Videos starring lyrics

I’m sure I’m not the only one that remembers being impressed by Prince’s video of “Sign of the Times” back in the day. Unlike Prince’s usual OTT imagery, this video only featured the lyrics to the song (admittedly, amongst the best lyrics he has ever written) spelled out graphically. Over the years, this trend has been used often.

Since it was first released, there have been thousands of lyric videos. But I thought I’d still mention the first one that caught my attention.

For bands, they offer a low-cost way of getting material out there on YouTube and Vimeo – as long as the lyrics have something to say.

Cassettes Won’t Listen lyric video

The video for Cassettes Won’t Listen’s “Falling Apart” is the most recent video to catch my attention. Within seconds of the video starting, you can see that this is not just a type-written version of the song. The lyrics are used to tell a separate story. Very cool indeed!

This is not the only cool thing about Cassettes Won’t Listen, by the way. The one-man band has lots of interesting stuff on his website (which has since disappeared).

If you have any other (good) examples of videos starring lyrics, drop them below. For more posts about the meanings of songs, click the tab below.

by Michael Leahy

“Love Me” lyric video

And since I originally posted this article in 2013 (yikes!), I have produced one of my own for the producing duo 8rix: “Love Me”.

Oh, and let’s rewind to the nineties with 2 Unlimited’s “Closer 2U”, with an early drum’n’bass vibe.

More lyrics by Michael Leahy