Interpreting Music

[Lost_Wanderer]

People here often discourage listening to music with “impure” lyrics. I’m curious, what if a person has a different understanding of the lyrics? What if the person doesn’t care for the lyrics at all and has something else in their heads when they listen?

I ask this because I listen to a lot of songs whose lyrics I don’t really care to understand. I just listen because they bring something to mind that helps my writing. And even if I were to read up translations, I can’t say half of them line up to what I see in my head.

 

[Berean2]

People here often discourage listening to music with “impure” lyrics. I’m curious, what if a person has a different understanding of the lyrics? What if the person doesn’t care for the lyrics at all and has something else in their heads when they listen?

I ask this because I listen to a lot of songs whose lyrics I don’t really care to understand. I just listen because they bring something to mind that helps my writing. And even if I were to read up translations, I can’t say half of them line up to what I see in my head.

I’m not sure what you’re saying (esp. the “read up translations” part is confusing): is it a case of where (like me as a teen) you can’t make out the lyrics of the songs, and all you go for are the melody-cum-rhythm? Or what? The other thing is that sometimes a person (as I was as a teen) doesn’t understand the innuendo, for example, “One toke over the line, dear Jesus.” That’s one that I’d puzzle over: toke? Must mean “token,” so the only thing I could relate that to was the kind of token you get for the train or subway, and how you have to wait behind the white line before you go to the counter to get the token. But that made no sense, so I simply figured those kinds of lyrix were written by people whose minds were blown by drugs. (Reinforced by songs like “Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie!”:hypno::frighten::yukonjoe: {thumbsdowwwwn}) The one “benefit” of those songs for me was that they reinforced my fear and loathing of taking any drugs.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

I’m not sure what you’re saying (esp. the “read up translations” part is confusing): is it a case of where (like me as a teen) you can’t make out the lyrics of the songs, and all you go for are the melody-cum-rhythm? Or what? The other thing is that sometimes a person (as I was as a teen) doesn’t understand the innuendo, for example, “One toke over the line, dear Jesus.” That’s one that I’d puzzle over: toke? Must mean “token,” so the only thing I could relate that to was the kind of token you get for the train or subway, and how you have to wait behind the white line before you go to the counter to get the token.

Any and all cases where the lyrics aren’t all or don’t even play a factor to what a song means to a person. It can even be English lyrics. I myself am guilty of listening to songs like Nickelback’s Rock Star but for some reason I don’t think about the typical rock-star lifestyle of materialism and drug abuse.

 

[Berean2]

Hmmmn, well, I still don’t understand exactly what you’re describing, so I don’t think I can really comment, tho I think it’s unwise in general to listen to impure lyrics, bec. the more you saturate yourself with something, the more it permeates your mind and soul, and those 2 are very important in keeping your life on the right track. On the other hand, if you’re not even making out the lyrics (like me when I was a teen), then of course, they wouldn’t be poisoning you.

If you’re in doubt about it, why don’t you check it out with your spiritual advisor or priest?

 

[AlanFromWichita]

When I first heard some really “soft” rap music, such as that used in the background of the movie Office Space, I was astonished at some of the lyrics.

The lyrics used somewhat foul language, but a few of the actual messages were, IMO, in line with Christian thinking. I’m not claiming all, or even most, rap is this way – just these particular songs a friend was trying to get me to like.

For example, a song with " … it feels good to be a gangsta … " has some foul language, but when I read the lyrics and tried to decode them away from the offensive vocabulary, I got these messages:

truly cool people:

• do not boast or bluff, or otherwise run at the mouth …
• like to think deeply, and often differently, than other people …
• are at peace with themselves …
• feed the poor and take care of their bills …
• do not have to pull pranks to be cool …
• are of all “shapes and colors” …
• live for the Lord and have long lives …

OK, so there are not-so-wholesome parts to that same song, but I think a fair interpretation of the song will show that the above messages actually are contained in it, and I think those are good things for rap listeners to hear. Jesus hung around those people who were not so wholesome, and St. Paul became “like” the people he was trying to win over – so I think this is all good.

Alan