Lyrics
Lyrics are the
words in
songs. Lyrics can be written as the accompanying
music is composed, or added afterwards. Sometimes, however, music is adapted to or written for a song or
poem that has already been written. A person who writes lyrics is called a
lyricist. The meaning conveyed in lyrical verses can be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are so abstract as to be completely unintelligible. In such cases, there is a tendency to emphasize the
form,
articulation,
meter, and
symmetries of the expressions. There are many websites that feature lyrics to songs.
* From the
Greek, a
lyric was originally a song sung with a
lyre.
* A
lyric poem is one that expresses a subjective, personal point of view. ::
I would be the Lyric::
Ever on the lip,::
Rather than the Epic::
Memory lets slip.::: —
Thomas Bailey Aldrich* The word
lyric came to be used for the "words of a popular song"; this meaning was recorded in
1876 [
1]. The plural
lyrics was used only in referring to the words of multiple songs; to refer to the words of a single song as its
lyrics instead of its
lyric was considered erroneous. Even so, such usage became increasingly common (probably because of the association between
lyrics and the plural form
words), and is predominant in modern usage of today's society. Use of the singular form
lyric is still grammatically acceptable; it is still considered erroneous to refer to an individual word in a song as a
lyric.
* Lyrics can be studied from an academic perspective. For example, some lyrics can be considered a form of
social commentary. Lyrics often contain political, social and economic themes as well as aesthetic elements, and so can connote messages which are culturally significant. Lyrics can also be analyzed with respect to the sense of unity (or lack of unity) it has with its supporting music. Analysis based on
tonality and
contrast are particular examples.
*
Chinese lyrics (詞) are
Chinese poems written in the set
metrical and
tonal pattern of a particular song.
*
Online lyrics databases*
Lyriki.com*
LyricWiki.org*
Lyrics at
Open Directory Project 
