By Alexandra Pullen
Amongst many music fans, it is a common point of discussion as to whether lyricism or production is the main thing which draws you into a song. Does the melody, instrumentals and hook stand out more, or do you tend to focus on the lyricism, where it becomes evident what the songwriter wants to express? For me, my top twelve songs are a mixture of both, but admittedly after studying literature up to degree level, it would be difficult to deny that I have an inherent intrigue towards the words in a song.
Lyrics are what ties a song together and depicts an entire story, and so alongside this is the importance of how these words are delivered by artists. You will notice that a common occurrence within these twelve tracks is the story behind them and the emotion with which this is portrayed. I love tracks which are laced with metaphors and innovative instances of play-on-words. Yet, sometimes the best lyrics are those which are simple but real, expressing the feelings and experiences of the songwriter. So, here is an appreciation of the songwriters behind my favourite songs, along with an exploration of how the words elevate musical experience.
Stevie Nicks: ‘Silver Springs’ by Fleetwood Mac
“Time cast a spell on you/But you won’t forget me…You’ll never get away from the sound/Of the woman that loved you”
If you know me, it will come as no surprise that ‘Silver Springs’ is at the top of my list of favourite songs. A track which criminally did not make it onto Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album Rumours and instead was on the deluxe edition, this song has surged in popularity in the past year due to a trending clip of the band’s 1997 performance at Warner Brothers Studios. The song is Stevie Nicks’ reflection on the end of her relationship with her bandmate, Lindsey Buckingham, and is somewhat of a response to Buckingham’s ‘Go Your Own Way’ in which he accuses Nicks of “‘shacking up’ with different men”. After seeing a sign for Silver Springs, Maryland while on tour, she envisioned the place as a fabulous utopia and so uses it as a symbol to represent what could have been in her relationship with Buckingham. Nicks’ passion and emotion while delivering this song both on stage and in the recorded version is evident, specifically in the closing chorus, and illuminates the power behind the lyrics.
Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri: ‘Atomic’ by Blondie
“Oh, your hair is beautiful/Oh, tonight/Atomic”
While ‘Atomic’ doesn’t have the lyrical complexity and depth of other Blondie songs such as ‘Rapture’ or ‘Hanging on the Telephone’, the track exemplifies how Debbie Harry’s voice has such an individual nature to it. She, alongside keyboardist Jimmy Destri, wrote the lyrics while the band were playing the song; she explained, “I would just be kind of scatting along with them and I would start going, ‘Ooooooh, your hair is beautiful.’” It quickly became a new wave classic of the late 1970s, with stand out guitar and bass performances driving the track forward, but the lyrics are an underrated aspect of it. Far Out Magazine shared that it’s the simplicity of them which make them so hypnotic, as many tried to force meaning onto them but Harry purely wanted to write a brilliant song, and that she did.
Brian Eno and David Bowie: ‘Heroes’ by David Bowie
“I, I can remember/Standing by the wall/And the guns shot above our heads/And we kissed as though nothing could fall”
From the album of the same name, and co-written by David Bowie and Brian Eno of Roxy Music, ‘Heroes’ was written and recorded during Bowie’s time in Berlin with the album being the only one in the Berlin Trilogy to be entirely recorded in the city. I hold a personal connection to the song, as I’d imagine so many do, having used it quite predictably in a Year 4 presentation about my ‘heroes’, my parents. However, the lyrics of the song are about two doomed lovers, one from West Berlin and the other from East Berlin who dream of the freedom of being together, even if it’s just for one day. Bowie was inspired to write it after witnessing a kiss between his co-producer Tony Visconti, who was married at the time, and Antonia Maass next to the Berlin Wall. Like Nicks and Harry, the power behind Bowie’s vocals are what drives the emotion of the lyrics. This was brought to the recorded track with Visconti’s ‘multi-latch’ recording system which placed three microphones at differing distances from the singer, leading to him shouting some lines.
Johanna Hall and John Hall: ‘Half Moon’ by Janis Joplin
“Half moon, nighttime sky/Seven stars, heaven’s eyes/Seven songs on seven seas/Just to bring all your sweet love home to me”
It was a surprise to me to hear about the background of this song and the songwriters behind it. Then husband and wife, Johanna and John Hall, wrote the track after Johanna interviewed Joplin for The Village Voice. The three of them met in Johanna’s home where Joplin asked them to write her a song, which led to John working with the likes of Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon and more. Joplin’s voice and energy transformed the track and it is a personal standout from her album Pearl.
Jimmy Page, John Bonham, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant: ‘Dazed and Confused’ by Led Zeppelin
“Been dazed and confused for so long, it’s not true/Wanted a woman, never bargained for you”
‘Dazed and Confused’ is another song with an interesting story behind the songwriters because the crediting on the original album led to a conflict and lawsuit for Led Zeppelin’s guitarist Jimmy Page. Originally written by American singer-songwriter Jake Holmes in 1967, the band Yardbirds reworked it and the song was produced by Page, but they split soon after. The next year, Led Zeppelin recorded and released the track on their debut album with new lyrics. However, in June 2010 Holmes sued Page for copyright infringement in a conflict which has only just been settled outside of court in August 2025. With the changing songwriters came a change of topic. While many believed Holmes’ version to be about a negative experience with drugs, he insisted that it was about a woman’s indecision on ending a relationship. Conversely, Led Zeppelin’s song is about a person who ponders whether to leave a relationship. It has been said that live performances of the song would sometimes be up to 20 minutes long.
Chris Frantz, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth: ‘Pull up the Roots’ by Talking Heads
“Wilder than the place we live in/I’ll take you there, I’ll take you there/I don’t mind some slight disorder/Pull up the roots, pull up the roots”
From Talking Heads’ 1983 album Speaking in Tongues, ‘Pull up the Roots’ displays the layers and entanglements within David Byrne’s lyrics. There are moments of pure absurdity in many of the band’s songs which is what makes them so appealing, and this track in particular is one which people have discussed and pondered the meaning of. Some have suggested that ‘pulling up the roots’ is used as a metaphor for destroying nature due to ongoing urbanisation and its impact on the death of the ‘small American town’. There doesn’t seem to be a concrete idea running throughout the song with some outlying lines including “I know every living creature”, but Byrne’s wavy vocals alongside the funky bassline and synths make it a perfect demonstration of the magic of Talking Heads.
Kate Bush: ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Kate Bush
“Heathcliff, it’s me, I’m Cathy/I’ve come home, I’m so cold/Let me in your window”
Naturally, Emily Brontë also deserves writing credits for this one. In ‘Wuthering Heights’, Kate Bush cleverly weaves aspects of the story of Catherine and Heathcliff in Brontë’s 1847 gothic novel into a song which is perfect with her haunting voice. Bush wrote the song in one evening at the age of 18, after being captivated by a BBC adaptation of the novel and soon after realised she shares a birthday with Brontë. As a follow up to her 1978 track, Bush wrote a poetic tribute to the writer which was carved into a stone in West Yorkshire in 2018.
Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff: ‘Out of the Woods’ by Taylor Swift
“Remember when we couldn’t take the heat?/I walked out, I said, “I’m setting you free”/But the monsters turned out to be just trees/When the sun came up you were looking at me
Taylor Swift is known for her songwriting abilities, with her two 2020 albums folklore and evermore displaying some of the best lyrics in her discography. Her meticulous use of metaphor in storytelling as well as the incorporation and references she uses from existing literature make her one of the best songwriters making music now. More than any other part of her songs, fans love a bridge by Swift, and for me ‘Out of the Woods’ from 1989 is one of her best. The song is rumoured to be about her relationship with Harry Styles, and how she felt anxiety due to being so monitored in the public eye. The refrain in the chorus “are we out of the woods yet?”, reflects the constant flow of thought and worry, with the woods acting as a metaphorical representation of how Swift felt trapped and suffocated in the limelight. This was also one of the first instances of Swift working with Jack Antonoff, who you can hear echoing the refrain in the background of the song, adding to the overall atmosphere of anxiety in the track.
Jackson Browne: ‘These Days’ by Nico
“These days I seem to think about/How all these changes came about my ways”
Nico’s version of ‘These Days’ has always felt like a nostalgic song to me for an unknown reason. After being covered countless times and used in soundtracks including Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums and more recently the Netflix series One Day, the song has captured the love of several generations. It begins with just a simplistic and stripped-back guitar but with Nico’s beautiful vocals comes a soft string arrangement. The track’s writing and delivery feels melancholic and reflective but Jackson Browne wrote it at the age of 16, sharing with the New York Times that “Teenagers have a very vibrant emotional life. There’s so much going on in terms of your ideas about personal freedom and what the world is supposed to hold for you.” I think these feelings expressed in ‘These Days’ can be applicable to anyone at any stage of their life which makes it a perfect song to allow you to reflect on your life and surroundings.
Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde: ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ by Cocteau Twins
“Am I just in Heaven or Las Vegas?”
Admittedly, this is a difficult song to decipher. If you search the lyrics, many different interpretations come up and it has also been removed from Spotify lyrics. Many fans suggest that it explores Elizabeth Fraser’s feelings of detachment towards bandmate Robin Guthrie who she was in a relationship with for 13 years. This being said, it is the dreamy instrumentals and catchy melody which captivates me with this song and if you haven’t heard it you should definitely listen.
Charlie Salt, Joe Donovan, Josh Dewhurst, Myles Kellock and Tom Ogden: ‘Ode to NYC’ by Blossoms
“The street fairs, Times Square’s a kaleidoscope of colour/The skyline’s my valentine, I feel like a first-time lover/And so it seems it never sleeps, the subway is my haven/From 42, the Brooklyn loops and Grand Central Station”
I honestly found it difficult to just choose one standout lyric in ‘Ode to NYC’ from Blossoms’ fourth album Ribbon Around The Bomb, which as suggested by the title, is a love letter to New York City. Frontman Tom Ogden has shared his love for the city: “me and my wife used to go every January. We know all the quirky places, and we’d explore—everything you hear in the song, basically…It’s one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written.” The fast-paced acoustic track lists many places across the city, and expresses how it feels to fall in love with a person and a place. The members of Blossoms are incredible songwriters who do not shy away from writing about a range of topics from love, friendship and clubbing to a fibreglass gorilla.
Todd Rundgren: ‘Hello It’s Me’ by Todd Rundgren
“It’s important to me/That you know you are free/ ‘Cause I never want to make you change for me”
Written in 1967 and featured on his band’s debut album Nazz, ‘Hello It’s Me’ was the first song Todd Rundgren ever wrote. It began as a slow tempo, emotional ballad with the band about a breakup, but in 1972 Rundgren released it on his solo album Something/Anything?, and adopted a more upbeat style due to the uplifting backing vocals and the presence of brass instruments. However, the lyrics stayed the same. This song is an ultimate example of how instrumentals and melody can change the overall atmosphere of a song despite the lyrics being about a sad topic, but it also suggests that perhaps Rundgren’s feelings towards the song and the situation he had written about had changed and developed over time.
Researching the songwriters and stories behind these tracks in more depth has given me an entirely new appreciation for each and every one of them. While they are my favourite songs, I of course did not know the detailed and complex backgrounds of some of them. So while the debate goes on and people will always have their personal preference as to whether the lyrics or production drives their love of music, it is certainly worth delving into the history, writing process and meanings behind your favourite songs. You never know what gems and tales you may uncover.
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