Macca as a lyricist

[mervap]

For better or worse, Paulie has always seemed to have gotten the short end of the stick as pertains to his ability as a lyricist, especially when he was a member of the Beatles...folks just can't resist comparing the two. I think they both grew tremendously as 'lyicists of consequence' in the Beatles..."Eleanor Rigby" is a fine piece of writing in my estimation, as is "For No One"...all writers are going to produce their share of not-so-good lyrics, and our lad is no exception. Sometimes Paul will let the melody speak for itself and not worry so much about saying anything of real depth...and that's ok.

[chris]

i think paul is a fine lyricist. as a songwriter, though...he really excells in writing a melody. that...is where his skill is, i think. its tough to compare paul with john as a lyricist...because lyrics is what john did especially well. john wrote from the heart, when listening to a john song, you knew what he was feeling and you usually knew why. but paul's songs are a little bit different. he writes more vaguely. one might also say he writes metaphorically...so, unlike john's songs...you don't know exactly what the topic is.

he has been known to pen a weakly written song. but so did john. so did dylan. you write enough of them, and there is bound to be a stinker in the bunch. but he is known for being the best 2 or 3 songwriters in his generation (along with the aforementioned lennon and dylan) i'd say his reputation is safe for now. his ear for melody has even been compared to mozart's. now that...is spanning a multigenerational era.

[2 of 3]

Yeah, mozart's lyrics were just horrible. How come nobody ever mentions that?

[Kylenz]

One person's stinker is another man's treasure. Looking For Changes is terrible to me:

I saw a cat with a machine in his brain
The man who fed him said
He didn't feel any pain
I'd like to see that man take out that machine
And stick it in his own brain

Y'know, I'm all for the animal rights movement but surely a lyricist would express things somewhat more eloquently. Sometimes he's a little bit hit-and-miss. Sometimes I like it when he's bizarre (Pretty Little Head, Backwards Traveller) and sometimes I'm bemused when he's bizarre (However Absurd). I think he's at his best when he keeps it simple and real.

But not so simple as... the biker / he didn't like her. He really should steer away from lyrics like Biker's!