10 Greatest Classic Rock Songwriters
6. Tom Petty
When taken into the broad scope of rock lyrics, Tom Petty doesn't stand out as anything exceptional on first glance. There aren't that many political tirades or intelligent vocabulary laced throughout each song. In Petty's case though, the devil is in the details...or lack thereof.
The way Petty approaches his lyrics leaves space in between the lines. While we may be hearing of some character's journey, we hardly ever get clear specifications on these people's lives. Some might say that Petty is being too abstract in that respect, but his lyrics are great at leaving the song open so the listener can fill in the gaps.
You don't necessarily have to be in one specific situation to understand the power behind lines like "the waiting is the hardest part" and "I'll keep this world from dragging me around." These may seem like blanket statements when looked at on the surface, but the way Petty chooses his lyrics makes each song applicable to different facets of daily life.
While listeners love to get caught up in lyrical character pieces, Tom Petty shows the beauty of leaving those stories up to the listener. Specificity can get boring after a while, and there's nothing wrong with a song's message being multiple choice.