Jan 17, 2009
For me, knowing the details behind a song ruins it. How about for you?
I wish musicians wouldn’t tell their songs’ backstories on stage.
Despite their intention, I find this makes the music less meaningful.
You?
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© 2012 Abuyo. All rights reserved.
Agreed.
Knowing the particular circumstances out of which the song arose limits my ability to enter into the song sympathetically unless I now also resonate with those circumstances.
True poetry and art should certainly arise out of the artists particular experiences but is should then take the shape of something that can be entered from many points.
Examples would be fun … maybe later.
Only if I know the details before I’ve made my own interpretation.
If it’s music I’m quite familiar with (like Counting Crows) I like hearing the stories behind the songs.
Yes. The book title is “Shut Up and Sing”–written a few years back and aimed specifically at Hollywood types who think that because they have an album, everyone wants to hear everything they think.
I think the same applies to Christian artists, unless they also promote themselves and have ministry as a speaker.
Most of them could better spend the time concentrating on their diction!! Wish I had a nickel for every “really amazing Christian song” I’ve heard on the radio which was, in real time, almost incomprehensible.
Depends on the song and the back story. Sometimes it does ruin a song (especially when the back story seems to make no sense compared to the song), but sometimes, it is a fun story that really helps me understand the song. When I first listened to Derek Webb, there were some songs I didn’t get, some I didn’t catch the sarcasm, but the back stories made it click. But if the story is one of “Well, this happened specifically in my life, and I wrote this because this specific thing happened and I’m pondering how such a thing could happen” then it stinks.
On the one hand, if there isa story, and it’s really enhances the song, they should go for it.
The problem occurs when the “story” has to do with the band itself, life on the road, things that happen in the recording studio, etc. Most of us don’t live out of tour buses or airport waiting rooms.
I think the reason you made this statement, and feel this way, is that you are more ‘literary’ than most, and obviously prefer to figure out the imagery and context on your own without the study notes.
On the other hand, without the backstory and patter from band members, why go to the concert at all? Just buy the album.
Oh dear. Two typos in one line and on 22 Words of all blogs.
Should be: If there is a story and it really enhances the song…
Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. There have been a handful of times a song made absolutely no sense to me so I tried to find out what they meant when they wrote it. That helped. If I don’t want to know, I don’t look for it and then it’s no big deal.
I agree. If I like a song, it’s because it speaks to me…..and needs no explaination.
I’m in the “shut up and sing” camp. This is both because I usually roll in the jam band scene (where “thanks for coming out, have a good night” counts as wordy) and because I have an intense distrust for singer-songwriters.
I think it’s like if a novelist sold the Cliff’s Notes right alongside their book. Save it for an interview.
Knowing the story behind a song makes it better for me, and by that I mean “more meaningful.”
I think it’s a similar situation to the difference between knowing the historical background to one of the Psalms vs. not knowing…???
why go to the concert at all? Just buy the album.
I gave a musical answer in a recent post on live and bootleg albums that would also apply to concert going.
I think it’s a similar situation to the difference between knowing the historical background to one of the Psalms vs. not knowing…???
It’s a little different … we do know the historical context for the songs they’re singing. We live in it. What we don’t know (and what I don’t want to know is the private biographical details that led them to sing this song or what it means to the artist. If the song can’t stand on its own … well …
I’ll jump in and disagree on this one.
Yes, there are times when a song is less likable after knowing the story. However, when this is the case, it seems that there is probably a deeper problem going on — e.g., the song really wasn’t that good :). Sure, it shatters the blissful ignorance, but oh well.
Songs can take on a different, and perhaps better, hue when their story is known. Take, for example, 38th Parallel’s song “Wither”. Prior to knowing its story, I interpreted it as being about Christ’s sufferings and quite enjoyed it. After learning that it was actually about a friend of author’s who had HIV, it lost the type of enjoyment it invoked previously, but I now thorougly enjoy it as an expression of the pain of being shunned and ignored because of a disease. LIkewise, knowing that “City of Blinding Lights” is set in New York provides a framework for interpreting its imagery.
I don’t think it hurts to have context. Words are (or at least should be!) written to communicate something. The something they communicate originates with the *author* — this whole “here’s what it means to me” thing is silly postmodern meaninglessness. By knowing the story, we are better equipped to understanding what the author is intending to say. This is the hermeneutic we apply to understanding Scripture; why should we not apply it to understanding any other communication?
The solution, therefore, is not to stop telling the stories. It is to write better songs from better stories. The occasional great profundities that (ostensibly) arise from nonsense are just strange; if a band can rise above that and communicate truly meaningful concepts from legitimate experience, then I’d say they are developing some good songwriting.
Is art to be interpreted, understood …or enjoyed?
Learning the back story may enhance or dispel our interpretation, but hopefully heightens appreciation.
Sarah MacLachlan’s music. I can easily personalize the abstract lyrics, but they’re intense so I feel I’ve lost something if she explains.
I think there are times when knowing the motivation of the song helps in appreciating the song.
P.S. I find myself counting the words. Do you count contractions as 2 words. For example does wouldn’t count as two words?
nope, contractions are one word.
Depends on who it is. Most of the time I enjoy the music more knowing the story behind it. A few times, I have been disappointed with the story behind it and wished I never knew to begin with.
I disagree. Usually background enhances my enjoyment. Usually, I get to hear the song as entirely new after I’ve heard the background.
Michael E -
I don’t think the issue is one post-modernism or relativism, but rather one different kinds of truths.
There are propositional truths (which should perhaps be evaluated as you say) and existential or experiential truths (which I would maintain should not be so evaluated).
Artists, poets, and songwriters are dealing in the latter.
Um. No. That hasn’t been my experience. I generally drawn to it more as I hear the story…but now that you have me thinking…
I think music can be enjoyed without knowing the artist’s meaning or story behind the song. However, for me, knowing the meaning behind a song or knowing what was going on culturally or personally for the artist even if it’s not a “story” allows me to appreciate and more fully enjoy the words because I have a grasp of the context of the music. And when you know details of a song you can make ties to other songs and start to see themes within an artist’s life work. Mostly, I like to know these kinds of things in older bands or artists whose work is more comprehensive, such as the Beatles, Dylan, even a “newer” musician like Patty Griffin.
While the music by itself can share its meaning, a story behind it adds a certain dimension. In my case, I don’t mind the stories. If I already like the song, I wouldn’t like it less.
It depends. I do like to draw my own conclusions as to what it means. That makes it easier to relate it to my own life, which is my favorite part about music.
Abraham, I’m not always sure about your posts’ intentions! Backstories may be more meaningful…. Details wouldn’t ruin it! Confounded 22 words confine! ; )
Agreed.
I liked “Fix You” much better before I knew why it was written. I prefer to stay with my original version that I wrote in my head.
Not for nothin’, but most songs aren’t great poetry. Great poetry can benefit from metadiscussion from the author. Pop music is rarely that worth the trouble.
Double for trite Christian music.
I don’t know about musicians on stage telling backstories, but finding out the backstory to “I heard the Bells” made that song more meaningful to me.
I liked Hey There Delilah MORE after learning it was written for the guy’s crush, who rejected him. Kinda humanized the guy.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The ironic thing is, I can’t tell until I hear the story, in which case it’s too late for no.
It depends. Sometimes an explanation ruins the song, especially if the story is something really mundane and unnecessary to understanding the piece. Generally, if the song only makes sense with the backstory, then I probably won’t like it even when I know what it means. I really like lyrics that communicate.
But some songs… the hymn, “It is Well”, for instance. An already powerful song packs an even bigger wallop when you find it out was written by someone who had just suffered massive grief and loss, yet was unoffended at God.
I can’t make up my mind.
But now whenever I hear a musician/songwriter tell the story behind a song, I will think of this post and wrestle with how I feel about it.
I love it when they give a back story…always have.
My first reaction is that I disagree. I think that some of the stories really reveal and give insight. Understanding the circumstances surrounding the meaning behind the song really enhances the song. Now I don’t think that a story is necessary for every song…As many songs tell the story itself.
But perhaps as a writer of songs myself, that makes all the difference, since I like to know these things.
In line with Amanda @ 7:30, if the story adds to the song, then it’s worth hearing – i.e., knowing Jeremy Camp wrote “I Still Believe” after the death of his wife rammed the truth of God’s unchanging goodness home to me, and though I haven’t lost my husband, I’m in a hope-deferred situation right now, so I can still identify with the faith he expressed.
The question is, though, who decides whether the story adds to the song? The writer obviously thinks it does.
As a person who has written songs before, I have mixed feelings. I always try to figure out the circumstances surrounding a song. There are times when I am so curious as to what drove a person to write a certain song. Sometimes I feel like I really ‘get’ the song once I hear. But, other times hearing the story behind it totally wrecks my understanding of the song. As for asking for the story behind a song, there isn’t always a story. Sometimes things don’t relate directly to specific things in a writer’s life. So, yes and no. I like both or neither. It changes.
I loved a Mac Macanally concert I went to where he told some of the stories behind some of the songs he played. The stories were as entertaining and delicious a treat as the songs themselves; he is a master story-teller.
It doesn’t work when the artist telling the story behind the song is not a good story-teller, or the story is lame.
Yes I agree. If the artist wants a song to resonate with the listener, they need to let them experience their own story.
The only exception is if the song contains super vague lyrics. Then help me out.
But please, I don’t care to hear the story behind It Is Well one more time. Way overdone. Especially by modern Christian artists. If you’ve been to one concert, you’ve heard it. It’s not original or profound to tell it anymore.
Maybe I am not a good judge of art. But to me it seems selfish to be more concerned with what the song means to the listener over and above what it means to the writer. I don’t think a lack of knowledge about any piece of art is a virtue. Anything worth knowing is worth knowing better. And I don’t think there is any sort of “pure” interpretation that is untainted or uninfluenced by whatever knowledge we already have or by any observations that we have made even if the artist intentionally withholds information. With all that said, I can completely see where in some cases it could be aggravating to some.
I don’t mind the backstories as long as they’re not relating to love songs. Love songs can stay mysterious and independently interpreted and experienced, as far as I’m concerned. I like Elton John songs – but I just don’t need to know.
Actually, I enjoy understanding the conception behind a particular song. It makes me appreciate it all the more, especially when particular obscure metaphors are clarified (good songs usually have obscure metaphors I’ve noticed, lol.)
I also don’t mind it when there is no particular message behind a song. That’s fine with me, as long as it’s a good song!
Knowing that a song already has a story doesn’t necessarily interfere with our ability to imagine it and interpret it differently, in my opinion. :)
I don’t know if this was mentioned, but I just thought about something else. Sometimes music videos ruin the song. Like alot.
I also agree with Tara. I think I can count on one finger the number of music videos that I like.
It depends on how good the story is and how articulately the singer presents it. The singer needs to present his perspective on the song, but also communicate that it might mean different things to different people.
Disagree.
I usually do like to know the stories behind the songs.
The big exception for me would be Sigur Rós. I don’t even want to know the translation of the Icelandic (or Hopelandic) lyrics. That would totally ruin it for me.
I would have to completely disagree. Many times the songs are more meaningful with the stories. It’s rare for me to find out a background and then dislike the song.
Agreed 1000 times 1000! I say this every time I go to a concert.
Second Thoughts:
And applause for: French guitarist, Pierre Bensusan. When he sings, I don’t need (or want?) to know what he’s saying.
I’m sure there are exceptions, but generally I am in complete and utter disagreement Abraham.
Those stories often put songs in an entirely different light. THey can be the difference between me liking and disliking a song.
Disagree.
the music of Johnny Cash (one of my favorites) really would not have the same profound affect on me if little was known about him as a person, or the stories behind the songs.
isn’t this post a little too post modern? it’s like a hindi who reads and enjoys the Psalms or Lamentations, but isn’t really interested in their meaning or purpose?
good point above about Sigur Ros, though. i do enjoy the ignorance of listening to music in a foreign tongue, just so i don’t have to know.
I wouldn’t say that knowing the details behind a song necessarily “ruins” it, but exposes it to the truth of the meaning of the song. There have been many songs I’ve listened to repeatedly never knowing the details or truth about the song.
Then I later discover that the “meaning” or “truth” about the song is degrading, explicit or rather unsafe and not very edifying to the ears. Had I known before what the song was about I would have never listened to it.
Sometimes the analogies and or allegories in songs can be deceiving. Simon and Garfunkel have lyrics such as “sailing on silver” which really is talking about drugs and needles etc. and could be mistaken about a girl.
I would be extremely careful about what secular music and maybe even so-called “Christian” music I listened to; even what I let my children listen to.
A concert is best like radio: Less talk more music.
I couldn’t disagree more: I LOVE the stories behind songs. in fact, if at a concert all the artist does is sing/play, I’m disappointed: I can get that from a CD. I want to hear more of the heart of the artist at a concert.
I’m responding to this today because my company (which runs CCMmagazine.com) had an artist visit this morning. It’s the first one we’ve had in 2 years since I’ve been here but apparently they used to do them all the time. The artist was Aaron Boyd of Bluetree. He wrote the song “God of This City”
(which has been recorded also by Chris Tomlin and Passion). The story behind the song is amazing and for me, adds so much more to the song. He took about 30 minutes explaining it then played it. He also explained another song called “Each Day” and played it. I think in the right setting this is great and adds a lot to the song.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a story behind a song that hasn’t made me appreciate the song more.
i’m generally for knowing a song’s background. like “heart of worship”, understanding what drove redman to write that song, the situation it arose out of, that’s really meaningful to me and deepens my appreciation of it. another example from an earlier post on here was on coldplay’s “fix you”, where understanding why martin had written the song definitely help put it in perspective and gave me a deeper appreciation for it.
Maybe so for more songs.
Though what comes to mind as a glaring exception is the backstory behind the popular song: “Blessed be Your Name”, word by Matt Redman. The exultant chorus and lyrics which focuses blesses the Lord despite anything and everything come to Matt was being molested (on a regular basis) by his stepfather.
To hear that story and know that Matt was able to come up with a song (that uplifts many others) like that where there is no hint of bitterness or anger at God is a sobering example to our everyday whiny, petty, selfish selves.
Correction: Maybe so for *other/most* songs.
A reporter speaking to Bob Dylan:
What are your songs about?
Dylan’s response:
Some of my songs are about four minutes, some are about five minutes and some, believe it or not, are about 11 or 12.
It depends on the artist. I usually enjoy backstory, it helps me to understand nuances of the songs that I may have missed before. I find lyrics very intriguing and usually experience them very deeply.
Have you listened to Casting Crowns “Praise You in this Storm”? I think the background of this song just can’t ruin its meaning.
Cheers,
a.