Listening to music with vocals

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When I listen to music that contains vocals, I find that I am far more interested in the way it sounds than what the lyrics are. Most of the songs that I really like I have no clue what the song is about. The Carole King song "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" is a good example, When she sings the lines "Tonight the light of love is in your eyes..." I love the way it sounds and the chord changes from E to E7 to Am. That sound gives me chills every time, but as far as the words go, I really don't care what they are.

Does anyone else hear songs the way that I do?

I wish I was the kind of person who has intense emotional reactions to the way a song sounds--but really, I'm not too perceptive with that. I usually care more about the lyrics and how I can relate to them. Sometimes I will like an instrumental song, but for the most part I prefer songs with lyrics.

My only exception is Simon and Garfunkel because I can relate to many of the lyrics that Paul Simon wrote, such as "I am a Rock" and "Sounds of Silence".

I'm largely the same way. Might be in part because I often can't make out the lyrics anyway unless they're Very clear (mostly when listening to the car radio or something). I usually end up looking up lyrics videos on YouTube.

Oh yes, to me it's just a bonus that the human voice can talk while it plays a melody.

I am the same way. I get these euphoric goosebumps effects when I listen to songs that have a certain chord progression to them. as far as the lyrics go, unless someone point out that somethings wrong with the lyrics. I never pay attention to them.

Yes. I will often listen to instrumental version of songs too and different ways they have been interpreted by different musicians.
It isn't that I don't always not care about the lyrics, there are many lyrics I love, but I can and do go without the lyrics most of the time. And good lyrics never make a song with bad music good.

Yes. In my case I'm often put off by corny romantic lyrics. That's why I like songs in foreign languages that I don't understand. When I didn't understand English, I liked many songs in English but now not so much. I mostly listen to songs in other languages.

I'm practically put off by any love song that's out there. Hell, over 99% of all songs ever written throughout history are about love, sex and romance.

The vocals are just another instument/sound in the mix.

I've learned to recognize it as such.

Seems most people who listen to music put emphasis on the vocals, they sing along more often than imitating the drum beats or other instrumentals.

I can switch between both modes.
By default, i treat vocals as just another instrument, so i completely ignore what is actually being 'said' and only hear the melody sung.

But if i want to, i can start to hear the words, and i can also be moved greatly by the poetry sung in some songs (to tears, sometimes, which can be a reason to not 'hear' them, in some situations)

it seems to take most of my neurons to be able to decipher lyrics in song, much of the time they become mondegreens to me.

Well, I can't listen to music without a vocal, it seems "empty" for me, unfinished.

on stuff that was originally written for vocals, yes. I can't listen to the polovtsian dances sans their scintillating choral parts.

But that very line that gives you chills,is followed by the chorus line "but will you still love me tomorrow?"- put there in opposition-to convey the storyline. Interesting that you miss that.

I switch back and forth between hearing lyrics, and hearing the voice as an instrument. Depends on various factors. For generic "I love you forever" type lyrics its what unpredictable things the singer does with those predictable lyrics that I listen to. For story telling songs its the lyrics I hear. And any pyrotechnics should serve the story.

Its funny that you use "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" as an example of being oblivious to lyrics because for me thats an example of a song that leaps out as telling a rather poignant obvious story: a teen couple going to bed together for the first time, and the girl wondering whether or not she is being used. And the vocal flair you speak of serves to tell the story.

music nowadays is recorded so that the vocals are buried under a mass of instruments and other vocals andspecial effects, at least compared with how things were done 50 years ago, and all that makes it tougher for me to discern what they are singing about.