What makes a good lyric? Emotive language? Metaphor? Or just a simple message?

Opinions, please.
Mathias.

It really depends on what the lyric is trying to accomplish. "Yesterday" by the Beatles is a masterpiece of simplicity...on the other hand, the Richard Harris song "McArthur Park" (written by Jimmy Webb) is a masterpiece of emotive language and metaphor...then again, Strawberry Fields Forever is brilliant, even though it makes absolutely no sense!

What really counts in lyricism is creativity and passion. If you are really listening for it, you can tell when a lyric has those two essential features. It will grab you and make you give a damn. That's what really counts.

nice answer, rev. I'm affraid though that no-one will post now 'cos it was so good!

Gosh, I guess I should have waited a while...I would think that just about anything anyone says about this question would spark some controversy. Surely, someone else has an opinion...

looks like they haven't!

Rev said it.

I'll take a crack at it...

I think lyrics are so subjective that it's nearly impossible to say what makes a "great" lyric. Different people find different things appealing. I personally like a lyric that I can identify with in some way. I don't do drugs, so a lyric with drug references usually won't appeal to me. I'm not a gangbanger, so some rap lyrics mean nothing to me. Now there is nothing wrong with those subjects, they just don't speak to me.

I also like a lyric to paint a picture or tell a story in a way that really makes me feel that I'm there or let's me remember exactly what something was like (like a past heartbreak). Good word choice is essential. The rhymes should not feel forced but rather as if they're not rhymes at all. Subtlety in the use of text, but obvious in the meaning of the words.

I like phrases I haven't quite heard before and messages that are straight-forward but real and thought- or feeling- provoking.

I want a lyric to engage me in some way. If I had an exact formula for how to do this, then I'm sure something would be lost in the art (but I'd be rich!).

I usually like slow or melodic songs because I feel there is more room for depth of character and story. But I like a little bit of everything. I'm not crazy about lyrics that don't seem to have a clear meaning, but they can be cool too. I'm a big fan of Tom Waits and half the time I have no idea what he's talking about. I guess that's where the sound of a song takes over and lyrics are second place.

But I will say that I will always like a song with a strong lyric over a song with strong music, if of course the song doesn't do a great job on both parts. I prefer a song to use music to support the lyrics, not throw in the lyrics as an afterthought.

Lyrics are the most important to me so I choose every word carefully when writing a song. Anyway, that's how I see it.

gunstreet's point of view of good lyrics fits my view better.

but I disagree that slow and melodic songs got more room for depth of character and story. it can be done with uptempo songs too, but that's pretty rare. for example, Jarboe's Yum Yah Killer is an uptempo song about a baby killer/eater. she used to be in Swans with Michael Gira. another good example is this chinese song about a mad man stabbing people in an underground pedestrian tunnel.

there are 2 types of good songs (in my opinion) ones where the words make you feel and ones where the words are meaningless, but the sound makes you feel. both are good. sometimes lyrics dont have to be profound...in fact, sometimes when you try to put too many words in a song to describe who you feel, it turns out jumbled and crap...ah la atlantis morreset.

ok....i really didnt need to go into this subject since it was obviously answered in better ways than mine..but i did anyway.

I think a good set of lyrics is simple and can be interpreted different ways. Each person gets a different meaning out of the song.