ORIGINALITY IN MUSIC LYRICS 1

Lack of Originality in Music Lyrics

Franco Ferrer-San Miguel

Full Sail University

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In recent years, originality in lyrics has been dwindling. There have been various reasons

for it decreasing. Some artists take from other sources, like poems, without giving their sources.

Others aren’t being encouraged to be original in their lyrics, due to not being motivated by the

record labels. The end result, as is about to be seen, is that there is no originality in music lyrics

today.

As mentioned above, some artists take the route of copying from other sources, like

poems and films, without giving any credit to the one who originally wrote the source of said

lyrics. Case in point comes with Bob Dylan’s album Modern Times. When it came out that Dylan

had copied from a Confederate poet called Henry Timrod, people were divided, due to one little

problem. As Motoko Rich (2006, para. 7-8) says: “Mr. Dylan does not acknowledge any debt to

Timrod on “Modern Times.’ The liner notes simply say ‘All songs written by Bob Dylan’

(although some fans have noted online that the title of the album contains the letters of Timrod’s

last name). Nor does he credit the traditional blues songs from which he took the titles, tunes,

and some lyrics for ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’’ and ‘Nettie Moore.’” Some people, like Professor

James Kibler, weren’t bothered by Dylan’s use of Timrod’s poetry as lyrics: “I would say he’s

doing a great honor to Timrod and let’s celebrate that” (Rich, 2006, Conclusion section, Para. 5).

Others, however, were bothered that Dylan would do so, equating it to dishonour; a user from a

Bob Dylan forum, had choice words for Dylan, as Rich (2006, Para. 17) explains: “Bob really is

a thieving little swine. If it was anyone else we’d be stringing them up by their neck, but no, it’s

Bobby Dee, and ‘the folk process.’” Strangely enough, the lyrics are in the public domain, the

author having died long ago, in 1868.

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The problem, though, isn’t because of Dylan using the material from Timrod’s poems,

but rather, how he used it. He hadn’t given acknowledgment to Timrod when he put the lyrics in

the liner notes, regardless of whether Dylan got his material from public domain. Chris Dineen, a

Spanish teacher in Albuquerque, said about this: “It seems kind of duplicitous. Even casual fans

know that Dylan has a history of doing this and it’s part of what makes him great, but this is

different. This is one poet who’s used over and over and over again. Maybe it’s the teacher in

me. If I found out that he had done this in a research paper, he’d be in big trouble.” (Rich, 2006)

A rule of thumb to be learned: people must always cite sources, even if paraphrasing.

Another reason why creativity in lyrics is dwindling is due to record labels not

encouraging creativity. Havelock Nelson (1995) states: “Instead of accepting the important task

of carrying on black pop's rich legacy, these executives are rewarding mediocrity. The result is

that for perhaps the first time, black music--known for its ability to stir souls, move hearts, and

whip hips--is effectively at a standstill.” As a result of this basic rejection of originality, rappers

rap about their bling-bling, how many cars they have, etc. It’s a disturbing trend that’s been

going on since the 1990s: a record label doesn’t really care much for originality, so they pay

huge sums of money on pop rap, leaving other more authentic rappers to go to independent

labels, but the problem with these is that they don’t have the reach of the major labels, even

though one’s creativity and/or originality is kept intact in regards to lyrics.

These are all the reasons why there is no originality in lyrics anymore. However,

musicians and songwriters can help foster a new generation. First, musicians and songwriters

need to ignore the wishes of the record label and write their own lyrics. Secondly, unless one

wants to incur the wrath of a forum user and be called a “thieving little swine,” as was done to

Bob Dylan, musicians and songwriters must always credit the sources of their lyrics, regardless
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of whether they are in the public domain or not. By doing these things, emerging musician and

songwriters can, basically, ensure that originality in lyrics returns to music.

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References

Nelson, H. (1995, March 11). Where's the inspiration in Black pop? Billboard, Vol. 107 Issue
10, p20.

Rich, M. (2006, September 14). Who's this guy Dylan borrowing lines from Henry Timrod? The
New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/arts/music/14dyla.html