Since the issue of whether the lyrics of certain songs should be considered true poetry or something else has been raised multiple times, and given that the theme can be linked to a significant number of authors (from DYLAN to our own singer-songwriters), I believe it is worth spending a few words on this matter. A SONG is the sum of text and music. But it is obvious that these two fundamental and inseparable elements of a song are not brought forth in the same measure and/or with the same expertise, which can be translated into the mastery of the expressive means inherent: music and meter.
Focusing on the Italian experience, in the 70s, those who wrote both lyrics and music for songs, performed by themselves, were qualified as "cantautori", where the textual componentâpoetics of social denunciation, worldview, narrative modes, etc.âwas predominant and represented a TRUE INNOVATION compared to previous songs, whose lyrics often had empty meaning. Thus, a dialectic emerged between "Sanremo" music and/or radio-television music (which dominated Italian pop culture until the 60s) and singer-songwriter music (always considered heavy, rich in meaning, elitist, etc.). The term singer-songwriter is an Italian term, untranslatable in the context of other countries, even thoughâit's undeniableâItalian CANTAUTORI drew inspiration from the greatest foreign songwriters (COHEN, DYLAN, BRASSENS, BREIL, etc.) in the composition and inspiration of their songs.
It is, therefore, undeniable that some song lyrics possess a "high" literary quality and clearly stand apart from the lyrics of normal pop songs. It is equally undeniable that all singer-songwriters have always opposed being considered poets. In fact, poetry does not need any accompaniment, while a songâs lyrics, no matter how refined, always require music to complete them, without which they hold no meaning. Based on these reflections, the NOBEL for LITERATURE has essentially been denied to BOB DYLAN until today. On this longstanding issue, DE ANDRÉ remarks, with the famous (and erudite) quip, already cited and found in the home video of his last concert: he rejects the label of poet and identifies the song as "the old girlfriend with whom he would still be locked in a room." Finally, COHENâpractically the only example of Poet, Novelist, and Songwriter, as he had published poems and novels before recording albumsâhas stated clearly that his song lyrics, even ifâreiteratingâof excellent literary quality, are not his set-to-music poems, but song lyrics, words meant to be paired with musical accompaniment.
