Aaron Copland argues that we listen to music on three planes: the sensuous, the expressive, and the sheerly musical. I tried to listen on all three planes to Sting's song, "Fields of Gold," which I had heard many times on the radio and as the third song on his CD, "Ten Summoner's Tales," and listening to it this way gave me a whole new appreciation for his artistry.
Copland says that the first plane, the sensuous, is just enjoying the music without thinking about it. That's how I had been hearing this song, as a pleasant background piece that I would sing along with in the car without becoming too distracted to pay attention to the road. When I copied down the lyrics from the CD insert, however, I realized I'd been singing the wrong words. I'd been hearing the repeated phrase, "the fields of barley" as "the fields of holly," and it still sounds like that to me. The interesting thing is that, from a sensuous, non-thinking perspective, the difference doesn't make any difference. What Copland calls "the mere sound appeal of the music" works with either holly or barley because it still fits into the enjoyment of just listening to the music.
On the second plane, however, the difference does matter. Although Copland doesn't talk about lyrics (he's focused on music, not songs or opera or other kinds of music-with-words), the words matter on the expressive plane. In fact, they have a huge influence. I can't tell what "Fields of Gold" might mean to me if I were able to hear it just as music, since the words (especially now that I know what they all are) give it so much specific meaning.
Of course, we're talking about Sting here, an experienced, poetic composer who knows better than to get too exact in writing his lyrics. He understands that the best songs leave a lot of room for personal interpretation. Copland argues that all music has meaning but that this meaning can't be stated because it changes depending on the way...