What Are Lyrics?

Lyrics are the words that give a song meaning. The music itself can make a song sound happy or sad, but it’s the words that really tell you what it’s about.

A song’s lyrics are usually made up of several verses and a chorus that repeats between the verses.

Sometimes, there’s also a bridge – a few lines sung between the verse and chorus – to tie everything together.

One way of thinking about lyrics is by seeing them as a poem written to music.

Sometimes there’s a narrative or a story to be told, and sometimes the words are really ambiguous and could mean anything. With the latter, it’s easier for the listener to find meaning in the song, as they can interpret it however they want, and can make it seem relevant to the situation that they’re in.

The word “lyric” comes from the Greek lyrikos, which means “singing to the lire.”