I’m primarily an instrumentalist when it comes to music. I don’t pay much attention to lyrical content and the vocals are just another “instrument”. I vastly prefer artists who play long instrumental sets with complex rhythms (Rush, ELP, Dream Theater), which is why progressive rock appeals to me. I’m also big on hard rock/heavy metal, which is also instrument-heavy.
I love the lyrics, they are what makes a song for me. Lines from songs keep whirling around in my mind and I sometimes see the connections in my everyday life.
A friend of mine one quoted a line from a song to me, which is how I found out we both liked the same artist.
My favourite songwriters are people like Al Stewart, who can put together erudition with some great melodies.
Which is not to say I do not like instrumental music. I love the music of Bach. I love solo acoustic guitar, especially Laurence Juber. My favourite instrumental is Hocus Pocus.
Only if someone’s chatting at length about lyrics do I make an effort to listen, my hearing isn’t so good (or at least my brain couldn’t be bothered listening) so most of them go over my head. I was as surprised when I read that the lyrics to Jethro Tull’s “Budapest” was about a fumble with a young groupie at a gig 
You could be me! I will also learn the words to songs in languages I don’t understand, and I will go on the Internet and look up what they mean. I prefer songs to which I know the lyrics.
Not that I can’t enjoy songs I don’t, but they are rarer.
You should do a search on “guitarists put up shut up” or something like that - one of our very own Dopers posted a cool cover of Hocus Pocus with some really interesting vocals and instrumentation…
I listen - often the lyrics are what hook me on the song.
Yes, very cool. I am working on an acoustic version of Hocus Pocus myself, without the vocals though.
The lyrics are how I remember songs. I sing so badly that often the lyrics are the only way someone else knows what song I’m singing. I can let a song whose lyrics don’t meake sense pass, but only if I try not to think about it too much. Otherwise, I’ll be singing along to it, thinking, “What the hell does that even mean?” Then I’ll sit there trying to puzzle it out.
Uh, you kinda gotta
otherwise when you sing along
people might give you strange looks!
Mother Superior jump the gun,
Mother Superior jump the gun… :wally