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According to a new book by Dr. Gavin Hopps, former Smiths vocalist Morrissey is the greatest lyricist in the history of British popular music. Click here for more.
That’s what I like to call a "debatable statement" (the first one, not the second. If you click there you will get more).
I think it’s hard for music fans to fairly rate lyricists because more often than not we hear a song before reading the lyrics, so the words are one of several elements contributing towards the experience. Even if there was no music, hearing someone read lyrics would involve factors other than the words affecting how you feel about the lyrics.
That having been said, who agrees that Morrissey is the best lyricist in the history of British popular music? I’m assuming popular means "not classical" as opposed to "pop."
If not Morrissey, than who might it be?
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6 Comments
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I don’t know, off the top of my head? LENNON? MCCARTNEY? SOME GUYS NAMES JAGGER AND RICHARDS? OH WHAT ABOUT PAGE AND PLANT? MORRISSEY? FOR REAL? Wow. People are really really clueless.
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Ok lennon and mccartney wrote great songs but overall their lyrics aren’t sensational.
Richards ? Seriously ?The article is about the greatest lyricist not song writer… Maybe
Morrissey should own that title… Greatest songwriter… No. -
absolutely! who else can write a song about the plight of an English hairdresser and make you actually care……that’s pure,unadulterated talent
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I agree with Shaun. As long as we’re talking lyrics and not songs, Morrissey has some of the best. Heck, he could win on song titles alone (“Hairdresser on Fire”, “November Spawned a Monster”, “Girlfriend in a Coma”).
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As with anything, the title “best British lyricist ever” is open for some debate, but certainly not the kind of debate we’re having. People seem to be losing sight of the fact that this is about LYRICS, and not about songwriting as a whole. For LYRICS, Morrissey is certainly a contender, in the top 5 at least if not number one.
Somebody mentioned Page & Plant. Has that person actually listened to some Zeppelin lyrics lately? Let me give you an example: “Squeeze me baby, until the juice runs down my leg / The way you squeeze my lemon / I’m gonna fall right out of bed…”
Don’t get me wrong, I like The Lemon Song as much as the next guy, but I wouldn’t award them a lyrics prize by any stretch of the imagination. -
Did not click on the link but I’m gonna say Martin Gore.
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