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Lyrics are the written words in a
song. Lyrics can be written during the composition of a song
or after the accompanying music is composed. Sometimes,
however, music is adapted to or written for a song or poem
that has already been written. The meaning conveyed in lyrical
verses can be explicit or implicit. It can also be as extreme
as completely unintelligible. In these cases of lyrics, there
is a tendency to emphasize the form, articulation, meter, and
symmetries of the expressions. An example of this in Western
lyrics is that of the work of rock and roll lyricists. As
lyrics tend to be highly interpretive, this choice of
classification does not necessarily apply exclusively to that
genre of music. From the Greek, a lyric is a song sung with a
lyre. Now, it is commonly used to mean a song of no defined
length or structure. A lyric poem is one that expresses a
subjective, personal point of view.

Although lyrics are often
reflections of the writers' thoughts and feelings, the purpose
of lyrics varies greatly. Pop lyrics are often written to
achieve much more than the communication of an idea, opinion
or emotion. For example the use of rhythmical lyrical loops
can be used, like a chant, to help induce a trance like state
in the listener. When accompanied by a strong, repetitive
rhythm that changes in intensity and a repetitive simple bass
part, the effect can be very hard to resist. A great deal of
lyric writing techniques are based on poetry theory.
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