Why don't Eurovision songs usually have got deep lyrics?

[carlosmstraductor]

Hello everybody:

I would like to ask you a question. Why are Eurovision lyrics not deep? I find that forced rhyme "fire/desire" ridiculous and cheesy. Moreover, I think that if lyrics were better, the contest would be dignified.

There are even some die-hard purist eurofans who defend that a good song must have good lyrics that tell a story and convey a message, a good melody (especially based on any traditional folk music style with which they identify themselves) and a good performer/singer, since ESC is, according to them, a very serious and professional event, as well as a meeting of different European musical cultures which enrich each other and dignify their countries and their culture, since there is NO RULE saying that ESC is a pop music contest.

Greetings from Spain
Carlos M.S.

 

[HayashiM]

1. In the rare moments when I switch on the radio nowadays, I don't really get any super meaningful songs either - it is rather a rarity / happens on dedicated radio stations. Eurovision isn't anyhow "worse". Being in a market situation, every country simply wages its chances on a song they think they'll get rewarded for with the biggest probabiltiy (of course there are exceptions who probably intentionally don't aim to win, like , but these are really only exceptions). And most of the time, this indeed is some sort of pop combined with as fitting staging as possible.

2. As poppy as Eurovision is, there are also other genres included though - more or less often, with more or less success, but the variety certainly is there. Pretty much any year you'd have to be a true connoisseur / more precisely a grumpy connoisseur to not be able to find at least a single entry you'll enjoy.

3. It truly depends on which song do you talk about. I think you are slightly prejudiced, because if you take a look on the top 5 or even the winning songs of these more recent years, you will find elements of what you describe as desirable for the bigger part of them.
Rise Like a Phoenix, Heroes, 1944, Amar Pelos Dois, Toy and Arcade - all of them have a message of their own. Quality of the interpretation / sincerity of the said message varies, its subjective importance varies, but nevertheless, there is an intent of a message behind all of these ESC winners.

After all, even The Beatles didn't produce n°1 hits only. You will always have to have some fillers.

Would I welcome a bit more variety / overall quality? Yes please!
For every edition, can I find at least some great Eurovision songs to listen to all year long? Yes sir! *

* Of course, these usually end up ranked 11-43, <kidding>but that's just my taste being too perfect for the mere mortals </kidding>

 

[MalagaToledo]

Conchita song had a deep message. Jamala's song had a deep message and so on.. But not every esc entry needs to have a message. Sometimes ppl just want to have some fun.

 

[FRFanESC]

Everything has been said above. Some songs actually have a deep meaning, I could easily name 10 songs with message : Toy, Rise Like A Phoenix, Amar Pelos Dois, Arcade, Soldi, Viszlat Nyar, Mercy, Roi, No'ubliez Pas, Telemoveis, 1944, Siren Song (joking), etc.

 

[FilipFromSweden]

I don't think that's true. Even Euphoria which is really up-tempo has deep lyrics

 

[r3gg13]

Deep lyrics is very subjective, it's not innate per se - it's all in your personal analysis of the text. Even the Social Network Song could be viewed as having deep lyrics with commentary on social media dynamics. See, that sounds deep right? It's all depends on your analytical lens.

Eurovision, overall, has good substance whether it be deep or not.

 

[BernadetteCydonia]

Cheap lyrics are easier to write, and faster to slap on a song. And also much more memorable. I too would like less fires and desires but you can't change the course of Eurovision lyricism by force if many people still find it listenable...

 

[randajad]

From around 40 songs, there would be at least 20 wih bearable and at least 5 to 10 songs with good lyrics, and that situation is the same in the mainstream music and top 40, even worse.

 

[tuorem]

[MENTION=5585]r3gg13[/MENTION] I genuinely think "The Social Network Song" had deep lyrics, although some lines were clearly meant to be funny. To me, it got overshadowed because of the "San Marino" label and the fact the whole package screamed "let's troll for our lives". How the Internet (and related technologies) changed society and shaped relationships wasn't an uninteresting subject matter imo.

 

[Neo]

Agree Eurovision cheesy / deep ratio is not much different than elsewhere, at least lately.

F.i. I can't remember to have been so moved by lyrics for years like I did with Moldova - Wild Soul 2014, although the old 'reach for the sky, you and I..' Eurovision chestnuts are getting more and more grating year by year, although most are anyway out come the final.

 

[Sammy]

I think there are two dimensions regarding the "depth" of a song.

One is the beauty of the lyrics. Are the words well combined in terms of the sound of the language? Are the metaphors well chosen and hit the point they want to express? Are they innovative/mysterious/surprising or do we get the fire/desire rime with the rest of the line just forced to end on these words.

The other one is the content of the lyrics: is it dealing with important issues, is it telling a touching story that is well told, or is it the 281st song of "oh I love you but you left me." or some random cliché.

The difficulty lies obviously in the latter part, as some stories may seem bland and worn out for some people but very touching and true for others.
And finally even very shallow songs can be very enjoyable. (or especially those? )