Lyrics or Music, now that is the question!

I have mentioned before how much I love the music of John Prine or maybe I should say that what I really love are his lyrics. I've had a number of artists whose lyrics have touched my heart and on many occassion helped me get through a rough time. Two being Carly Simon and Alanis Morissette who both write wonderful lyrics, often using an album to tell a whole story. If you look at Morissette lyrics from album to album, you see how she dealt with a lost love and the bitterness that can take place until finally she finds peace and strength, something I would like to think that I have done as well.

The Bitterness is expressed so well in "You Oughta Know" from the Jagged Little Pill Album

"Cause the love that you gave that we made

wasn't able to make it enough for you to be open wide, no

And everytime you speak her name

Does she know how you told me you'd hold me

Until you died, 'til you died

But you're still alive

And I'm here to remind you

of the mess you left when you went away

It's not fair to deny me

Of the cross I bear that you gave to me

You, you, you oughta know"

It was almost 10 years later on her album "So-Called Chaos" finally shows the peace she has found especially in the song "The Grudge"

"So who's it hurting now?

Who's the one that's Stuck?

Who's it torturing now, with an antique knot in her stomach

I want to be big and let go of this grudge that's grown old

All this time I've not known how to rest this bygone

I want to be soft and resolved clean of slate and released

I want to forgive for the both of us

But who's done whining now?

Who's ready to put down

This load I've carried longer than I had cared to remember"

I feel so blessed to get beyond the grudge in my life so quickly. I seldom listen to the Morissette CDs now because of the reminders of the pain and bitterness I did feel just a few years ago. I would rather listen to happier lyrics to match how my life is going now.

So how/why do you listen to music? Are you into the music and rhythms? Or are you more like me listening to the all important lyrics to see how they might reflect your life and moods?

That being said, sometimes it's just fun to listen to the music for a catchy tune and hear a lyric that just twists the words with some interesting and meaningful or perhaps just plain silliness of thought. Soon I'll write about my favorite John Prine lyrics.