I feel it necessary to pay tribute here to poems that are actually songs.

In this instance the title of a particular David bowie song is Eight Line Poem.


The tactful cactus by your window
Surveys the prairie of your room
The mobile spins to its collision
Clara puts her head between her paws
They've opened shops down West side
Will all the cacti find a home
But the key to the city
Is in the sun that pins
the branches to the sky



From the Hunky Dory album.

aren't all songs poems.

no...or they wouldn't be called songs

If I remember correctly the song Excellent Birds done by Peter Gabriel but was originally performed by Laurie Anderson was a poem written by her and she made a song out of it after the fact of writing it.

Lords of Acid do Pop Goes The Weasel.

while there can be a common ground and many songs can read as poetry & vice/versa, there are also many differences.

Bowie has written many of each, in fact he has amassed quite a collection of poems.

go back and look at the station to station album....pure poetry!

just about any jim morrison song... the last of the great poet singers..

'Madrigal' ~~~by Rush

Rock minuet

Paralyzed by hatred and a piss ugly soul
if he murdered his father, he thought he'd become whole
While listening at night to an old radio
where they danced to the rock minuet

In the gay bars in the back of the bar
he consummated hatred on a cold sawdust floor
While the jukebox played backbeats, he sniffed coke off a jar
while they danced to a rock minuet

School was a waste, he was meant for the street
but school was the only way, the army could be beat
The two whores sucked his nipples 'til he came on their feet
as they danced to the rock minuet

He dreamt that his father was sunk to his knees
his leather belt tied so tight that it was hard to breathe
And the studs from his jacket were as cold as a breeze
as he danced to a rock minuet

He pictured the bedroom where he heard the first cry
his mother on all fours, ah, with his father behind
And her yell hurt so much, he had wished he'd gone blind
and rocked to a rock minuet

In the back of the warehouse were a couple of guys
they had tied someone up and sewn up their eyes
And he got so excited he came on his thighs
when they danced to the rock minuet

On Avenue B, someone cruised him one night
he took him in an alley and then pulled a knife
And thought of his father, as he cut his windpipe
and finally danced to the rock minuet

In the curse of the alley, the thrill of the street
on the bitter cold docks where the outlaws all meet
In euphoria drug in euphoria heat
you could dance to the rock minuet

In the thrill of the needle and anonymous sex
you could dance to the rock minuet

So when you dance hard, slow dancing
when you dance hard, slow dancing
When you dance hard, slow dancing
when you dance to the rock minuet

-lou reed

what's the difference between a song and a poem.

did you know that most of their music was based from the novel Atlas Shrugged from Ayn Rand? Neil Peart is a big poet and Ayn Rand fan.

from wiki-
The lyrics up to this point (most of them written by Peart) were heavily influenced by classical poetry, fantasy literature, science fiction, and the writings of novelist Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by their 1975 song "Anthem" from Fly By Night and a specifically acknowledged derivation in 1976's 2112.[22]

it's sort of a subjective answer

you will never see Dylan Thomas appear in the American top 40,
much like you will never see The Cars lyrics at a poetry reading....
ok maybe Drive, but that's about it...

don't know if this helps but this is what i found when i looked into it








One of the most frequently asked questions about songwriting is: "What's the difference between a song lyric and a poem?" The answer to this question can determine the ultimate success of aspiring song lyricists.

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Similar yet distinct art forms:
Poetry & Song Lyrics


Poets in the modern world don’t enjoy the elevated social status they did a century or two ago.

Wordsworth, Byron, Keats and Shelley were the rock stars of their time. Their poetic skills earned them adulation, celebrity and even a touch of wealth.

These days, poems and poetry are sadly relegated to sparsely attended coffeehouse readings or the obscure pages of tiny literary magazines.

On the other side of the proverbial coin, there are wonderful opportunities available in today’s music industry for talented poets who successfully adapt their writing style to song lyric writing.

Songs are the popular lyrical medium of our time. That’s where the status is. That’s where the money is.

Adapting Poems Into Song Lyrics

There are many examples of poets who have turned their personal poetry into successful song lyrics.

Most everyone’s heard of lyricist Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s famous co-writer. One of these talented fellows without the other may have labored in obscurity.

Yet, by combining their specialized talents, they were able to write hundreds of great songs. They also managed to become millionaires!

Ambitious 21st Century poets desiring to connect with popular culture and mass audiences will probably want to learn how to write lyrics.

Which leads to this question: Can poets successfully turn their talents to writing song lyrics?

Answer: For talented poets willing to adapt their writing styles to the craft of lyric writing, the answer is definitely yes!

Song Lyrics v. Poems. The Similarities

To understand the differences between a poem and a well-crafted song lyric, it’s helpful to first understand the similarities.

In general, the same virtues that make a good poem—effective imagery, compelling themes, emotional evocativeness and originality—also make a good song lyric.

* Both poems and song lyrics rely on the potent use of language.
* Both engage their readers and listeners on an emotional level.
* Both require a skilled use of word sounds and rhyming.

Poetry and song lyrics both benefit from well-applied poetic devises, such as metaphor, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia. And both rely on the effective use of descriptive imagery.

Song Lyrics v. Poems. The Differences

Despite the many similarities, poetry and lyrics are not the same thing.

Here are some important differences between a poem and a song lyric:

A poem is designed to be read on the page—a lyric is designed to be sung by the human voice and heard with music

Just think about it for a moment. When you’re listening to a song, you don’t have the luxury of going back and re-reading. You can’t stop to dwell on every line.

A poem can be dense in ideas and structurally complex. It is designed to connect with a reader.

A successful lyric needs to connect with a listener. Since music moves the lyric quickly past the listener’s consciousness, the lyric needs to communicate with immediacy, clarity and focused impact.

A song lyric conveys its power through music and sound. Lyrical images and descriptive phrases need to connect with the ear, as well as the brain.

The meaning of a song lyric can be ambiguous, as with many of Bob Dylan’s great songs. Still, the great majority of successful song lyrics succeed because they’re clear and elegantly stated—even to the point of repetition.

After all, refrains and repeated choruses are key structural devices in the art of songwriting, and have been for hundreds of years.

Both poems and lyrics need to capture a listener’s imagination. Yet lyrics need to be easily caught through the ear. A song lyric filled with abstract words and dense, obscure phrases will be simply be unintelligible to most listeners.

A poem stands alone— without music. A lyric must work well with the rhythm and structure of music.

For most creative situations, the easiest method is this: The composer first writes the music. Then the lyricist writes lyrics to exactly fit the existing melody.

Or, as legendary songwriter Paul Simon says, “Write the melodies. Live with them for a while. Then write the words."

On the other hand, experienced collaborators can learn to work in the opposite direction. If the lyricist clearly understands melodic structure, a skilled composer will probably be able to write music to the lyricist’s existing lyrics.

In terms of song structure, lyric writing is a specialized craft. At a minimum, a good lyricist must understand the basics how to create viable verses, climbs, choruses and bridges.

In learning how to write lyrics, the bottom line is this: If you want your lyrics set to music, you must write them so a collaborative music composer can successfully adapt them to music.

A poem can be read silently. A lyric must be sung.

A lyric writer needs to also consider the singers who will perform his work. Certain words and phrases are smooth to sing. Others can be difficult or awkward.

Phrases like “recalcitrant octopuses eat tart grapefruit” are not likely to attract many major league recording artists.

Read your lyrics aloud to see if they are easily “sing-able.” If your word sounds do not flow and sing well, there’s apt to be a problem. If your lyrical phrases prompt awkward stops and stumbles, there’s definitely a problem.

Get into the habit of vocalizing your lyrical lines. You’ll begin to hear the difference.

Poetry can be of almost any length. Lyrics must be concise.

A poem can go on for pages, using concealed images that reveal themselves only after careful re-reading.

In a song lyric, the music moves quickly and every word counts. The best lyric writers use as few words as possible to set a scene and evoke a feeling. Few songs that gain radio play these days are longer than three or four minutes.

Learn to express yourself clearly. Use concise, effective language.

like i'm really going to read all of that.

Read it!


Then tell me what it says, because I don't want to read it.

Thank you, I must say I really appreciate this extension. It is stimulating to say the least.

I did NOT know that. I have heard that Ayn Rand has written some very interesting works,,,,but i`m stuck in non-fiction mode

you read it.
i have a feeling you're better at it than me.

Lyrics are bastardized poetry. Essentially a song is a poem with less finesse, a less classical approach (a la poetry). Poetry is art, lyrics/songs are expression that don't become art until they are put to music.

isn't writing a form of art.
so a person who writes music,
isn't an artist.
but then why do they call them music artists.
i'm confused.
>.<