What is the overall mood of the song? How do the lyrics match up with the instruments? Do they have a similar feel or are they conflicting with each other?

Who is the speaker? Don’t just assume that the speaker is literally the singer – they could be playing a character or referencing a larger issue. If there is a “you” or a “we” in the song, who does this refer to? A lover? A friend? A politician? What are the major images or ideas that keep popping up?

Where does the song take place? This could be a very specific location, like Kent State in Neil Young’s “Ohio,” or something vaguer, like a girl’s bedroom in Taylor Swift’s “Love Story. " “New Slang” by The Shins starts with the line “Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth // only I don’t know how they got out, dear. " This may seem confusing, but later lyrics show that he was being rude at a bar. He got punched in the face for saying his “curse. "

Look for comparisons and commonality. Most metaphors aren’t perfect, they simply draw a simple line between two things. “My love is a rose” doesn’t necessarily mean a woman is red, slender, etc. It likely means she is beautiful but also dangerously thorny. Search online for images or ideas you don’t understand. They may come from movies, other songs, old myths, etc.

Try out SongMeanings, SongFacts, and LyricInterpretations, as well. Note, however, that you don’t have to agree with every annotation put up by other people. These sites are great places to start breaking down complex sections, however. [2] X Research source

What is most important is that you can defend your position with evidence from the song. As long as you can back up your meaning with actual lyrics or stories, it is a valid meaning. Most artists will even admit that they don’t know the song’s full meaning. Writing lyrics can be subconsciousness, and the meaning people get from listening to a song is just as important as the meaning when writing it.

What songs come before or after the song you’re listening to? Do the shifts in mood or tone between songs tell you anything? The first song and last song generally set the theme. If the song came first, what kind of mood does it set for all the songs after it? If it comes last, what kind of tone does it leave the listener on?

Look up the year the song was released or written, as well as any major current events from that period. Does anything seem familiar? Sometimes artists will talk about personal issues that influenced songs years after they were released. For example, Kanye West’s second album, Late Registration, talks a lot about fame and money, whereas his first album, The College Dropout, talks about the struggles of a starving artist.

Third Eye Blind’s famous “Semi-Charmed Life” is about a crushing meth addiction. The happy background music symbolizes the quick but high-tempo high the characters get, even as they are ruining their lives.

A sudden twist or change is often called a “turn. " For example, if the singer is pining over a girl in the beginning but seems happy at the end, what was the line where the singer’s luck “turned?” This is often your biggest clue to a song’s meaning.

What is the theme of the music video? This often will match the song’s theme, even if the stories are different. For example, a video may show two people fighting, smashing their own house, while the song is about politics or current events. The theme may be that people are hurting themselves from the inside. Many music videos are purely aesthetic. That means they are meant to look pretty without really exploring the song’s meaning.