by Smith Smith

Created on: November 23, 2008   Last Updated: January 19, 2010

There is no such thing as moral or immoral music, and this is why the answer to the topic question of this debate is definitely "No." Oscar Wilde wrote a similar statement concerning the amorality of books (1890, p. 1), and he continued to sum up succinctly the way it applies to all forms of art: "An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style." (p. 1)

The morally upright among us will be quick to point out that this was extracted from his most controversial work, one that deals explicitly with decadence and sin, and one that was later used against him in his trial at Old Bailey, but I am here to argue that this statement contains wisdom that is separate from the everlasting battle between decadence and righteousness.

My argument consists of three parts, but first I would like to point out the flaw in the question, "Should the music industry do more to improve the moral content in song lyrics?" The question implies that the music industry is some kind of evil, corrupt empire that can do whatever it wants, when it wants, but this is not the case. The music industry is like any other industry, a marketplace where the best products succeed and the failures fail. A plea to the industry whether we argue that one should be made or not would not be heard over the din of trade and the endless releases of saleable products. The "music industry", not being a tangible entity, cannot be asked to "improve itself" just as a market cannot be asked to self-regulate. Markets can be controlled by government regulation, but that leads us on a parallel debate, that old one about censorship, freedom of speech and the evils of capitalism.

To return to my thesis that true art is amoral, here are my three reasons:

My first argument is that true music contains more than the lyrical content. The meanings of the words that make up the lyrics of a song are only at its very trivial surface. It is possible for a song to have a meaning that conflicts with its lyrics, and it is possible for a meaningful song to have no lyrics at all.

There are many levels below the surface of any song. The obvious aspects that come to mind are the other two visible parts of the music, the melody and the rhythm, but I am not referring only to these. What I am referring to are the other subtle aspects of great song-writing, things that you cannot define, and that are only apparent in a great song itself. They are things like the way the words sound together, the use of language, and

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