occur in poetry.

    But there are a lot of song writers whose lyrics are considered poetry and some appear in literature texts!
  • melissaw28
    edited February 2007
    I've actually been to a poetry cafe where the poet laureate read several song lyrics as poems. It gives it a different emphasis and was really interesting. He read Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot and Elenor Rigby.

Leave a Comment