How many song lyrics do you hear daily, and how many of those lyrics stick with you? We are constantly inundated with words and music, but only a few will ever make enough impact to make us laugh, cry, or smile just at the thought of them. The great songwriter Stephen Sondheim once said this about song lyrics:
"I firmly believe lyrics have to breathe and give the audience's ear a chance to understand what's going on. Particularly in the theater, where you have costume, story, acting, orchestra."
The average lyric does not give that time to breathe simply because pop songs aren't that long. If you want the opportunity to pause and close read, you often must look at lyrics printed out in poetic stanzas. Or, if you want to reflect on lyrics while laughing your head off, these lyrical memes will have you singing songs in your head.
