Lyrics vs Melody: Why Some Songs Stick and Others Don’t

For some listeners, songs take time to love. The melody might be pleasant and the instrumentation exciting, but often it isn’t until the lyrics are understood that a piece fully resonates. For many others though, lyrics are secondary: the feeling of the song matters more than what it says. This divide raises a broader question: what determines how we connect with music?

How the Brain Processes Melody and Lyrics

Research suggests that the way music is experienced reflects both brain processing and individual preference. For a long time, music and language were thought to activate the same regions, meaning that melody and lyrics would be processed together, but a 2010 MRI study contested the idea. Participants listened to songs in different variations: same melody with different lyrics, same lyrics with different melodies, completely different songs, and the original combination. The researchers focused on the superior temporal sulcus (STS), a region known for processing both speech and sound, and found that early in the STS the brain responded to the song as a single, integrated signal. Toward the front of the STS, activity shifted to focus mainly on lyrics, indicating that as meaning begins to be extracted, words are separated from music. Another region, the left precentral gyrus, also responded to both lyrics and melody, potentially reflecting preparation for singing.

Later research confirms that once the initial integration occurs, the brain parses melody and lyrics into different hemispheres. Disrupting rhythm makes lyrics harder to follow, while distorting pitch obscures melody but leaves the words intelligible. Fast neural responses show that the left hemisphere tracks linguistic expectations and the right monitors musical ones almost simultaneously. In short, the brain first perceives a song as a whole and then teases apart its components, allowing listeners to focus on either melody, lyrics, or both.

Finding Meaning

Although this serves as an indication, the listening experience isn’t fully black and white. Most listeners do not focus exclusively on lyrics or solely on melody. Both elements are experienced together, and the balance shifts depending on the song, environment, situation and listener. Still, understanding how the brain parses music can provide guidance, particularly when writing or curating songs. Even for the most “lyric-centric” listeners, a strong melody can carry a song even when lyrics are ambiguous; similarly, weaker melodies rely more heavily on meaningful words to resonate with listeners.

When a song has a compelling, catchy melody, it can override the importance of words. I Want It That Way is a prime example: its lyrics are famously confusing, yet the melody, harmonies, and emotional delivery make it unforgettable. The song works even without perfect meaning because the melody is grand and engaging enough to carry it.

When the melody is less dominant, attention naturally shifts to meaning. If the hook isn’t strong and the lyrics lack emotional or narrative weight, the song struggles to resonate. In this way, lyrics become the default vessel of meaning: without them, the song loses its presence entirely. The 2010 MRI study illustrates this, showing that as the brain separates words from music, it allows listeners to engage with lyrics more deeply when melody alone cannot hold attention.

Individual differences also play a role. A 2018 study linking music preference to the Big Five personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), found that individuals high in openness preferred complex genres, while extroverts gravitated toward mainstream hits. Listeners who are more focused on lyrics may be less drawn to pop songs with simpler, repetitive words and more inclined toward music that rewards close listening. Yet these tendencies are not absolute: lyric-focused listeners respond to compelling melodies as evidenced by enjoyment of non-lyric based music, and music in other languages, and melody-driven listeners still notice meaningful lyrics.

I Want It That Way demonstrates this interplay. A weaker melody would have left the song empty, and a rewrite of the lyrics left many questioning if that would have made the song a hit. The song thrives in the balance between music and language, illustrating how the search for meaning in a song depends on both components, and how the brain allows listeners to prioritize one or the other depending on context.

In Short

The research suggests our brains are wired to notice both lyrics and melody, but how we engage with them is personal, flexible, and situational. For some, the words unlock the emotional core of a song; for others, the melody alone is enough to register. Yet this isn’t a rigid divide. Melody and lyrics live on a scale; both matter, and each takes precedence depending on the song, context, mood, and performance. With time, a melody that once felt incidental can take over, or lyrics that seemed forgettable can suddenly land.

Music exists in the space between sound and sense, and while biology might nudge our attention towards a melody or lyrical preference, it does not prescribe it. How a song resonates is less a matter of anatomy than of curiosity and choice. In the end, every listen is a negotiation between the song and the listener, and no two negotiations are ever quite the same.

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