How To Interpret Song Lyrics

One thing people always ask me is, "How do you interpret such difficult song lyrics?".

A Difficult Interpretation

It was sparked by my De-loused in The Comatorium album interpretation and has become so common that I've decided to help others interpret difficult song lyrics.

The first thing you need to do when Interpreting song lyrics is to find out if the song is about anything specific.

The best way to find out if a song is about someone/something in particular is to use an online resource. You could use:

• Wikipedia
• The Artists Website
• [http://www.songmeanings.net] or [http://www.lyricinterpretations.com] (Use these interpretations very loosely, use discretion)
• Find online Radio or Video Interviews

These are only a few examples, but it's safe to say if you can't find any context from these resources, there probably isn't any.

What If There Is No Context?

If the song doesn't fit into any story, and you can't find anything relating to it, then it's time for you to start interpreting the best you can by yourself.

The good news is that you will have a bit more room for error in your interpretation, because there are no hard facts to tell you you're wrong.

I Just Need A Bit More Context To Finish My Masterpiece!

This is where I am going to show you specific strategies to unlock the meanings behind lyrics.

When interpreting a song, the first thing you want to do is find words that you do not recognize. Organize them in a list, and then search Dictionary.com for the definition.

1. New words

Some artists like to make up words that do not exist in a dictionary. Don't worry though, there is a strategy for interpreting even non-existent words.

The best way to discover the meaning of these "Alternative" words is to look for words that sound similar to the made up word.

A good example is in the Mars Volta Song, "Son Et Lumiere", where he says:

Clipside of The Pinkeyed Flight

The Word "Clipside" is the made up word here. After some brief researching, I found that the best Alternative word is "Flip side".

The Lyricist here is using "Clipside" instead of "Flip side" to give more meaning to the line, as it refers to a Drug addict and how his body is "Clipping/Overloading", but at the same time he shows the "Flip side/Bad Side" of the Drugs effect on him.

This is a common, and easy technique to uncover the hidden meaning behind Made up Words.

2. Take your Time

The best way to screw up an interpretation is to try and get it done as fast as possible.

Perhaps they could have taken a bit more time to interpret this message

You will want to be writing down all your thoughts on a song, so that when you come back to it all the Subconscious thinking your mind has been doing since will surface.

3. Share!

Another good idea would be to share difficult interpretations with other people. Even people you think they wouldn't know anything about Interpreting songs, you would be surprised.

I remember when I was interpreting the line "Sterling Clear Blackened Ice" I had no idea what it meant for weeks.

Then I showed the line to my cousin, who happened to have knowledge on lots of metals, and pointed out out that "Sterling" means to have something of great quality.

His observation made me realize that Cedric Bixler-Zavala [Lyricist] was talking about something that was very clear, but also very opaque (Blackened Ice).

It was used in his song to show that someone seemed like one thing, but was actually another.

Now I would never have expected my little Cousin to shed any wisdom on the situation, but he did. If I had not shown him, I may never have found out the definition.

To Summarize, Some tactics to interpret songs are:

• Put the Song into Context (Using Wikipedia, The Artists Website, [http://www.songmeanings.net], and Interviews)
• Find out all the meanings of words you don't recognize
• Find Alternative words for the ones that are made up
• Take your time and put the song aside for a while so your mind can subconsciously think about it.
• Share your Difficult interpretations with others, their answer may surprise you!

I think if you employed these tactics, you could interpret ANY song.

If you're still having trouble, why not Contact Me and I'll try to help out as best I can!

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Andrew Muller is the Editor of TheRealMusician.com. He lives in Chilliwack, BC, Canada and spends much of his extra time writing articles, playing and writing music, setting up and playing concerts and demolishing video games.

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