Greatest Lyricist Ever?

[Daniel]

It's pretty simple. Who do you believe to be the greatest lyricist ever? Songwriting to me, is very important for a song. Sadly, great songwriting is dying out in the age of manafactured, souless bands and artists.
So, pick anyone you believe is worthy of the title. Any time, any genre, anyone. They don't necessarily have to be a performer. Pick as many people as you want and maybe even give an example of their best work.

When I thought of this topic, the first name that came to mind was Bob Dylan. The man could and still can write wonderfully descriptive stories and set them to music. He has always been prolific in his songwriting, having made 34 studio albums since 1962. They have spanned genres from protest folk to country and western to a Christmas-themed album released last year. And the vast magority have been critically acclaimed. My favorite song by him is a 9 minute true story set to a perfect composition called 'Hurricane'. Unfortunately I can't find a satisfactory Youtube video of it or of any of his songs it seems. Here is a quote from 'It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)'.

"Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying."

I also love the work of Morrissey. If someone was to ask me what Britain is, I would say football, tea, multi-culturalism, Oscar Wilde, eccentricity and Morrissey. Everything he does seems to be quintessentialy British. For me, his best work was when he was in The Smiths, writing the lyrics to Johnny Marr's music. It truly is beautiful songwriting. He mixes soft melody and rhyme with a wicked sense of humour (take the song 'Girlfriend In A Coma' for example). That is what makes his songs so compelling for me. Here is 'The Boy With A Thorn In His Side'.

[YOUTUBE]wTV3ah8IlRE[/YOUTUBE]

So you've heard my picks, what are yours?

 

[SARIEL]

Rob Zombie, he is a master

just listen to any of his songs and you will have to agree.

 

[Ferbian]

I'm taking it into believing that this is all about the whole music business.

My choice would be Eminem he has some great lyrics going in the majority of his songs, really able to play around with the words and make some crazy rhymes out of it.

A good example would be his song "Soldier" which plays very well with a lot of words, there's a large array of songs that plays very well with the mix of beat and lyrics and I would definitely think of him as the superior lyricist ever.

A honorable mention from my liking would have to be 2pac although, he had great songs just as well, with great lyrics in there if you took the time to sit down and listen to them.

 

[The Crock]

My choices would have to be Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and ALL the members of the Wu-Tang Clan. Anthony Kiedis writes all of his lyrics from the heart and they're all very amazing. The Wu-Tang Clan have an ability to rhyme all kinds of different words and it's quite profound.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Im going with a rapper...TuPac...his lyrics are just the best...The meanings in the song..still to this day people don't understand them..they are that good..

TuPac was a poet..and a good one too..his lyrics make you think..and also make sense even if you don't understand them...

 

[Alex]

I dunno about the greatest but Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers is certainly one of the best.

All of the lyrics he wrote talked about various interesting social and personal issues but he did it in such a poetic way that you couldn't help but love the words. If there was no music his words would be some of the best poems out there.

[YOUTUBE]LQBX7Xx93nk[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

Hey Yo!

Im gonna go with Tupac Amaru Shakur a man who single handedly revolutionised RAP yes i went there, nobody aint got nothing on PAC, he wrote songs that had passion and meaning and you could literally feel it while you listened.

 

[I Will Fart In Your Mouth]

Maynard James Keenan

Listen to any song he's ever written and you'll understand why.

Also, I have to agree with the previous posters who said Tupac. He just simply had a way with words.

 

[Dave]

Hmm!

I am going to go with a strange choice but this lyricist is one of my favourites and generally comes up with the lyrics that match my interests the most. That person is Pete Wentz. I know that I will be ridiculed mercilessly for listing him first but there is simply no one else that can come close to him in my eyes. I could put on any Fall Out Boy song and I can guarantee you that I will find a lyric that I agree with. Whilst he may be the bassist and a dick, most of the time, this is about the lyrics that he has written and those are some of the best I have ever heard. Fall Out Boy may be ridiculed for the convoluted lyrics and the post-pop movement but I can’t get enough of them.

Another two of my favourites are Matt Bellamy, lead singer of Muse and Alex Turner, lead singer of Arctic Monkeys. Both of those guys have absolutely incredible lyrical talent and both are in bands that make them sound very, very good. Muse and The Arctic Monkeys are two of my favourite bands and some of the lyrics in either of the bands respective repertoires are just amazing.

However, I also have an appreciation of what history has shown us. I am a huge fan of Freddie Mercury and John Lennon respectively. Both of these guys wrote absolutely fantastic lyrics and I look at songs like Bohemian Rhapsody and Imagine as proof of that.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I would have to agree and say 2Pac must be up there, the meaning of his songs are so deep and he blows any other rapper out of the water when it comes to speaking from the heart and putting his feelings down on record. You may not always agree with him, but you have to admit he has an amazing way with words

I think Richard Ashcroft from The Verve, Ian Brown from the Stone Roses and Layne Staley/Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains have to be up there too for sure

 

[Rizza]

I really only am knowledgeable in hip hop so I will just stick to what I know.

In hip hop, I think most will debate the greatest lyricist ever, because hip hop has so many different genres with it, so accordingly everyone chooses legends of the genre they most enjoy. As I think of all time lyricists in Hip Hop though, its people who truly describe what IMO hip hop is all about. Storytelling, flowing, struggles and hard times, protecting what you have earned, and fully putting you heart and soul to the industry, because your passion of the art, and not money.

With that being said I think the greatest hip hop lyricist ever is Chuck D. Sure, he may not have spilled his heart out on every other song like Tupac did, but the guy had more dead on political rap then any other rapper alive or dead. Even if his song wasn't about politics, he could still flow about relevant things, and not go into abstract rap. He was simply amazing. I wish I had more words to describe it, but anything I say doesn't do it justice. You would have go find the classic Public Enemy albums to really see what i am talking about.

Also for some raw violent shit rap, no one was better then stringing words together then Big L. His album Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous was a absolutely beautiful mix of some sociopathic type shit mix with the most insane flow and killer one liners known to man. IMO Big L is up there for best hip hop lyricist ever.

Also Nas and Sage Francis. Nas of course needs no introduction, I mean he's fucking Nas. The Mastermind of possibly the best Hip Hop CD ever in Illmatic. His lyrics can go anywhere, from Storytelling, Raw and Violent, poetical to political. He does it all.

Sage Francis on the other hand is the dude I think who takes the crown for best Hip Hop poet ever. His Lyrics are deep, real deep. He has a wide range too, well maybe not a real wide range but his story telling abilities are not bad at all. He can also string words together like no other. Listening to a sage album is like a reading a bi polars persons diary, you will laugh, you will feel sad, but you know what you are messing with is straight from the heart.

I don't wan't to keep babbling on, but one last shout out to the Wu Tang clan. All of those guys are in-fucking-sane when it comes to lyrics. Inspectah, Ghost, and RZA, are IMO the most talented at making the lyrics easy on the ears, and have the smoothest flow, but GZA and Rae K are the best at storytelling IMO. All great though.

 

[Cracka Jack]

I guess I should name two here: one for hip-hop and one for more traditional music.

For hip-hop, I think I'd have to go with Mr. KCMO, Tech N9ne. I've heard guys with fantastic wordplay, and I've heard guys who can rap at an incredible speed, but I don't believe I've heard anyone do both quite as well as Tech. And not only that, but he can do all this with as smooth a flow as possible. I truly believe him to be the most underrated rapper that I've ever heard. My runner-up would have to be Eminem, the reason I first started listening to hip-hop.

My other, more traditional choice would be John Lennon. Though I prefer Paul's music more, I've always felt a much deeper connection to John's lyrics.

 

[SorgFamily]

When I thought of this topic, the first name that came to mind was Bob Dylan.

My favorite song by him is a 9 minute true story set to a perfect composition called 'Hurricane'.

Dylan f*cking rocks. "Hurricane" is also my favorite song from him although "Tangled up in Blue" comes in at a close second. I don't even know Ruben Carter, which is who "Hurricane" is about but I feel bad for the man even though I heard Dylan got every detail wrong about that night. The song is about this boxer (Ruben Carter) who was, allegedly, framed for murder at the height of his career. I know nothing of this story except for what Dylan wrote but I'm enthralled every time.

Then you go back and look at his earlier songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They are a Changin'" and those are the songs of a generation that didn't want war but were at it anyways. He was the voice of the sixties, one of the most pivotal decades of the United States. And for that he gets my vote.

 

[Serious Jones]

There are so many amazing lyricists. There's no way that I could just pick one. I totally forgot about Bob Dylan until I read the first post. He was the voice of an entire era, and did it so eloquently. He doesn't just have one song that stands out lyrically. Every song does. There's usually a line or two in every song that really catches my attention and makes me think. Not something you can say for many artists.

Besides that, my original choice was Freddie Mercury. This guy was just awesome. I feel like posting this on a wrestling forum is gonna lead to some "Ew, feelings and emotions, get them away", but he had such powerful, honest lyrics.

First, he knew how to appeal to the masses with hits like We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, and the classic Bohemian Rhapsody, which I don't think many will argue when I say that it's one of the most impressive songs ever.

But his less popular songs is where Mercury's lyrics stand out. Especially knowing now that he was gay, songs like Somebody To Love, I Want To Break Free, and Save Me are especially impressive. The way he sang really showed how much he believed in his lyrics, too. Asides from all that touchy-feely stuff, his upbeat songs, like Don't Stop Me Now, are just as impressive.

But I'm still not gay, guys. Really.

 

[The Jabroni]

My two picks are Johnny Mercer and Conor Oberst. They both have a way with words and can really tie a tune together with perfect lyrics.

Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics to some of the greatest standards of all time. He wrote from the perspective of hopeful dreamers, down-on-their-luck barflies, and old cowhands. His lyrics to Moon River capsulized a dream and his lyrics to Tangerine told a South American story that couldn't have been told better. He was a lyricist that varied greatly in subject and style, but never varied in quality. He never sacrificed substance for rhythm and rhyme, but still never lacked either of the three.

Conor Oberst is one of my favorites because he has a style that's all his own. His lyrics are always drawn from experience and vary from contemplative, to depressed, to skeptical. He's never written a song that wasn't perfect word-wise. From his work with Bright Eyes, to his solo work and other endeavors, he's kept his style of personal and eloquent lyrics over simple, and often understated, music.

 

[Soapguy]

In my mind there's a five-way tie.

Cole Porter, Billy Strayhorn, Ira Gershwin, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon.

Porter's way with words and ability to evoke feeling from both the musicians performing the pieces and the listener. I'm pretty sure William Hung (or the worst singer ever) could sing a Porter song in a room full people who don't speak English and the listeners would still feel something.

Strayhorn's also a composer and he manages to contrast his lyrics with his compositions effing awesome ways. He's brilliant.

Ira Gershwin, I think my inner hopeless romantic is forced to appreciate how well this man can write a love song. There's really no excuse for it.

I have to echo the Dyan and Lennon sentiments of others as well. Amazing writers.

 

[Avenged7X]

Tim Mcllrath from Rise Against has a lot of very meaningful lyrics, and he's even said himself that he writes songs with an intent for them to have a deep meaning. And their songs always turn out great.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

Im going to go with Kurt Cobain. So many people couldnt tell what his songs were about the lyrics were that good (like someone said with tupac). You could listen to his songs and interpret your own meaning and then find out the real meaning to be nothing like what you had in mind. The hidden messages in his songs are unreal, the song "rape me" is about a girl who just says fuck it and tells the guy to do whatever he wants with her because she can take it. Smells like teen spirit was a deoderant back in that era and Kurt's friend wrote on a brick wall "Kurt smells like teen spirit" and kurt took it as a sign of a revolution. Your a pretty damn good song writer if you take something as simple as the name of a deoderant and turn it into a rebellious teen anthem that is today.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Don't know if I would necessarily consider him the best ever, but I have always believed Neil Peart from Rush to be an excellent lyricist as well as a very accomplished drummer. And he's been doing it for over 30 years now and running.

 

[Hazardous]

I wanted to say Eminem.. Because deep down that's what comes to mind when I read the title, but I think I'm going to have to go with his boss.. Dr.Dre.

Not only is he probably the best beat maker in the biz, but the lyrical content in a Dre song is just awesome. He can tell a story in 3 or 4 minutes, that can just blow you away. Whether it be about sex, booze, and drugs.. Or it's the story of his life (the Watcher). There's a reason why 2001 is often considered one of the best albums ever put out, and it's not all because of the beats. The song's themselves are like lyrical homicide.

 

[#hamler]

Eminem

Eminem is the best lyricist and rapper ever. Better than Wayne, better then Pac, and way better than Biggie. Other rappers are the reason rap and hip hop are both looked down on in society. Most other rappers will rap about hoes, guns, and violence (still a huge fan though) while Eminem will rap about his love life, his problems, family and real life situations any individual can relate to no matter what the perspective we look at them are. Eminem, unlike Wayne has a very steady flow and you can put his lyrics to any beat and have a great song. Eminem can also think on his feet and can flex his rhymes to fit the music or beat. What other rapper or lyricist can come up with a diamond status album in a week? No one. Eminem can sell albums and he's just flat out the total package in the music world. Not just rap or hip hop, but rock and country as well. Eminem = great lyricist ever!

 

[Whatsinaname696]

Corey Frickin' Taylor (Slipknot/Stone Sour) Everything he does is pure poetry at its finest (IMO anyways) and he does it for two bands with two distinct sounds, Maynard, Lennon, Eminem, Lil' Wayne, Freddie Mercury, Johhny Cash, Reznor, Manson, and a lot of others are also up there, but for #1 I pick #8