No Words Necessary

By: Jonathan Seidel

Charlie Daniels Band, southern rock and storytelling: Fiddle player, Devil went down to Georgia 

The Charlie Daniel’s Band is a legendary group of 70s southern rock. Their music is famous but extremely quirky. Eric Church’s song reminded of their storytelling genius. They do not sing lyrics in a melody but dialogue their lyrics to be followed by an enchanted melody. The Jewish musician Shlomo Carlebauch famously would strum his guitar as he told a story of a hasidic master before gathering into a niggun (a folktale instrumental melody sung in hymns). The Charlie Daniel’s band spoke a story in a monotone manner as the melody spun through the ears of the audience. Yet the hasidic masters hummed in a wordless encounter.

Music is a story told in a melodic manner. A narrative cosigned in a beauty symphony. Singing the story in a lyrical ambiance. The song is a lyrical melody. It is a catchy tune with words to highlight the link between tune and terminology. Songs are enjoyable benefits. They surround the audience in bring them into the melodic stratosphere. The lyrics enable the audience to participate in the singer’s band. The song is a shared experience. Yet it is not only the words that are strung together but their meaning. The song articulates an experience the singer wishes to convey to the audience. A song brought upon by a private exposure. The first time the audience waits in anticipation of the words. The lyrics soothing they join in to sing along. Induced in the melodic symphony they sing along to the words. They partake in the energy of the performance. The meaning is less important and more the emotional overhaul of lyrical singularity. 

The band may stand on the stage. They may be the centre of attention but they are not detached from the audience. The audience is but a participant in the performance. The band is a conductor. The band energises the audience’s prefrontal cortex. Engages their bodies to the sound of the musical synergy. The band inspires the audience to join in the fun. The band is merely the opening act. They start the gas with the audience to follow full throttle. The audience may not always responds in words but in cheers or dance. The audience turns towards the music. The music soothes their soul. The words pierce their heart. Words sung in a melodic symphony. A joy to listen to calming the stressors of life. For a moment in a paradise of tuned terminology. The elevated band preaches their message to the audience. The audience responds with their engagement. The sing along or cheer in respectful reciprocity. The words themselves provide meaning even if there is a deeper message (Every Breath You Take). It is the comforting lyrics that spellbound the audience. 

Queen’s We Will Rock You is an audience song. The entire song resides in audience reciprocity. It is not for the audience to respond with smiles but to actively respond to the band. The band leads and the audience follows like a dance. One foot forward the other backward. One leading the other. The band is positioned at the head to guide the audience through the experience. The audience is permitted to sing along and to cheer. To notify the band they are enjoying the experience. Even wedding bands conduct the dancing. They begin the tune for the guests to circle and follow the beat of the music. A DJ at a club follows the same pattern. Some may be more performance centred than others but the audience is unified in the experience. The band/DJ is the lead with the audience following suite. Following in their comfortable way. There is no right or wrong way whether cheer sing along or dance. Swaying one’s body at the beat of music is elevated with the words only specifying the dance. The tune has is empowered by the lyrical poetry. The body is furthered into engagement by the lyrical hypnosis. The words captivate the audience as the tune rises along. The lyrics are powerful and the audience feels them from the singer’s mouth recited boldly. 

Lyrics require attention. Many people listen to classical music when studying since it lacks words. Words are distracting. The lyrics require attention to join the experience. The lyrics imbibe a response. A joy to sing along or revel in their beauty. Try doing work with the lyrics compelling attention in the background. The lyrics demand response. The first time the song is heard, the listener internalises the lyrics to then espouse them on repetition. Even when a song is played on a radio or a phone, the coercion of melodic tones of the words enjoins the listener into the band’s performance. Turning the radio into their own performance. To sing along and turn the car into a performance art. The words are engaging. They are participatory. Whether at a show or in the car, the words are not be listened to but to be joined. The lyrics shout out to the listener for compensation. The scream for reciprocity. To respond in kind. To recognise their worth. The listener is unable to stop himself from preaching their lyrics. They are a party of the experience. The lyrics are profoundly embedded in the performance. Their meaning intertwined into the listener’s cornea. A joy of connection. A joy of linking to the band. 

The lyrics take precedence over the tune. The words sound better in this tune. The poetry is highlighted over the tune. The tune only compels bodily movement. Yet the lyrics are the meaning that engages the audience. It is the words that compel the listener. Though to some degree the lyrics are deceptive. The tune is coercive and the lyrics are along for the ride. The lyrics are meaningless without the addictive melody. They have no meaning without the instruments. The melody brings the lyrics to life. It is bland poetry at times absent poetry without a tune. The lyrics are attractive insofar as the melody enhances them. Poetry becomes enjoyable to the bored reader. Able to experience the words for themselves. The words are empowered and the tune takes the backseat. Joining in the sing along only furthers the priority of the lyrics. The melody has empowered them but the lyrics are focused upon whether with meaning endowed or not. The meaning is calibrated by the tune. It is complemented by the melodic encounter. The lyrics are enjoyed in the synergy of the melodic dynamic. It isn’t words alone but constructed into a singing manner. A tuned terminology is attractive that words are no longer stale. 

Singing is a unique time for words to take on a new approach. They are no longer monotone. They are beloved and elevated. They have different octave and an irregular tone. An enjoyable beat. Yet if Marshall sang all his statements it would annoy his friends. They is a special place for singing. Singing is not conversational. One can sing in the shower or in the street but it can grow annoying. For the singer the terminological tune is calming but the passerby is annoyed. Singing is intimate to some degree, it is the private enjoyment that inspires bodily movement to the melody’s frequency. The singer is in his own world with the monotones staring in disbelief. Singing is specified for the shower or the concert. It is not to be flaunted in the streets. It is just a burden. Lyrics are harmonising to those who wish to hear them. The bothersome element of words is demeaning when unwelcome. Audiences at concerts wish to hear the prophetic words to join in. The car radio agitates a response even when your kid brother snarls. Lyrics aren’t for listening but for engaging. Meaning is not of the band but of the audience. It is a song for the audience to partake and respond. There are words for a reason. To tag along in the tale. Tone deaf doesn’t matter it is the experience that takes precedence. It is the experience that enjoins the audience. 

The classical twist of Charlie Daniel’s Band (hereafter CDB) is to desist from the lyrical tone. To disengage from the terminological tune. To void being caught up in a fabricated experience. In strange meaning. Instead to listen to the band’s message. To hear the whole truth with no strings attached. No hidden meaning or doused words to confuse the audience. No deception just straight music. This method distinguishes between tune and terminology. Music is in the instruments. Yet it is not the classical composer. It is not just a tune but a story behind it. It would as if Led Zeppelin spoke the lyrics Stairway To Heaven in a monotone and afterwards played the melody to complement the story. Melodies have stories to them and they ought not to be buried beneath words. The words are meaningless in the standard lyrical archetype. The tune is sung and the words are caught up in the melody. The words are meaningless insofar as the melody captures their essence and decreases their significance. The audience fails to listen to the band and joins in the experience. They no longer see the band as a mentor but a conductor. 

Lyrics are always ruined in melodies. American Pie and Piano Man tell lyrical melodies that capture the strength of the picture. The tune displays the power of the portrait. It adds the emotional piece. The tone enhances the experience as it funnels the audience into the message. Yet they are both sing alongs. They are enjoyable pieces of music but they fail to articulate the story perfectly. They are more about the music than they are the words. CDB’s way is to separate the tune and terminology to ensure the perfection of both. The story must be clear and concise not muddled by changes in octave. Caught up in the melodic harmony, losing touch with the story. The enticement of the melody overwhelms the true nature of the words. The meaning is erased in comfort. The lyrical melody is a riddle. It is an esoteric flight of disdain for the band. Construed subjectivity into a melodic powerhouse. A lesson lost in translation. Separation ensures poetry remains ironclad. It remains liturgy not art. Art is complex but liturgy is straightforward. The story tells the tale how it occurred not its puzzling description. Scarborough Faire is no longer a simple lover tale but a dialectical masterpiece of dividing the good and evil. Even more than that it is an anti-Vietnam song. Head scratching in the melodic harmony.

Poetry itself is not coherent at face value. Yet the CDB’s style isn’t to provide poetry but to tell stories. Poetry is written of subjective manner. It is of personal art. The alternative is tell another’s tale. To teach by speaking. A tale that is clear to the audience. American Pie is a riddle. A catchy historical tune with obvious themes and symbols that are speculated by the audience. The goal isn’t to understand the symbolism but to enjoy the tuned terminology. How the words fit together and how they sound. Every Breath You Take is a beautiful love song. Sting’s initial reason for writing the song nor sure meaning irrelevant but how the audience interprets it. There is a hint of deception since the audience assumes they know the truth but they are incredibly ignorant. They enjoy the words they hear and interest to their liking. Born in the USA is anti-war song but is hailed as a patriotic champion of pro-American ideology. The misinterpretation is the semantic conclusions by listeners. The tuned terminology is falsified by the listener. It beckons to their feelings. They sing along and adjust the words. The tune is pleasant so the words must be positive. The meaning behind the song is misconstrued by the audience. There is a disconnect between the band and the audience. They share an experience but a fictional encounter. A hyped embrace with divergent conclusions. 

The Devil Went Down to Georgia is clear in its intent. Here is the story of Johnny the devil and fiddle contest. The music complements. It is only there to enhance the story. An audiobook with periodic bursts of cheers. The melody is behind the lyrics. They do not overpower the words. They are background music. They are but special effects to bring a little more grace to the story. To make the story a more engaging. To bring a more flare to the narration. It is a performance. For the audience to remain at bay. To listen from afar and enjoy the narrative. The audience is separate from the band. The band stands on the stage and prophesies their intent. They do not ask the audience to partake in their symphony. The audience is to sit back and enjoy the show. It isn’t pure passive entertainment but an engaging story with instruments to enhance the performance. The audience is at a play and they are at the band’s mercy. The band performs and the audience listens in excitement. Some cheers but not lyrical invasion. The words are of the singer alone. He speaks the sermon with the band following along. The audience watches in awe.

Not all of CDB follows this theme. Long Haired Country Boy may be construed as singing and Simple Man as well. Yet listening to the Decade of Hits album or even his 1974 Fire on the Mountain album and there is lacking a true singing genre. The latter has multiple instrumental songs. Much of the singing is following the musical tune. Yet it is not tuned terminology. There are exceptions but there is a consistency of speaking the song instead of singing it. The dialectic of speaking and melody are intertwined in a curious exchange. The stories themselves aren’t always so compressible by the layman. Yet the conversational enterprise is to clarify in the same sense that a medieval play may sound a little foreign yet is conversational. The unique mix of verbal monotone and melody behind challenges the listener to pay attention. To listen closely to the song. To break forth and internalise the message. Fondly cradle the story in a harmonious melody. A melodic soliloquy. A message for the audience to learn. A story of enjoyment and growth. It is a story not art. A novel not poetry in motion. It is not an idea but narrative. Listen close to the lesson. 

Their style is theatrical. It is based in the separation between band and audience. The song is the band’s to relay to the audience. The words are so important. To not be tainted by the powerful drums and eloquent strumming. Bolding the terms emboldening the message. A methodology lost to time. Focusing on the tune over the words. The words are reduced to the melodic tone. A monstrous eradication of the message. The inclusion of the audience into the performance. A lost art of distance and mentorship. A respect for authorial intent. The instruments are a part of the act but it is the band’s act not the audience’s permission to invade. Performance has become all-inclusive. There is beauty to this but it muddles messages into infinite interpretations, even more so at times to audience preferred over the original cause. The audience hijacks the song for their own cause. It is a shared experience for the audience to claim its right. Yet this muddles Sting’s initial intent. The esotericism is erased from history. Only the musician is aware of the true nature of the song but such purpose may be irrelevant. As the public is enthralled with the melodic symphony. With the monotone narration there is a clear esotericism conveying a profound point to the public to be guarded and remembered forever. 

CDB’s style may not be the most attractive or the most enjoyable to the slumped tuned society. Loving the tuned terminology. Classical music is a bore. Where are the lyrics? Where is the meaning? What is the song about? CDB ads lyrics to the melody but cautions to ensure the melody isn’t denied its truth. The melody receives narration while retaining is beauty. It retains it might and clarity. The narration is an entertainment ploy. A message but do not forget about the melody. The melody on its own is fantastic. Blue Sky weaves solos to manifest the instrumental layer. Keeping the melodic harmony front and centre but the singing has already been infused in the song. The listener awaits the end of the instrumental for the singing to restart. Singing is toxic. It implants the attractive tuned terminology. Once it is grasped it is difficult to let go. Will Jagger sing again or is this just the credit scene. How long will this solo last. Blue Sky anticipates a return to the singing but the listener desires lyrics. CDB salvages that carnal urge by narrating. The monotone is a song with ending. A story that leads somewhere with the pure melody behind the words. the words are no longer purging the purity. Solace in the troubled narration over the melody. Recognise the difference there’s no distortion.    

CDB overlays the the melody with lyrics. There is a disruption attempting to either elevate the story or to engage the melody. Either way there is a disturbing uniqueness. It seems out of place. Why is he speaking? Where is the lyrical tune? Will he ever sing? CDE begs the audience to wait for the brief spirts of tuned terminology. In the beautiful solo lyrical tune is affirmed. The melody is so profound and so loud that the melody cannot be lost. The words are sung in a quick breath underneath the crazed melody. Yet throughout the song something seems out of place. The lyricists we are, it seems weird and outdated. Calling into question whether they should be separated. Maybe the story ought to be told without the melody. The melody is to point disturbed by the off-key soliloquy. It is out of place and must be replaced. The strumming is complex and the melody in fourth gear. The lyrics are lagging behind. 

CDB is balances the lyricists and instrumentalists. Words are needed. A performance needs a story. Engage the crowd they are the audience. A musical with monotone actors. Yet their balance is a disrupted oscillation. Stuck between speaking and playing. Unlike the lyricists who combine the words with the tune. The synthesis is beautiful. The audience joins in joyous in its clarity. A collective monologue of fun. It just feels right. Words flowing as bodies moving. The perpetuated oscillation consistently tries to do both at the same time. To retain the story and the melody at the same time. They both are imperative. A Scarborough Faire type with the melody in the front with the words behind. Lyrics spoken in monotone to emphasise the power of both. This isn’t a sing-along but a lesson. A gift from the band to the audience. Yet it somewhat corrupts both as the lyricists wish for the words to match up. The disturbing sound is salvaged in the chorus but the verses are troubling to the habituated synthesis. Terms are tuned. Sung not spoken. CDB’s display of both aspects prioritises a duality without conceding yet it the listener struggles to capitalise on both. 

There is a way for both. Instrumentalism need not be solely a performance. A dislocated audience just listening. No attention to any narrative. No engagement with the band. They listen to the melody as it flows. There is a remedy found in modern a cappella. Sounding out instruments is engagement and at the same time a melody. The lyrics are sung by a single individual while the rest of the band sounds out different instruments. They are a corset with nosies repenting instruments. Yet the audience will sing along with the frontman instead of making instrumental sounds. Scat singing is tuning nonsensical words (bam-bam, doo-doo). Take your favourite song and annunciate these terms. Famous in jazz it demonstrates the beauty of the singer. The nonsense is ignored and the range of the singer is preoccupied. The depth of melody is concentrated upon. A marvel of the singer’s ability. Yet the singer’s ability is a performance like the instrumental. It is to gaze in utter shock. Why she could hit that note. Unlike CDB who charged a story to pay attention to. The wow effect mesmerised in melodic excellence is more cinematic that broadway. 

Judaism has a type of scat singing called a nigun. Muttering nonsense in a tune. Bringing together tone-deaf Jews into a collective experience. A melody that doesn’t require knowledge only attention. It curls around the wondrous jazz scat singing for a ruckus of a sound. A bunch of bearded men of yelling bam-bam and doo-doo is irritating but for the singers is beautiful. To some extent, the passion and emotions invested overpowers the irritable sound. It isn’t about sounding good but enjoying oneself. The nigun is a feature of modern Jewish music. Most notable in hasidic sects, it has become a staple of religious music. It is so powerful as it unifies a group of like-minded but diverse people. There is no language barrier just an octave. A model of Jews of all of voices to converge. Shabbos songs are common in benchers for the average layman to follow along but it requires words. The song is dedicated to shabbat and requires knowledge of Hebrew. The nigun doesn’t discriminate. No transliteration necessary. Just hum along. Follow the tune and join in. A jolly melody for any occasion even sitting on the side waiting for the bus to work.   

The power of the wordless encounter is a Jewish relation to one another. It is a melody sounded out by all at the surrounding table. All invested in the experience. My rebbe in yeshiva would gather us in a dark room provide torah and sing songs. There is a different atmosphere (if I recall correctly) between word and wordless music. Veterans of would form a quartet while the rest would sit in silence others would hum along. Wishing to participate but not knowing the words they hummed to the stellar melody. The wordless songs, the nigunim,    placed the veterans and the newbies on equal footing. Each hummed to the melody. Veterans and newbies alike were in sync. Finding camaraderie in the the simplicity of the tune. The melody of endless linearity. No confusion nor complexity. Follow along with ease. The darkened room with many voices humming in unison raising the aura of the commitment. It wasn’t a solo grind but a unified expression. A joy of community recycling the tune over and over. 

Niguning heighten the melody by sounding out the melody. Vocalising the musical symphony through verbalisation. The tune becomes the journey. A meditative comfort to flow with. The lack of instruments and lyrics focuses on the verbalised melody. An emotional link between the singers emerges. Binding the melody as a connective jargon. Sharing the experience of creating the melody. Multiple voices banding to verbalise the beautiful melody. A desired experience to delve into musical talent without any knowledge other than the melody. The melody is elevated. It is focused on. CDB’s aspiration has been achieved! A genuine melody salvaged from any lyrical corruption. No disturbance in the force. Pure melody with only a melody to harmonise. Establishing the core of the musical sublimity. The awe of vocal multiplicity. Inviting the all listeners to become singers. To join the band. To join the rebbe on stage. Raising voices charmed by the straightforward melody encompassing the room.

Boredom may set in. No lyrics for the lyricists. My rebbe would spew Torah. Lecturing in a soft angelic voice and then transition to a song. Oscillating between speaking and singing. Separating them into a distinct dichotomy. Two different action at two different moments. R. Shlomo Katz in his performance opens with a piece of Torah before diving into a song. The separation between the spoken word and wordless song (though sometimes lyrical as well) is the distinction between a time to speak and a time to sing. There are indeed beautiful lyrical Jewish songs but these songs require either the veteran audiences to sing along or the newbies to sit quiet. The nigun champions simplicity. Any audience young or old can sing along. There will be words but strategically placed before the song. The words will precede the melody. The words are spoken in pure truth while the melody is sung in pure affection. There is no contradiction no complexity only a powerful message for growth and cohesion. A deliberate model to bring Jews together. To be a nation is to grow and unify.

The chasidim wrote many nigunim for the layman. For the simpleton potentially even the illiterate. No need to learn the lyrics only to follow along. The melody sparks movement. The emotion is solely from the melody. The lyrics play no part in construing the mind (though this is a powerful neurological facet—singing “od yishama” at a wedding). It is the melody the stirs the heart. Thrusting deeply to the soul of the embroiled. It is a call to the soft whisper in the wind. Jargon is shoved around. The nigun is a reminder of the natural current of life. Wherever the nigunim were developed from stripping the lyrics and posting spiritual audacity imbibed a message of collective unity. It is a song for the layman to elevate his spirit, to partake in the communal experience. Dancing intensively wilfully precious. The melody coercing the body. Impulsively reorienting for more devotion. Caught in a hypnotic circle of profound serenity humming along. The nigun is recycled over and over. No words and no end. Until the tired crowd loses count of the elongated relay race. The nigun never dies. The melody lives in the subconscious surfacing in the moments of musical interest. 

Unlike lyrical music, the nigun divides the lyrics from the melody. Lyrics are banished and become sermonic instead. Refusing to corrupt the melody with a perpetuated oscillation. Attempting to maintain the story and the melody in its purity. The nigun allows the story to remain on its own terms while still providing that musical interest. Wordless but endless. Profound and unifying. The nigun may be most frequented in hasidic circles but its simplicity and embrace follows all elongated tunes. Jews humming after finishing a paragraph Friday evening. Refusing to yield and move on. The song persists in the humming. Kabbalat Shabbat extends in the admirable joyful supplicant.