Mikael's writing skills..

[Gleemonex]

I was just wondering,
a while ago i started going through Opeth's lyrics, looking up the words i didn´t know and even some words i did know, just to get a good feeling for the lyrics and to be able to ponder them. While doing that i´ve noticed how bloody good writing skills Mikael has got, the way he uses words is incredible.
Now, he being from Sweden, how did he find all those words, how did he learn how to use them with such power?
I can´t believe such skill at handling english can be accomplished by just finding some strange words in a dictionary and throwing them into the lyrics here and there. Does anyone know how he learned to manipulate english in such a way?

Sorry if this seems like a silly question, but i´m really interested in this as i´m a bit of an anglophile and i´m really interested in the english language.

 

[Obyeybyeogone]

A thesaurus

 

[Gleemonex]

lol, u silly thing!
hmm, i´d better define that better then:

"I can´t believe such skill at handling english can be accomplished by just finding some strange words in a dictionary OR A THESAURUS and throwing them into the lyrics here and there"

is that better?

 

[Lina]

I asked this very question once, because many of the words he uses are almost archaic -- certainly not picked up by watching movies or TV.

Personally, I think he goes overboard with the flowery language sometimes, even to the point of blurring his meaning. D Mullholand worded this perfectly one time.

 

[yourdeadgroom]

Save yourself the hassle, and do what I do..

Don't read the lyrics

 

[Gleemonex]

Lina, yes, i agree that it can sometimes be difficult to understand what exactly he's meaning coz there can be many different meanings to one word and all that, but to me, that is the beauty of the whole thing. That I´m able to decide for myself what I feel should be the meaning to the word and what i want to see out of the lyrics. I think ppl should experience things for themselves, even music.

Once I was in a discussion with a friend of mine who had been listening to a piece by Chopin. A classical piece with no lyrics, it´s easy to imagine everything you want.
When we compared our visions of what we thought the music was saying it was very different and just viewed our feelings and how we thought.
In my eyes, music should help us feel emotions and thoughts. That's why i like it when it can be difficult to understand clearly, that just gives the listeners room to make their own views of it.

gaaah, once i start blabbering i just can´t stop!

 

[Blood On My Hands]

Originally posted by Gleemonex

In my eyes, music should help us feel emotions and thoughts. That's why i like it when it can be difficult to understand clearly, that just gives the listeners room to make their own views of it.

gaaah, once i start blabbering i just can´t stop! [/B]

I agree wholeheartedly. I find Opeth's and more specifically, Mike's lyrics to be very beautiful. Confusing sometimes, yes. A few times I've read the lyrics and have no idea what the hell he is trying to convey, or what he's trying to mean. But like you said, that is the greatest thing. It lets you explore your imagination and give you room to conjure up your own ideas as to its meaning. That's true art right there.

 

[huevo]

I remember reading an interview with the man himself, he claimed he doesn't read much poetry/fiction (rather, he just reads fanzines) to inspire his lyrics, he just writes.

I think he's definitely got talent for writing vocals, he just takes a humble standpoint towards it. I think the big key is inspiration, almost anyone can write something that would have an impact on others when the writer is experiencing heavy emotions at the time, it definitely worked for me!

cheers!

 

[Sadistik]

His lyrics are amazing (Still Life being his masterwork, to date). Amazing imagery, stunning phrasing, and beautiful cadence. just awesome.