Twenty Favorite Living Lyricists

(When Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature, I was one of those naysayers who considered it a category error, since his lyrics are so inextricable from his recordings—not to mention which: Leonard Cohen. That said, I do of course admire lyrics as an art form, and one whose virtues are explicitly literary. What follows is a list, in alphabetical order, of my twenty favorite living lyricists. I should say that I’m distinguishing here between recording artists, songwriters, and lyricists; David Sylvian might be my favorite living recording artist, Stevie Wonder at least one of my favorite living songwriters, but while they’re both fine lyricists, they don’t make my top twenty. I’ll add two caveats: (1) these are all writers working in English, the only language in which I’m fluent, and (2) I have a listening deficit when it comes to hip hop, so you won’t find any of the greats of that genre here.)

 

— February 24, 2023


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